In 2023, the Denver International Airport recorded a 74% year-over-year increase in auto thefts from its parking lots. That trend is visible countrywide in other metropolitan locations.
When excited adventurers come to your airport lots, they trust you to safeguard their vehicle while they’re away. They often return tired and ready to get home after hours of being in transit. Facing an unexpected theft of their transportation, its parts, or their belongings can quickly create less-than-ideal travel memories. For you, it can result in legal liabilities, financial costs, and a loss of the positive reputation you’ve worked to build.
These outcomes underscore the importance of airport parking lot fencing and other measures to create a comprehensive, unified security solution. The following tips will help you design an effective, multilayer strategy for protecting your customers and bottom line.
1. Implement Fencing and Gates
Successful security starts where your property does, with perimeter security systems for airport parking lots. Fences and gates represent the backbone of this approach as visual deterrents and physical barriers to unauthorized entry.
Multiple fence styles are available to boost protection without impacting convenience and aesthetic appeal, including wood, concrete, and stone fencing. Wood fencing can provide a visually attractive look and support sharper board-top profiles to discourage scaling. These structures require more upkeep than other materials and can be vulnerable to damaging pest infestations. While sturdy and aesthetically pleasant, concrete and stone fences don’t offer visibility within and are also more expensive to erect.
Metal is another viable choice for security fences for airport parking. The material is versatile, strong, and adaptable to property grade. Options like chain link fencing are also cost-effective and integrate well with electronic security measures and other protection enhancements. For example, lay-down fencing helps safeguard against tunneling.
Additionally, metal is ideal for creating an electric fence that stops criminals in their tracks. Electric fences feature warning signs to discourage would-be thieves, giving them a chance to turn back. If they attempt a breach, the fence gives them a legal, safe but very memorable jolt. Add to that lights and alarms, and you have a well-rounded deterrent against unauthorized entry. These solutions can also extend to protect gates, giving you more peace of mind.
Metal is an easier, more economical choice for crafting taller barriers. While your jurisdiction sets rules for the maximum airport parking lot fence height, you’ll want to take full advantage of the limit. Airport lot fences often range between 8 and 10 feet to help prevent climbing.
2. Utilize Surveillance Cameras
While they’re not effective as a stand-alone solution, security cameras are a valuable addition to a unified security approach. The presence of video surveillance offers benefits like:
- A physical deterrent: Cameras and signage visually remind customers and would-be thieves that you always have eyes on the property.
- High-definition image capture: High-quality cameras provide clear, detailed images that make identifying criminals and documenting their activity easier.
- Real-time visibility: Cameras offer real-time feeds of what’s occurring so your security teams can see and address potential threats faster.
- Wide coverage: Experienced security professionals can position cameras to ensure maximum coverage and achieve 360-degree protection.
- Dual verification: The visual evidence of criminal activity meets dual verification requirements for faster law enforcement response.
You can work with security professionals to design and integrate a system using various camera types, including:
- Night-vision cameras: These options capture detailed images in low-light situations, maintaining surveillance if lighting systems malfunction or a thief disables them.
- Wide dynamic range (WDR) models: WDR cameras have intelligent technology that balances contrasts between light and dark areas. This automatic adjustment resolves issues like glare and backlighting from vehicle headlights to preserve visibility.
- Pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) styles: These options swivel left and right, zoom in and out, and move up and down to track a moving threat.
- Two-way audio solutions: Many cameras include two-way intercoms and audio sensors. These allow security personnel to hear activity, pinpoint its location, and communicate with potential thieves to deter activity.
- Damage-resistant cameras: Vandal-proof and weatherproof cameras are also available to minimize the risk of damage from criminals and the elements.
Upgrade your video surveillance systems with remote and mobile monitoring services for even greater peace of mind. With this solution, a highly trained security team monitors your real-time video feeds around the clock. This proactive approach helps detect potential criminal activity so personnel can respond faster, limiting the potential for losses.
