Self-Storage facilities are filled with countless items that are often irreplaceable to their owners. In order to protect these priceless possessions, it is important to understand the security threats your facility faces, have a comprehensive security plan developed, and then deploy proactive security measures to ensure: the protection of your property & assets, and the protection of your clients’ property & assets.
The trend of theft at Self-Storage Facilities:
Storage Facilities are home to hundreds of storage lockers, each with the potential to house thousands of dollars’ worth of items. Both external and internal threats of thievery are present at these locations, which is why the importance of proactive security cannot be understated. These types of crime are more popular than ever, for example, last year a single storage facility in Whitby, Ontario faced a total of 76 reported break and enters(1).
This theft was caught on a security camera but due to the reactive nature of the system, it was not detected until the suspect had already left the property.
Earlier this year in Oshawa Ontario, three suspects were arrested and charged with breaking into several storage units across the city. The Oshawa Police Department issued search warrants, ironically at another storage unit, where they found 190 stolen items and large quantities of schedule 3 drugs(3).
In May of 2022, an Ontario man was sentenced to time in prison after he was convicted of breaking into various storage lockers across Niagara Falls, Ontario(4). This individual was charged with nine different crimes, including various counts of breaking and entering, theft, and trafficking the proceeds of the thefts.
These thefts have been an ongoing trend in recent times. Late last year, CBC News conducted a report on a brazen self-storage theft that occurred in a facility in Richmond, British Columbia. These thieves broke into a locker, and stole various pieces of artwork from the artist’s personal collection, as well as some personal items that were being stored in the same location.
Based on the storage facility’s claims, the artist believed that the facility was protected by 24 hour surveillance – but under further investigation, it was found that the company held no video footage of the break in.
CBC contacted our CEO & Security Expert for comment on the event and self-storage security as a whole, and he stated “…If you don’t have an active, monitored system, then you run the risk of just going in after the fact and perusing video footage — that may or may not exist — to determine what happened or maybe who did it(5)”.
How do we protect your Self-Storage Facility from theft?
Our Self-Storage security services focus on stopping crime at the perimeter of your property, before a would-be thief even steps foot into the facility. The first line of defense are our highly effective anti-trespassing and video surveillance warning signage. These signs are placed around your property, informing the potential trespassers that the site is off-limits and being live monitored. More often than not, this is enough to deter a thief from entering the site.
If the thief continues to gain entry to the off-limits storage facility, they will be detected by our remote video monitoring operators; utilizing our Cellular LTE Pole Units, which are equipped with high resolution Stationary and Pan-Tilt-Zoom security cameras. These units & cameras are strategically placed in view of the sites perimeter, as well as any areas of concern or high value. The wireless connectivity of our advanced remote video monitoring units allows for ample flexibility for installation, as internet cabling is not required throughout the facility for data connections.
Once detected, our operators will utilize powerful security peripherals in order to deter the suspect. Voice commands are issued from our live communication speaker, letting the suspect know that they are trespassing on an off limits site, and that the Police will be contacted if they do not vacate the premises immediately. For a visual deterrence, our operators activate our highly visible blue LED deterrence strobe light, which is a tool utilized to draw attention to the unwanted activity, while also acting as a beacon for directing Police to specific areas of the site.
If the suspect refuses to be leave of the storage facility, our operators will dispatch the local Police Department and inform them of the crime in progress. Our Monitoring Team will provide them with key details such as suspect description, location, and behaviour. While the Police are travelling to the site, our team will continue to closely monitoring the incident, gathering as many details possible, while staying in close contact with the approaching Police Officers.
Once the Police arrive on site and the threat is mitigated, our team will compile a timestamped report on the incident for your review. This report is then sent to you directly, and is also readily available through our Security Information Reporting Platform, syncroReports.
This platform is your access point to all of your site security data including in-depth reports, live feeds & PTZ camera control and robust analytics directly from your site(s). This revolutionary platform also provides the ability to drill down to view individual locations; all while providing portfolio overviews and statistics, when managing multiple self-storage locations.
Storage facilities are large locations that can contain hundreds of storage lockers, and in order to provide an additional layer of protection for areas of importance such as building access points or staff offices, we recommend deploying our Wireless Intrusion Alarm System, syncroDetect.
This device can be equipped with both Wireless Door & Window Contact Sensors and Indoor Motion Detection Sensors. Once one of these sensors are tripped, our operators are immediately alerted, at our UL Certified Monitoring Center. From here, our team will utilize cameras in the area of concern to gain a visual, collect evidence, and will contact the Police, if necessary.
Self-Storage facilities main function is to store a variety of items, while also being home to many families’ irreplaceable belongings. The property itself also houses valuable equipment, tools, and documents to provide and maintain this important service to clients. This is why it is of utmost importance to deploy effective security measures to keep unwanted individuals out to protect your property & your clients’ precious belongings.
Resources:
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“Break-ins continue at Whitby self-storage business” The St.Catharines Standard, July 30, 2021
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“Motorcycle, table saw, tools stolen from Huntsville storage unit” The Star, August 23, 2022
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“Trio accused of Oshawa storage unit break-ins” Toronto Sun, Kevin Connor, April 7, 2022
- “Canadian Man Sentenced to 1 Year in Prison for Self-Storage Thefts in Niagara Falls, Ontario”, Inside Self Storage, May 20, 2022
- “Got something in self-storage? What do you need to know amid rising thefts” CBC News, Erica Johnson, November 29th, 2021