CREJ

22 / 32

Page 22 — Property Management Quarterly — April 2017
Management
A s a property manager, stay-
ing calm, cool and collected,
especially when it counts,
is more difficult than many
would think. For example,
over the weekend, I was notified via
video surveillance of a thief strutting
out of the parking garage with one
of my tenant’s signature golf bags,
which contained a brand new set of
customized Ping golf clubs.
Talk about remaining calm, cool
and collected – this steely thief
literally took his time, all caught
on video surveillance, to leisurely
exchange his stinky tennis shoes
for a pair of the tenant’s Foot Joy
classic golf shoes. The audacity of
this fellow. I hope the new Foot Joy’s
rub a blister on his big toe and he
three-putts every hole!
My initial gut reaction was to take
the car, take the purse, anything but
my tenant’s new golf clubs! Regard-
less of what was
taken, that feel-
ing of having your
personal space vio-
lated and personal
belongings stolen
is awful. Unfortu-
nately, this tenant
had not locked his
car doors, making
him an easy target.
While it may
seem impossible to
prevent such activ-
ity from happen-
ing, there are helpful measures that
can be taken to reduce the exposure
of theft, break-ins and vandalism.
The good news is that such activ-
ity is predicable and, if predicable,
we can work diligently to minimize
such occurrences.
I took the video footage to the
local police department and was
informed of a community outreach
officer who covers the area where
the incident took place. We held a
meeting with all of the tenants and
invited the police officer to come
and share valuable information. Fol-
lowing are nine items we took away
from the meeting.
1. Recognize this illegal activity
occurs at all times, even during the
day and often in broad daylight. Be
on the lookout!
2. Install good video surveillance
cameras in key locations.
3. Become familiar and use online
media sites to facilitate communi-
cation with tenants. Sites such as
a community Facebook page and
Next Door can be useful tools.
4. Personally meet with a com-
munity outreach office who covers
the area where your property is
located. This officer will provide
valuable information to deter theft.
5. Evaluate the exterior lighting at
the property. More light is good!
6. Walk the property and identify
any blind areas, such as overgrown
landscaping. Cut back growth to
minimize places to hide.
7. Care about your neighbors and
work together. Be on the lookout at
all times when entering and exit-
ing the building, especially in park-
ing garages.
8. Report, report, report any
suspicious behavior.
9. Do not confront the suspect.
One of the key things stressed
was the idea of caring about your
neighbor. I saw the importance
of this in action recently when
we encountered a drone hovering
around our property. The drone
appeared to be zooming in on
the tenants, which alarmed us.
We notified the police again and
were informed to communicate
the concern to the Federal Avia-
tion Association, which works
closely with emergency dispatch-
ers, such as 911.
I called some of the neighbor-
ing properties to inform them of
this drone activity. I was not sur-
prised to find out that the same
kind of activity was taking place
on their properties. As the police
pointed out, caring about your
neighbor is a tremendous step
in diminishing criminal activity
in any given area; we certainly
are stronger together than being
separated from one another.
Unfortunately, we live in a
world where people steal. How-
ever, rallying together and being
a good neighbor are still ele-
ments that will benefit all of us.
Positioning your property in such
a way will help all managers stay
calm, collected and cool when
we will need it most … and, not
coincidentally, on the golf course
as well!s
Steve Trythall
Senior vice
president, Sessions
Group LLC, Denver Regardless
of what was
taken, that
feeling of having
your personal
space violated
and personal
belongings
stolen is awful.
Unfortunately,
this tenant had
not locked his car
doors, making
him an easy
target.