Blog Post

Previously, the prevailing thought in condominium security was that if you can slow up the adversary at the building envelope for even 5 minutes, they would lose interest and move on to a softer target. What we are seeing this year is that thought is no longer holding true for various reasons.

One is that there are not many targets that are softer. As mentioned in a recent CBC article, a security expert in BC reported that condominiums are being targeted because they are simply not secure enough. Our experience to date is that some condominiums have small or non-existent budgets when it comes to security. There is always a risk for any facility that has a security philosophy which focusses on being reactive rather than pro-active.

Another is that motivation to get into the condominiums is at an all-time high due to the shortage of bikes and other targeted items (recently camping and outdoor goods). There are multiple, recent articles about bikes and other consumables being stolen at knife point or attempted to be wrestled away from the owners. When the motivation is this high, it is not hard to extrapolate why condominiums would be target given the abundance of targets (bikes, etc.) located within the facility.

A third reason is that the risk of being caught is relatively low. For condominiums without a security presence, the probability of detection is relatively low. Once the adversary has breeched the building envelope, the changes of them being interrupted during their objective is relatively low. Recent articles have shown at least one adversary breeching the condominium and they are laying in wait for potential targets.

While the attached diagram may be criticized as being too advanced for condominium security, the basic security premises hold true. As noted in the diagram, once an adversary has entered the condominium, the time starts ticking.

The yellow dots show detection opportunities. If there is a security presence, such as a mobile patrol or security guard – that would be considered a detection opportunity. Other opportunities would include motion detections, cameras, door alarms, etc. Obviously, the more detection opportunities (yellow dots) on the graph, the better chance the condominium must interrupt the adversary before they complete their objective.

The adversary total task time will depend on their objective. Using an example from one of our guards: An adversary is looking to enter a condominium building, armed with a batter operated grinder, with the intent of stealing a bike. If we project that it will take him/her 2 minutes to follow a car into the garage, 10 minutes to locate a suitable target (bike), 5 minutes to cut through the lock, and 3 minutes to exit the garage, the task time is now set at 20 minutes.

As there is a guard in place (detection #1) and a camera at the garage entrance (detection #2) that the guard monitors when not on patrol, the detection time was a little less than 2 minutes (as the adversary was observed on the camera following a vehicle by the guard in the office). Now the response time will be the time that it takes the security guard to locate the adversary in the garage. Simple math will tell us that the guard will have approximately 18 minutes to find the adversary before he completes his/her objective (get away with the bike in possession). In our example, the guard, knowing the layout of the condominium much better, was able to locate the adversary in under 10 minutes and the objective was interrupted.

We plan on going into more detail on this subject in an upcoming video, but simple security events can be mapped out by condominium managers and board members (with the help of their security experts) to propose response actions to potential breaches.

Forewarned is forearmed!