Written by: Jon Kromroy, Security Consultant
Auto dealerships around the country struggle to protect valuable inventory every single day. As technology improves, so do the skills and capabilities of professional car thieves. Combine this progress with ineffective security solutions currently in place at most auto dealerships, and you have a recipe for disaster. However, auto dealership security can also use the latest technologies to their advantage and fight back against theft, vandalism, and trespassing on their properties. Here are some ways in which technology can help protect auto dealerships.
Providing Unbiased Evidence Against Fraud, Shrinkage, & Liability Charges:
Auto dealerships can be a dangerous place for both employees and guests. Places such as service bays and body shops have the potential to cause injury, and a good criminal can easily take advantage of this fact. Additionally, internal theft is a common problem that many dealerships don’t deal with correctly. Employees that casually take parts inventory and materials are the main contributors to “inventory shrinkage”, and there is typically no evidence to prove the theft took place.
Dealerships can prevent frivolous lawsuits and inventory shrinkage by making sure they have a reliable video surveillance system operating at all hours of the day. The key is to keep a close watch of areas more susceptible to injury claims or theft, ensuring video footage is always available if an unbiased record of events is needed.
Protecting Vulnerable Inventory at Night
Inventory is most vulnerable at night when the dealership is closed. Without proper security measures, thieves can easily break into vehicles and cause damage or drive away with valuable merchandise. Typically, auto dealerships hire security guards during these hours, which increases costs significantly and doesn’t seem to do much to prevent these incidents from occurring.
Utilizing smart cameras that have intrusion detection capabilities takes this burden off security guards that struggle to protect the entire property on their own. These cameras are capable of detecting trespassers that break the property’s perimeter, and then sending an alert to security agents located in a remote location. These agents can communicate with intruders and call law enforcement if needed. Solutions such as these lower false alarms, improve inventory protection levels, and decrease the risk of injury or death to vulnerable security guards.
Building a Custom-Made Security Solution
Most dealerships do little research when choosing security tools and solutions for their properties. This is a mistake as each dealership has its own vulnerabilities and needs a security solution that protects these high risk zones. Hiring an unbiased security consultant can help streamline operations and build a plan that has a much better success rate than a generic one size fits all approach. Be sure to work with a consultant that has no incentive to sell you equipment from a certain manufacturer, and understands which innovations in security technology can serve your needs best. 
In conclusion, recent advances in security technology have the potential to greatly lower crime at auto dealerships. The key lies in creating a customized security system that can grow with your dealership. Keeping up with security innovations that hit the market over time is critical for auto dealerships that want to outsmart criminals and safeguard valuable inventory.
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