13 minute read
To Catch A Thief
A wave of bike thefts is sweeping across Ontario. The Ottawa Police Services
BY SCOTT HILL
reported seeing an almost 70 per cent spike as of April 2021. In Toronto, nearly 4,000 bikes were reported stolen last year,
the majority from residential buildings. Many condominiums have been targeted repeatedly, and one of the reasons is that, historically, they are very soft on security.
When a security problem or vulnerability arises, the traditional method of dealing with it is to look for the most cost-effective, or no-cost, method to address it, rather than the most securityeffective solution. From a criminology perspective, this has some similarities, although not exact, with the broken window concept. Briefly, the broken window theory states that a security vulnerability unaddressed will attract further security incidents that will escalate both in severity and frequency.
Inevitably, condominiums are starting to change their position on security, and there are those that have taken a proactive strategy. A few Toronto-based condos authorized a “safety and security” committee, made up of owners, to research security concerns and solutions and advise the board of directors.
Part of the contributing factors to this systematic problem may be the incomplete advice that is being given to condominiums. Traditionally, when condominiums seek security advice, they tend either to seek out those municipal organizations that offer a “free security audit”, or they go to one of their security suppliers who offers to evaluate the security of the facility for free.
The issues that arise from these types of reviews is that they are quite often incomplete; municipal organizations do not provide security consulting as their core business.
Another concern is that the audits may not be impartial. If you are asking a security equipment provider to evaluate a need for extra security cameras, then there is certainly a very good chance that the report will have the condominium purchasing additional cameras.
This is not to suggest that there is anything unethical on the part of the supplier—they provide cameras and will usually be very confident of the level of security their product provides. The question is, will the proposed solutions be sufficient to reduce crime activities within the condominium?
Let’s take a quick look at what some experts say is necessary to reduce crime: go beyond the ability of a condominium to address, even in their neighborhood. One action that we are noting is that, in some neighborhoods, several condominiums are bonding or forming associations in order to have more voices represented when they petition their city officials to take more active measures in protecting their areas.
That aside, in most cases, the condominium will have a limited ability to address the underlying cause of the crime. For instance, the underlying cause of bike theft is the shortage of bikes, potentially caused by the pandemic as more people decided to take up cycling as a means of travel and exercise.
A condominium does not have the ability to address the current shortage of bikes but is in a position to see what is taking place due to this shortage.
There have even been reports of bikes that were stolen at knifepoint. In the case of condominium management, forewarned is forearmed. By monitoring local crime trends— usually easily accessible from local police websites—board and committee members can keep abreast of what is taking place in their backyard.
In this case, condominiums may not be able to do anything to address a province-wide problem but being aware of the situation allows them to take steps to protect their facilities. This may be as simple as placing an extra layer of security around the magnets which are attracting the bad actors. By doing this, the condominium is ensuring that the cost, or risk, of obtaining the goods outweighs the benefits of getting them.
2Deter offending activity
The condominium should make the risk of getting caught outweigh the joy the adversary will get from obtaining the goods.
For this to take place, look at the probability of detection and the potential response time of the condominium. Most condominiums are protected by surveillance cameras, as well as a key or fobbed entrance. If a bad actor is able to breach the perimeter or envelope of the building, the condominium should
look at the likelihood that that breach will be caught in real time so that a security response can be organized.
To be effective, a security response must be organized and completed before the adversary has time to complete his/ her objective. To deter the offenders, there has to be a very real risk that they may be caught and prosecuted for their bad behaviour. Some factors that may affect the adversary's decision to attempt their objective (steal the bike) may include the visual security readiness of the building, the reputation of the condo in dealing with past attempts, and the difficulty or ease of gaining entry.
If an adversary is confident that he/ she will not be interrupted in their commissioning of a crime, and that they have a high likelihood of success in accomplishing their objective, then they are more likely to attempt the theft. Condos that have a reputation of preventing crimes and making arrests will be less likely to be targeted because the cost is too high to the adversary.
3Reduce the opportunities
In addition to discouraging the motivation of would-be thieves, condominiums should look for ways to reduce the opportunities for crime to take place.
Condominiums are forming associations within their buildings and their neighbourhoods in order to share information and look for methods of eliminating the vulnerabilities.
At a basic level, condos are commissioning security audits in order to assess their risk and to develop strategies to mitigate them. These strategies may include increased lighting, better locking mechanisms, mobile patrols, CCTV monitoring and response, static security guards, intrusion detection systems, and many more. Some condos are taking the extra step and implementing robust security master plans in their buildings.
By having a complete security plan in place, a property is able to determine what is working and adjust what is not. A security plan is a living document that may change when the property understands the underlying cause of crime.
Condos looking to reduce the crime in their buildings need to keep their thumbs on the pulse of the neighbourhoods. Look for ways to discourage criminal motivation, and reduce the opportunities to gain access to the building and its assets. 1
Scott Hill is the owner of 3D Security Services, a security company specializing in condominium protection and security services. Scott is an RCM with ACMO, a Physical Security Professional (PSP) with ASIS/GSX and a Certified Security Project Manager (CSPM) with the Security Industry Association.
