Page 8 - New England Condominiium December 2021

8 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM -DECEMBER 2021 NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM is likely saving a life and preventing harm to someone, anyone. Property is just property. As security professionals, we need to make sure no one gets injured, or worse.” David Malefsky, senior vice president for Admiral Security Services, a California- based company with east coast offices located sue of rioting and other civil unrest is one that with, so when this happens, it’s not the first in North Arlington, New Jersey, stresses the many urban residents have had to confront time they’ve thought about it. They need to be people side of the equation. “Doormen and over the last year-and-a-half. Sjoberg says, prepared, which is why we provide this train- concierges must be familiar with the build- ing’s residents, established procedures, and months is something that just a few years ago how the two factors interact,” he says. “Often- times, residents cause additional problems by can’t really prepare for it. You don’t expect it.” not knowing—or not following—procedures. We use technology that allows the doormen, radar, Sjoberg continues, “The best approach whether the cops were called, and what their board members, and management to view se- curity situations 24/7.” Know Your Neighbors For security concerns both large and small, a building staff’s familiarity with the residents who live there is critical, even in very large properties. This extends to everything from thieves and burglars potentially entering the property with false ID, to identifying Airbnb abuses. “Most luxury buildings don’t ask resi- dents for ID when they enter the building,” says Alexander, “\[but\] in an office building, everyone must show ID.” He says this lapse in residential security is a problem. “What if the regular doorman is on vacation and the sub- stitute doesn’t know the residents’ faces?” And it’s not just about matching faces to a resident roster, Alexander continues. “We train security employees to look at body lan- guage, to notice things and ask questions of strangers, all the while maintaining decorum, never being rude. We also recommend arm- ing the elevator with access control. This way, the front desk attendants can greet people without an inquisition, but if they don’t have card access to the elevator, they don’t get up- stairs. Training manpower to work with avail- able technology is crucial.” Airbnb and illegal subletting issues can be a problem in any building or HOA, regardless tations between neighbors, or between resi- of size or means. Alexander trains employees dents and visitors or other outsiders, to erupt to know what to look for that might indicate in a building’s or association’s common areas. that a unit in the building is essentially being Whether it’s an interpersonal issue, a domes- used as a hotel suite—which in addition to be- ing a major security issue for neighbors is also people into the building, some confrontations likely forbidden by the building’s governing have the potential to turn violent. And these documents, and may even be against state or days, sadly, there’s no shortage of accounts of local laws. Fundamentally, though, “it’s a qual- ity-of-life issue,” Alexander stresses. “People and even physical assaults, seemingly in the show up to use amenities who don’t belong blink of an eye. The reasons for this are be- there.” And this is where frontline staff’s fa- miliarity with the residents of the community something everyone should be aware of, and is so crucial. If the front desk suspects that prepared to deal with, say the pros. something improper is going on in a unit, they can alert the building or HOA’s manage- ment. If it’s management who’s initially made sonal relationships, but have been affected by aware of the issue, they can put the front desk the isolation. At no other time has depression on notice, let them know what and who to and anxiety been higher. Medical profession- look for, and instruct them what to do. Malefsky concurs, pointing out that “to- day’s technology helps doormen identify anyone who lives in the building by sight, or the potential for violent behavior, the most by asking for ID. The truth is that residents important tool a security staff member has is don’t like to show ID, and that can lead to a de-escalation. “De-escalation is a great tech- security breach. Doormen or the concierge or nique with violent or aggressive people,” he both must identify who comes in. This is also says. “When you de-escalate, you transmit a true with deliveries, and vendors and service sense of being calm and genuine and having people. Residents don’t help security person- nel if they flout building policies.” A New Threat While to those outside of major cities it doorman must also have situational aware- may seem alarmist to even bring it up, the is- “The rioting that has occurred in the past 18 ing for our clients.” you’d never think would happen. And you “With violent people, we teach staff to de- Now that such crisis situations are on the we get a report \[of an incident\], we check now is to secure your property as best you response time was. We then share that infor- can beforehand.” Actions taken in the midst mation with the precinct.” of a crisis “are to protect the personal safety of those under your control and command, calmly talk the person down to where there \[as well as\] the residents and property with agree that all security people should have cri- the tools you’ve been provided.” In the case sis training, that doesn’t mean they need to— of a building with glass doors, for example, or should—be given crash courses in hand- those tools may involve metal fencing