3. Enhance Lighting
Nighttime brings unique challenges for airport parking lots, with less visibility and traffic. Those features often attract more thieves since darkness and shadows better conceal them and their criminal activity. Security lighting helps eliminate dark spots and makes any theft attempts easier to see. Extended visibility also reduces the places criminals can hide and their chances of a successful escape. As a result, proper illumination is the bedrock of a strong security strategy for airport lots.
Modern options are convenient, with many having automatic sensors to power them on between dusk and dawn. Ultrabright, long-lasting LED lights translate to uniform illumination, extended use, and energy efficiency. Motion-sensor-activated lights may also help save money in less vulnerable areas with higher ambient lighting. You can further boost their security by shielding them with protective covers that guard against breakage and moisture damage.
Survey your parking lots for dark spots, paying special attention to remote areas and those with lower-volume traffic. You’ll want to choose installation locations that aren’t readily accessible to help prevent tampering or deactivation. It’s best to enlist the guidance of a lighting professional when designing your approach since conditions can periodically change.
Good lighting also supports better image capture for your security cameras and remote monitoring teams. Illumination makes it easier to identify thieves and their crimes. The resulting clearer footage provides valuable, compelling evidence for dual verification requirements, criminal charges, and insurance claims.
Once you install lighting, commit to regular inspections for bulbs that need to be replaced to ensure continued, effective performance.
4. Conduct Regular Patrols
Human security guards are a popular security layer for airport parking lots. Their presence is a visual deterrent for criminals and instills confidence in customers. They’re an excellent complement to more comprehensive strategies, such as electric fencing and video surveillance, for more complete protection. Additionally, guards undergo training that helps them:
- Respond to incidents effectively to reduce risks or prevent theft altogether.
- Enforce parking lot rules, such as verifying credentials for reserved or disability-privileged spaces.
- Assist in emergencies, like rendering first aid or directing traffic during evacuations.
Guards are most effective when they have a high-profile presence throughout the lot. That means ensuring their visibility by posting guards at the facility’s entry, exit, and strategic interior spots. Choose uniforms projecting professionalism and invest in warning signage so thieves know you’re protecting your business and its customers.
Conducting regular patrols also keeps guards noticeable to deter theft, vandalism, and other property damage. An experienced team knows how to spot potential criminal activity, capture and document evidence, and stop a thief in action. For the most effective protection, establish unpredictable routes and patrol times. Varying the intervals and travel patterns helps ensure that a savvy criminal can’t time-guard activity to avoid detection.
5. Utilize Vehicle Barriers
Vehicle barriers are an effective way to improve airport parking lot security since they help control motor traffic and access. These withstand the elements and resist tampering for a long-lasting visual deterrent that says your business won’t tolerate unauthorized property entry. Each easily combines with other security measures, like perimeter fencing and video surveillance, for enhanced property protection.
Various styles are available to meet your location’s specific needs, including:
- One-way barriers: One-way barriers allow traffic through in one direction only, promoting a safe and accurate flow. Many styles require no manual labor to operate, making them as convenient as they are effective. Since they slow down traffic entering and exiting, these options also help safeguard against accidents and boost pedestrian safety.
- Bollards: Bollards are sturdy vertical physical barriers that can be fixed or retractable depending on your site’s needs. Fixed solutions often feature steel and concrete construction for maximum durability.
- Boom barriers: Boom barriers, also called gate arms, are common security solutions for airport parking lots. These horizontal arms raise and lower between vehicles entering and exiting the lot, either manually or automatically.
- Gates: Security gates are popular choices for controlling access to your parking lot. They slide easily to permit authorized access, helping maintain higher security without compromising on convenience.
- Turnstiles: Comprehensive security means safeguarding against unauthorized entry by foot. Turnstiles can help achieve that by managing pedestrian traffic.
A consultation with an experienced security expert will provide insight into selecting the best options for your location’s needs.
6. Enforce Access Control
While barriers provide a physical and visual deterrent against crime, they are most practical when combined with access control. This technology improves your security by:
- Limiting and managing entries and exits: Electronic solutions help control entries and exits at your airport parking lot by determining which traffic to authorize.
