Social housing developments are hubs of activity, with people coming in and out at all hours of the day. These properties are often locations of anti-social behaviour, as peace-disturbers are able to blend in with the hundreds of individuals coming and going without drawing much attention. With access control, social housing is rendered safe for all who dwell within – and undesirables are stopped before they even make it onto the property. Here’s how AST’s access control protects London’s many social housing developments…
Parking Access Control
A serious issue many social housing blocks face is the utilisation of parking space by non-residents. Without a reliable access control solution at the premises entrance, there is no way of ensuring that parking bays are reserved for inhabitants. Often, criminals will park their cars in social housing parking lots and wait for unsuspecting victims to exit the building – targeting them with acts of anti-social behaviour.
With the installation of automated barriers at entrances, unwanted vehicles are denied access to the property by means of automated boom gates. These access control barriers can be integrated with key fob capabilities or a wireless intercom system – where residents will need to buzz visitors in from their apartments.
Door Entry Systems
There are three types of doors in a typical social housing establishment; a main entrance way door, the doors to the individual units, and doors to restricted areas reserved for staff – all of which require iron-clad security in the form of access control to prevent burglaries, assaults, and general anti-social behaviour.
Locks and bolts are good deterrents, but these are easy to overcome for a criminal determined to gain access. Main entrance doors cannot be locked, as too many people are coming and going. This is where door entry systems come in. With a GSM telephone system, residents are notified of a visitor on their mobile phones, and can buzz them in simply by pushing a button on their mobile’s keypad. For further bolstering of door security, vandal-proof biometric fingerprint readers can be installed and managed.
Communal Entrance Security
It is rather difficult to secure communal entryways, since so many people constantly entering and exiting the building. While communal entrance doors can be automated and fitted with opening solutions, such as motion sensors and fob key systems, we recommend an extra layer of social housing security at entranceways:
CCTV camera systems, while not exactly access control security, are essential security solutions that are able to keep an eye on the comings and goings of residents throughout the day. With a CCTV system in place, should an incident occur on the premises, there will be video footage available for any legal procedures that might require pursuing.
Social Housing Security in London
Our team of dedicated security professionals at AST London believe that resident safety at social housing developments is important, and we are constantly looking to improve our security services to better secure the world around us. With regards to access control, AST manages the entire installation process – from contacting residents to booking installation appointments and providing training on operation procedures. Contact us here for more information on our effective access control security solutions.