or to-hand combat or specialized self-defense gates. “Glass doors are hard to defend when training. “We don’t teach self-defense,” says someone has a weapon to break them,” says Alexander. “We stress de-escalation. Where Sjoberg, “But what building doesn’t have glass we have a stationary position \[like a front doors?” Sjoberg says that this is why his firm desk, a doorman station, or a kiosk\], we put a recommends the concentric ‘rings’ of security camera where we can monitor our employees mentioned earlier. De-escalation While rare, it’s not unheard of for confron- tic dispute, or an intrusion by one or more minor disagreements escalating into verbal yond the scope of this article, but the effect is “Post-COVID, society has changed,” says Sjoberg. “People are reemerging into interper- als are overtaxed and can’t deal with all the cases.” According to Sjoberg, when faced with an interest in what is bothering the perpetra- tor while being respectful, clear, and setting boundaries. A staff member, manager, or ness; where they are and who they interact Alexander describes a similar approach. escalate and call the police. And whenever Malefsky has a similar protocol. “You is no violence,” he says. “If you see a violent situation developing—including domestic violence—call 911 and notify the super or manager, and get the police there to handle any problem.” When it comes to security personnel per- sonally intervening in an active situation, policies differ between companies. “Security can only observe and use words to calm the situation,” says Malefsky, but “if the situation becomes violent, then security may hold and detain \[the perpetrator\] until police arrive.” And while Malefsky and his colleagues for performance and their own safety.” Fundamentally, ‘security’ is as much about securing peace of mind as it is about physically securing a building or property. By taking a critical look at your communi- ty’s unique needs and limitations, balancing those with residents’ expectations, enacting a well-thought-out plan, and making sure your building or HOA employees are on board and well trained, you can protect both the tangible and the less tangible assets of your building or HOA. n A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for New England Condominium. He is also a published novelist. SECURITY TRAINING continued from page 1 packages and deliveries get to their intended recipients without leaving building staff mem- bers swimming in a sea of cardboard? Many Options, Few Solutions Multifamily buildings come in many shapes and sizes, of course—not to mention ages, locations, histories, financial positions, and residential cultures. When it comes to package security and storage, this means that what might work great for one building or community might not even be an option for another. And with residents continuing to spend more time at home and the options for e-commerce ever increasing, what might work for one building today might be obsolete by the time it’s installed and implemented. “Storage needs for package delivery have changed over the years,” says Susan Lauren, the principal of New York-based Lauren Inte- rior Design, a design firm that creates custom interiors for building common spaces such as lobbies, hallways, and amenities areas. “What was appropriate 10 years ago is no longer suf- ficient for most buildings. The space set aside just isn’t large enough.” Even communities built in the last 10 years that specifically allocated space for pack- age storage and security from the start have found that they don’t have the staff necessary to accept, track, and deliver all the packages. Joseph Ferdinando, founder of Building Se- curity Services & Systems, a security systems, technology, and personnel company that has been working with buildings and communi- ties in New York and New Jersey for nearly 40 years, says that the conditions during COVID have measurably exacerbated the issue. “In general, in residential \[buildings\],” he says, “80% of people are home working, so our activity during the day has increased. There has been a tremendous amount of deliver- ies. For the properties that have us providing concierge, doorman, or security officers, we have found the activity during the day has increased by 200%, be it food deliveries, UPS, USPS, FedEx, or Amazon.” That “tremendous amount of deliveries” makes the day extremely busy for security and other front-of-house personnel, says Fer- dinando—especially during business hours, when there is increased activity in general. It also creates security and safety concerns with constant traffic into and out of the building, and piles of packages in lobbies, hallways, and other common areas. On top of all that, those piles of unattended packages are a beacon for thieves and vandals—an issue that only be- comes worse during the holidays. Desperate Times, Desperate Measures “Having a designated front desk or proper- ty management staff member accept and store packages at a multi-unit residential building is a common solution,” says Amy Peterselli, an attorney in Brookfield, Illinois, formerly with Chicago-based community association law firm Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit. “However, as the increase in packages has eaten up a no- ticeable amount of time that front desk em- ployees would otherwise dedicate to other administrative tasks, some associations have also begun charging residents storage fees on a per-package basis. Alternatively, some com- munities have added a flat package delivery fee to residents’ monthly assessments as a ‘common expense.’” The pros report that some communities “Training manpower to work with available technology is crucial.” — Alon Alexander PACKAGE SECURITY continued from page 1