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Maximise parking lot security

Statistics reveal that one in every 10 property crimes occur in parking lots or garages. To help parking lot owners and operators protect people and vehicles, Hikvision has created its range of TandemVu PTZ cameras which provide wide-angle and close-up visibility of incidents, real-time alerts for security teams, and sound and light alarm deterrents that reduce the risk of crimes being committed in the first place.

Many businesses and properties are equipped with parking lots, from residential buildings to commercial locations and offices. Their top priority is to accommodate the largest number of vehicles in the smallest possible space, especially in urban areas where on-street parking is not available. This core business often takes precedence over security, although this is also a key area of interest for parking lot and garage operators.

Potential problems in parking lots

It is common for parking lots to attract negative activities, such as theft and vandalism. Often, for example, thieves target careless drivers who leave their doors unlocked or windows down, allowing them to look for valuables within easy reach. On other occasions, criminals are prepared to break windows or cause other damage to cars, either to steal, or out of malice.

Other potential risks in parking lots include frequent accidents. These happen for a number of reasons, with parking space layout, lighting, and speed limits all playing a part. For example, speeding vehicles increase the accident risk as other vehicles pull out of their parking spots. Careless driving can also result in cars hitting other stationary or moving vehicles, and some drivers choose to leave the premises without reporting accidents they have caused.

For property owners, complications arise when an incident occurs and residents or customers decide to complain, or even litigate. In such cases, facility owners need to show that they are fully aware of the details of the incident, and that they acted quickly to support victims and other impacted parties. It’s also important to show that appropriate measures have been taken to keep parking areas safe.

Enhancing traditional security measures

For years, parking lot and garage operators have been using a host of security measures to protect users. These include regular security guard patrols, good lighting, and the installation of CCTV cameras. But while these traditional solutions are critically important, they are often unable to prevent security incidents from occurring.

For example, incidents can happen between physical security patrols, or in camera ‘blind spots’. In many cases, losses or damage are also incurred before security teams can react and attend the scene.

To address these challenges, forward-thinking parking lot and garage operators are deploying advanced security technologies like the Hikvision TandemVu. This provides full coverage of parking areas, accurate target identification, proactive intruder deterrence and outstanding vision, even in low-light conditions or at night.

Five ways TandemVu PTZ cameras secure your parking

Get focused and wide-angle views simultaneously: With traditional static cameras, the field of view is often limited, causing sight loss of coverage at the periphery. By contrast, TandemVu PTZ cameras provide much wider coverage with multiple lenses working in tandem. Specifically, they have a bullet lens that covers a wide area at all times, while a PTZ lens pans, tilts, and zooms to look at the smallest details. Using TandemVu PTZ cameras, security operators always get the best of both worlds when it comes to up-close and wide-angle coverage, which adds up to improved situational awareness.

This can be very useful for parking lots, where facility managers need to spot congestion immediately at busy times. It also helps to detect accidents, such as a vehicle collision at an intersection, so teams can be dispatched to the scene immediately.

Cover long ranges: The limited view of traditional cameras means that several are often needed to cover a parking lot or garage floor. With TandemVu PTZ cameras, which provide coverage of up to 180° with a 42x optical zoom, a single camera can replace multiple traditional security cameras. This not only increases efficiency and lowers costs, but it provides full coverage by seeing farther.

See things clearly, even in low-light conditions: Parking lots often have an issue of insufficient lighting, resulting in low visibility and an increased risk of accidents. Parking lot operators can address this issue with TandemVu PTZ cameras, which are engineered with Hikvision’s signature ColorVu and DarkFighter imaging technologies in their bullet lens and PTZ lens respectively. These allow the cameras to reproduce vivid and coloured images during both day and night, ensuring that every security incident is recorded in fine detail 24x7.

Improve security efficiency: To further help parking facility managers and their security teams increase their efficiency, TandemVu PTZ cameras distinguish and classify targets into human, vehicle and other objects. This means that only human and vehicle targets are viewed by the PTZ lens, thanks to the AcuSense technology they incorporate.

Deter suspects before damage is incurred: Often, security cameras alone are not enough to deter criminals and security teams are unable to arrive on the scene until the damage has already been done. TandemVu address this challenge with built-in Live-Guard technology, which triggers sound and light alarms that warn suspects before a crime is ever committed.

To keep customers and residents safe, parking lot operators and facility managers need security solutions that are smart, effective, efficient and reliable. Hikvision TandemVu PTZ cameras tick all the boxes, with integrated bullet camera and PTZ lenses in a single device for full coverage and a simultaneous close-up and wide-angle view.

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