Affordability and funding of technology to secure estates

What are the key drivers for the buyers in residential estates and how can a security service provider support estate managers?

The impact of security risk at residential homes in the form of violent crime and burglaries, has fuelled the growth and development of residential estates to meet the upward demand.

Situation

A survey by Crime Stats SA showed that 34% of 104,403 online respondents had been a victim of crime, or knew someone who had – supporting the generally held belief that the environment we live in today is filled with security-related risks that impact us all daily.

Source: www.crimestatssa.com/surveyresults.php

Challenge

The challenges faced by many residential estates is to implement technologies that will position them in a medium to high security classification, in which the minimum technologies include perimeter and access gate CCTV, access control, monitoring and response services to support the traditional guarding functions. The archetypical solution is to place security officers at the entrance combined with patrols.  This solution may be suitable, but it is far from optimal, and requires an active combination of technologies.

Solution

Thorburn specialises in the design and integration solution of security technologies to support some of the most sought after security estates in South Africa, and has built a robust solution-driven system that includes a clear combination of operations and technology.  When estates approach us with a request to assist with a technology specification and implementation plan, our approach is always to complete a total technology solution, and provide related costs.

Funding

When it comes to funding these solutions, in many cases the HOA finds that the need is clear, but the funding not guaranteed.  So, the approaches are oversimplified to three general options: do nothing, implement a special levy, or somehow find the financing.

With a proactive solution in mind, Thorburn has partnered with a financier that specialises in financing these types of technologies to allow effective and efficient implementation of technology systems.

Thorburn realises that, often, it is the provision of a technology solution together with funding partners that allows an estate to migrate to a higher level of security, and thereby contribute to the residents’ requirements for a safe and secure family environment, and also improved investor return on their assets.