The preceding article is an expanded and updated version of a previous blog post, 3 Steps for Reducing Crime in Condominiums,” as published on 3D Security Services.
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TECH SECTOR SPINOFFS EVOLVING RETAIL APPETITE OPERATIONAL SUPPORT TALENT ENTICEMENT TACTICS PROPERTY TAX DEFINING DEMAND Occupiers’ liability: A board meeting gone wrong
Anyone who has ever been to BY DAVID ELMALEH a board meeting (or a partners, AND GABRIELA CARACAS shareholders, town hall, or any similar type of meeting) can attest to
the tension that often arises. The law is clear that occupiers have a duty to maintain their premises reasonably safe for those who enter it. But what about when an individual commits assault while at one of these meetings? Should the occupier or organizer of the board meeting be liable for failing to ensure the safety and security of those lawfully on the premises?
In Omotayo v. Da Costa, 2018, the defendant occupier, Metro Toronto Condominium Corporation 1292 (MTCC 1292), was successful in dismissing the plaintiff’ s claim and the assailant’ s crossclaim when a member in attendance at a condominium board meeting struck another meeting attendee with a chair.
Justice Nishikawa found that the duty the condominium corporation owed to the plaintiff did not include preventing an assault that occurred during their condominium board meeting.
Facts of the case
The plaintif f, Jacqueline Omotayo, was a resident and former chair of the condominium corporation. The defendant, Jose Da Costa, was also a resident and former president of the condominium corporation. An emergency board meeting was held on Oct. 4, 2011, to discuss the future organization of the board as Ms. Omotayo had recently been removed from her position as chair and Mr. Da
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Costa advised that he no longer wished to occupy his role as president. The emergency meeting took place at the defendant’ s (MTCC 1292’ s) premises.
At the emergency meeting, the plaintiff and Mr. Da Costa entered into a heated argument, which led Mr. Da Costa to “lose it” and strike the plaintiff on the head with a chair. Mr. Da Costa was charged by the police and received a conditional discharge for assault with a weapon.
The plaintiff commenced a civil action against Mr. Da Costa for his use of force as well as MTCC 1292 for failing to ensure her safety and failing to employ security measures at board meetings. MTCC 1292 brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff’ s claim against it which was only opposed by Mr. Da Costa given his crossclaim against MTCC 1292 for contribution and indemnity.
Summary judgment motion
MTCC took the position that its duty under the law is confined to the physical condition of the premises and foreseeable risks, not the unforeseeable conduct of individuals in attendance. Meanwhile, Mr. Da Costa argued that MTCC 1292’ s duty extends to having rules of conduct for meetings, policies relating to abusive language, threats and intimidating behavior, and a duty to hire and supervise competent professionals to oversee its business (including, if appropriate, security personnel). Mr. Da Costa further argued that the assault was foreseeable given the quarrelsome nature of MTCC 1292’ s board meetings and a prior unrelated incident involving the plaintiff and another member of MTCC 1292 wherein the police was called.
In reaching her decision, Justice Nishikawa looked to Coleiro v. Premier Fitness Clubs where summary judgment was granted in favour of the defendant www.REMInetwork.com | June 2018 15
Want to stand out on social media? Don’t fake it By Steven Chester Let’s face it, we all want our businesses to be social media rock stars, and we know it ain’t easy. It’s becoming more prevalent that some of the most popular social media platforms have iff commen been infiltrated by those who game the system. Da Costa fo TCC 1292 fo This includes those that buy fake followers and “likes” in order to create the illusion that their nd failing to social media profile is more popular than it is. board meet These fake followers are predominantly bots – otion for su accounts run by software designed to look and the p ai tiff’ act like real people. nly opposed New services are also popping up that allow ossc ai g authentic social media accounts to become on and inde part of the bot game. By signing up for the service, the user authorizes their account to automatically like, follow and randomly udgment m comment on other users’ posts, and in turn the osi i they trade that fake engagement with other w is confine users. Sound harmless enough? The thing the premis is you have no say in in the message your account is spreading or where it ends up. unfore e in attendan Ask yourself this: What’s more important, a argu th having 50,000 cosmetic followers, or having 500 followers who are in your target market s o h ving that actually want to hear from you? s, policies re t d h a reats duty a o As a consumer, it’s even simpler, as deceptive tactics are easy to spot. If you’r using underhanded methods to promote e professional your business, this can be viewed as a luding, if ap reflection of your product or service. Your Mr. Da Cos integrity is at stake. ult was fore This is one of the more complex topics that nature of M can’t be fully covered in this space. As always, nd a prior u I invite you to stay social and continue the plaintiff and conversation on Twitter where I’ll share a link to at @Chestergosocial the full article. 292 wherei ng her dec Steven Chester is the Digital Media Director of MediaEdge Communications. With 15 years’ experience ok d to C in cross-platform communications, Steven helps s where sum companies expand their reach through social media and other digital initiatives. To contact him directly, email d in favour gosocial@mediaedge.ca. SERVING THE FACILIT Y CLEANING & MAINTENANCE INDUSTRY
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