No matter the neighbourhood you find yourself in, you become a part of a small community. Owing to the fact your residential buildings are closely knit together, events picnics and social events become a neighbourhood activity.
Decisions concerning the growth and development of the community are discussed in community meetings. One important factor neighbourhoods have to deal with is security.
It is no surprise that security has become a top priority for every homeowner in Toronto. Even though statistics show that the crime rates are quite low reaching a percentage of 39.42%, facts still show that property crimes such as theft and Vandalism are the highest crimes in Toronto, with a percentage of 43.10%. That definitely cannot be ignored.
Over the past couple of years, the police department has been experiencing an increase in complaints from homeowners about their home being broken into and their assets stolen. With this high level of property crime rate, property safety should be at the forefront of every residential community in Toronto.
The security and safety of every resident is an important decision that needs to be made. Obviously, criminals won’t ask for an invitation before striking. Therefore, neighbourhood security is vital for every residential area. As the saying goes, a safe community is a happy community.
To that end, we will discuss what neighbourhood security is and take a look at what it would cost you.
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Who is a neighbourhood Security guard?
This is a professionally-trained security officer assigned to watch over a residential area or neighbourhood. Usually, a neighbourhood needs more than one security professional. These qualified security professionals carry out patrols and security checks thereby providing top-notch safety for you, your family, other residents, and property.
Part of their responsibility is to patrol the streets providing some visual deterrent, help residents when necessary, look for any signs of crime, and immediately alert the local police department in your vicinity. Their visual presence alone is often enough to drive away criminal and petty burglars from your neighbourhood
Why neighbourhood security?
The major benefit amongst others of a neighbourhood security guard is to reduce the crime rate in your vicinity. It has been proven to be one of the most effective tactics to ensure a safe neighbourhood. As a resident, you will newell informed of the trends and patterns of criminal activities going on in your neighbourhood as a result of the reports given to you by the security guard.
Let’s take a look at the top reasons why your neighbourhood needs a security guard
Increase the safety levels in your community
A neighbourhood security guard strengthens the immediate security of your environment. That way, your community becomes more peaceful and livable. The presence of a security guard deters criminal activities and possible completely eradicate them.
Reduces stress and anxiety of crime
There is nothing more frightening than the thought of your home being vandalized or your family being prone to danger. The psychological and financial implications of a crime are enough to get one anxious.
A neighbourhood security guard creates a sense of security and keeps your mind free of worry.
You are at a lower risk of becoming a victim. One of the job objectives of neighbourhood security protection services is to keep every resident in the community informed. Through seminars and community meetings, you will be well-educated on the right measures to take to protect your home property efficiently.
Now that we know how important the services of neighbourhood security is, let’s take a look at the cost of getting it in Toronto.
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Cost of Neighbourhood Security in Toronto.
Neighbourhood security professionals have the ability not only to catch criminals trying to trespass but also to prevent any form of criminal activity from happening. They help to maintain your sense of safety by enforcing preventing measures to stop all criminal activities in your residential neighbourhood.
With their level of vigilance, you do not have to worry about someone breaking and entering your home, property damage or theft. All forms of criminal activities – anything threatening the safety of you, your family and property is detected.
These highly trained professionals take serious security actions to ensure 100% safety of your neighbourhood. Employing security measures such as surveillance cameras, patrol dogs and monitoring alarm systems, you can rest assured that no trespassers will disturb the peace of your home and neighbourhood.
Generally, the cost of neighbourhood security in Toronto varies depending on the location of your neighbourhood and its needs. On average, you can hire the services of a neighbourhood security guard for about 900 CAD to 1500 CAD per day. But in some cases, the cost can go as high as CAD 2000 per day.
There are two major forms of Neighbourhood protection service you can hire in your neighbourhood. It is either you go for permanent security or patrol officials. The type your neighbourhood opts for also determines the cost.
Permanent security guards are known for access monitoring i.e safekeeping. As the name implies, they are usually located in one position, unlike patrol security guards that move around. However, this does not affect their duties in any way. They offer the highest standard of security by preventing vandalism and trespassing.
Other duties include:
- Security consulting
- CCTV monitoring
- Reports irregularities to residents
- Records observations, occurrences and surveillance activities
- Man access points to neighbourhood and permits entry.
They get involved in the daily routines of your neighbourhood and get fully accustomed to the operations in your neighbourhood. They cost about 1400 CAD to 1850 CAD per day.
Patrol guards, on the other hand, are more expensive than the static security guards. They cover more ground than a static security guard.
Their roles and responsibilities include:
Patrolling both internal and external areas
Since these security officials are not static but mobile, they cover more ground. They offer full coverage of your neighbourhood. They also give an immediate response to any incident in the area.
With the use of various vehicles, they are easily seen. The visual deterrent they provide is very effective and they keep a close eye on every building in your neighbourhood.
Implementing fire safety protocols
They prevent the loss of documents and property due to fire accidents. They are highly trained and equipped with vital security protocols such as first aid, fire safety and ensure emergency evacuation.
