Auto dealerships house millions of dollars’ worth of assets on site at any given time. With the recent rise in precious metal prices, auto dealerships have become a prime target for theft, forcing owners to focus on implementing more innovative and effective security measures than ever before.
The rising threat to Auto Dealerships
The rising price of precious metals has impacted the auto industry in a major way. For example, in the last 12 years palladium has rose from $200 USD/ounce to $2,300 USD/ounce(1). A similar increase has also been seen in rhodium, with a bounce from $1,100 USD/ounce to $26,000 USD/ounce within a similar time frame(2).
What do these precious metals have in common? They are both primary materials used for manufacturing catalytic converters. These valuable cars parts are being viciously targeted because of their high value and how easily removable they are from vehicles. This poses a major threat to auto dealerships because their vehicle inventory is primarily left out in the open, and is easily accessible by the public.
Some other commonly stolen items from vehicles on display at auto dealerships are airbags, mirrors, batteries, bumpers, and tailgates.
Our Live Remote Video Monitoring & Security Systems:
Due to auto dealerships having expensive vehicles, usually on display outside, vandals find it rather easy targeting these locations. During the month of May 2021, a local auto dealership was being targeted by a serial vandal. On multiple occasions, this vandal was shooting out car windows with a BB gun.
After installing a series of Caliber video security units, our Monitoring Team was able to collect & provide enough detailed evidence to the police, who identified and apprehended the vandal. In total, the vandal caused over $17,000 worth of damage to the dealership(4). This incident is one of the many examples of the vandalism that occurs on auto dealership properties.
Our Security Solutions
Through the deployment of our industry leading security devices, in tandem with our innovative live remote video monitoring services, we are able to keep your auto dealership secure from thieves and vandals.
We achieve this by deploying security units that are equipped with high resolution security cameras & peripherals for deterring crime. These units are strategically placed to monitoring the perimeter, and any areas of importance within the site. PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) cameras are utilized for focusing in on suspicious or criminal activity, and collecting high quality, detailed evidence. When a suspect enters the premises, our highly skilled video monitoring operators will attempt to deter the suspect before any criminal behavior takes place. Descriptive voice commands of the suspect’s appearance and actions are utilized to deter, and our high-visibility blue LED strobe light is used for a visual deterrence and to draw attention to the area. If the suspect cannot be deterred, our operators will immediately contact local law enforcement, and provide them with an in-depth description of the suspect, location, and behavior observed. Our operators will assist the police by providing updates on the suspect until they are apprehended.
For an additional layer of security for areas of importance, we recommend deploying our wireless intrusion alarm device, syncroDetect. This device can be equipped with both door & window contact sensors, and wireless motion detection sensors that are placed in locations such as bay doors, or the accessory storage lockers that are often present at auto dealerships. Once these sensors are tripped, our monitoring center is alerted. From here our operators will follow the appropriate course of action to contain the threat. Once the incident is mitigated, an in-depth report is drafted and logged into our proprietary security information reporting platform, syncroReports.
Overall, our industry leading security devices and innovative video monitoring services, are proven to work as an effective deterrence to criminal behavior that occurs on auto dealership sites.
References:
- 1,2. “Why are theives across Canada stealing catalytic converters?”- Global News, Nick Logan, March 10, 2021
- 3. “Calgary man pleads guilt to stealing nearly $250,000 worth of tires and rims”- Global News, Quinn Campbell, Jan 14, 2020
- 4. “Man arrested after new cars shot with air rifle in grimsby” The Standard, N/A, June 24, 2021