- Providing visibility into property activity: These options track traffic and timing, making it easier to spot gaps or suspicious activity and respond to them.
- Integrating with other security measures: Access control devices seamlessly support additional protection approaches like video surveillance, remote monitoring, and intercoms.
Common electronic access control solutions include credential readers and license plate recognition.
Consider issuing regular visitors and prepaying customers access credentials such as QR or keypad codes. Once the credential is presented at or entered into the reader, the gate or boom barrier will automatically open. This technology is also compatible with popular ticketing systems that issue vehicle owners a coded ticket upon entry. They insert the ticket and pay when they exit, boosting operational efficiency as well as security.
Artificial intelligence-powered cameras can capture, analyze, and record license plates of entering vehicles. These devices can also track vehicle movements across parking lots, helping identify irregular behavior.
The ideal access-control strategy and equipment for your property will depend on multiple factors, including:
- Traffic volume
- Site-specific security risks and needs
- Your budget
- Maintenance requirements
- Supplier support
- Scalability to grow with your business
Working with experienced airport lot security consultants will help you determine and implement the best solutions for your location.
7. Establish Collaboration With Authorities
Collaborating with your local law enforcement agencies is a crucial step toward higher parking lot security. When you build and foster a relationship between them and your business, you benefit through:
- Better communication: Law enforcement will more willingly inform you of potential threats so you can adjust your approach and reduce your risks.
- Access to expertise: Local authorities have extensive security training. They can help you analyze your parking lot for possible security gaps so you can proactively strengthen your posture.
- Data and analytics: Law enforcement agencies have vast data and powerful analytics tools to identify suspicious behavior patterns and alert you to them.
- Faster responses: When you work closely with the authorities, they get to know your security measures and their capabilities. Law enforcement is likelier to respond more quickly when they understand threat reports are valid.
- Higher potential for capture: A good relationship with your community agencies improves the chances of capturing criminals through effective information exchange and resource use.
- Community engagement: Law enforcement agencies can work with you to boost engagement throughout the community, creating a culture of security together.
- Positive customer impressions: Collaboration between the authorities and your airport parking lot shows a shared commitment to better public safety.
8. Deploy Perimeter Detection Systems
A determined thief may think they can thwart your fence by disabling features like alarms and electricity. Deploying an intelligent perimeter detection solution proves them wrong.
These options enhance the existing perimeter security system at your airport parking with automated tools for precise, correct detection. With this approach, technicians mount ultrasensitive sensors to the barrier at strategic intervals. The sensors serve multiple purposes — creating a buffer zone, pinpointing specific activity, and triggering alarms.
Motion-detecting sensors alert security professionals when they identify a potential threat within the specified range. The system also sends notifications for criminals who attempt to cut, tamper with, or bypass the sensors. These alerts include exact location information to identify where an event is occurring. This early detection empowers your team to act faster and more accurately, limiting the scope of an attempted breach. Personnel can verify real-time camera footage before immediately responding or summoning law enforcement.
It’s best to choose a perimeter detection system with adjustable sensitivity levels. Experienced technicians can change the setting to compensate for weather events and wandering wildlife, reducing the possibility of false alerts.
As with around-the-clock monitoring, perimeter detection systems work 24/7/365. That means extra confidence in your security measures and less likelihood you could be found liable for negligent security. These systems can also fully integrate with existing barriers, cost-effectively increasing property security.
Show Customers and Criminals You Mean Business With AMAROK
AMAROK is the smarter approach to complete airport lot perimeter security — with real-world results to prove it. We serve airport parking lot owners and many other businesses nationwide with comprehensive security solutions that work. Our electric fencing delivers a safe but memorable shock to stop criminals at the perimeter and helps prevent attempted breaches. It seamlessly integrates with other options for an effective, customized, multilayered strategy. Find out how we make smart protection cost-effective with a convenient monthly subscription fee.
Contact your local AMAROK security expert or start a conversation with us online to learn more.