Safeguard your home in your absence
Due to their CCTV and GPS access, they ensure the security of your building, even when you are away. With the aid of alarm systems that are also apart of their operation, once an alarm goes on, they use the GPS to locate where the alarm is coming from and take immediate security actions.
Patrolling security guards offer proactive security measures because they are constantly driving around your neighbourhood. They always stay vigilant and have a strong visible presence to keep nuisances away from your neighbourhood. Due to the benefits they offer, they can cost as high as 3000 CAD per day.
This relatively high price of neighbourhood security is a factor of the services they offer. On a general note, the benefits of neighbourhood security include:
Quick response to emergency cases
Patrol’s neighbourhood security is always on the move. Once they notice or encounter any form of unlawful activity they handle it immediately before contacting the local police department. They offer a quick response to emergencies and any situation that arises can be dealt with immediately.
Security Coverage
Residential neighbourhoods can be as large as 70,000 square feet and more. The service of neighbourhood security ensures that all grounds are covered and secured. Either by wheel or feet, they make sure that every crook and corner of your neighbourhood is completely safe.
They also offer indoor security
They open windows and doors if any suspicious activity is going on in a particular building. Any sign of intrusion or vandalism is death with swiftly.
Prevents Attacks from Intruders and Criminals
Neighbourhood security officers are always wearing a uniform. They have patrol vehicles, and dogs that are visible even from afar. This gives your neighbourhood a sense of security presence that wards off unwanted visitors. All forms of unlawful activities are prevented in your neighbourhood.
Prevents Vandalism
Unauthorized activities such as vandalism, breaking and entering, theft, etc are totally avoided with neighbourhood security on the watch. They keep an eye on unruly teenagers who are mostly fund of this act especially with houses that are empty or unoccupied.
Apart from neighbourhood security, there are other ways to secure your neighbourhood. These methods are cost-effective and also provide adequate security for your neighbourhood. We will discuss these methods in the next section.
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Other Ways to Improve your Neighbourhood.
Every homeowner in Toronto wants to live in a safe environment. Residential neighbourhoods should be a safe space for homeowners. It is a priority for homeowners in Toronto to feel secure and not be vulnerable to any sort of liability caused by criminals.
Toronto like any other state in Canada has had its own fair share of vandalism and home theft. Therefore, if you want to keep your community completely safe, here are some steps you can take to ensure that.
Organize a Community watch
One of the best ways to improve the security in your neighbourhood is to organize a community watch. Get everyone involved. Set up a meeting, bring up the topic of security, rub minds with your fellow homeowners and set up a community watch committee.
It could either by volunteering or handpicking people you feel can carry out the duties. Usually, a community watch group performs several tasks such as observing any form of suspicious activities and reporting to the police, reporting to other community members, etc
In order to set up an effective and efficient community watch, contact your local police department for advice on how to go about the process.
Use outdoor Lighting
Most criminals hide out in the dark. Poor lighting is detrimental to the safety of your neighbourhood. Therefore, get all hands on deck, contact your homeowner’s association and get more lights on your streets.
Voice-activated outdoor light is a great way to light up your neighbourhood. Encourage all homeowners to local businesses to get that setup.
Educate residents on the basis of staying safe
You can organize a small community meeting, invite local authorities to enlighten you on security measures. For example, you and your neighbours should not keep extra keys under the foot mat.
Make sure you use light controls to turn the lights on when you are not at home. This makes it seem like someone is at home when you are still at work or on vacation.
Make sure that doors and windows are properly locked before heading out. You can even employ technological measures such as home alarm systems, CCTV, and the likes. But before doing that, it is advisable you contact your home insurance provider.
Pay attention to empty buildings
Empty buildings often encourage criminal activities. It can serve as a hideout for thieves and hoodlums. Silly teenagers can also use them as their hideouts. It is best to contact the owner of the building.
They can install an alarm system that will alert the community when there is an intruder trying to hide out in the building. You can also contact your local government and inform them of the empty buildings in your vicinity.
Clean up
Organize a community clean-up event. This may be done weekly or monthly. Coming together as a team to clean up, cut down overgrown shrubs and pick up litter will encourage community spirit. It will also bring residents closer to each other. It can also help to get rid of criminal activities since bushes can serve as a good hideout spot for them.
Rent out driveways.
A lot of homeowners in Toronto work away from home. Most people commute between states and cities. This means that parking spaces are usually empty. This could be inviting to an intruder. It gives the impression that no one is at home.
You can solve this problem by renting out your driveway. Especially when you are going to be away for a long time. This will improve traffic in front of your home and scare off burglars.
Conclusion
There are many ways to provide security in your neighbourhood as we have discussed. Neighbourhood security professionals utilize advanced technology including GPS tracking and video cameras to keep an eye on every area in your neighbourhood.
The cost might vary as discussed. But with 2000 CAD, you can hire the services of well-trained security personnel. Patrols vehicles are usually an added advantage cos they use on-board laptops to give real-time reports of all activities going on in your neighbourhood. Contact us today for your neighbourhood security needs.
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