Myth:

A physical gate at your neighborhood’s entrance and exit will help keep out unauthorized and unwanted cars and people.

Truth:

Gates help… sometimes.

The truth is that gates are not a reliable security solution.

We spoke to a property manager recently who told us she had gates on several of her properties. The gates were meant to help her residents feel safer, but residents weren’t actually safe.

This property manager was receiving frequent late-night calls about cars ramming into her properties’ gates. This meant hours out of her day the next morning working with the affected community to gather evidence so police could act.

She wasn’t making progress in keeping out crime. And her residents were noticing.

Gates don’t capture evidence

Police need actionable evidence in order to solve a case. The ideal timeframe for getting that evidence is within the first 48-72 hours after a crime occurs. After this period, leads often grow cold and the chances for police to solve a case grow slim.

Unfortunately, if you’re looking to install a gate in your neighborhood, it’s not going to capture evidence.

On top of having a gate, the property manager we spoke to also had a traditional security camera pointed at the entrance. When she got calls about a gate issue, she found herself spending hours looking through security camera footage trying to find a clear shot of the perpetrator.

Most of the time, the footage she had didn’t show enough details for police to take action. Many cases were left unsolved because of this.

Gates cost a great deal 

If your neighborhood or community has been thinking of installing a gate, you’re probably familiar with the costs involved.

Community gates vary in price depending on the size of the neighborhood. Neighborhoods can expect to pay anywhere between $3,500-$10,000 for just one gate.

This doesn’t include the costs of maintenance, which quickly add-on to the overall cost for a neighborhood.

In contrast, a Flock Safety system has no hidden costs. Pricing includes software, hardware, installation, ongoing maintenance, and support from our Customer Success team.

What if we told you we have a system that could act as a virtual gate?

When we started Flock Safety, we knew we wanted to help eliminate nonviolent crime. In order to do this, our system had to capture the right kind of evidence for police to solve a case.

Our systems capture just that: license plate information.

But we couldn’t stop there. We went above and beyond to deliver as much detailed evidence to police as possible.

A Flock Safety camera captures vehicle information even if a plate isn’t present. Our system captures the color, make, and model of a vehicle, and even acknowledges if objects are present.

Everything and everyone that comes in and out of your neighborhood entrances and exits today, a Flock Safety camera sees. A virtual gate for your community.

We’ve spoken to neighborhoods that spent many seasons debating on installing a gate. These same neighborhoods had installed Flock Safety cameras at the entrances and exits. Residents say, each time the gate discussion comes up, that they already feel safe with Flock’s virtual gate.

Flock Safety helps police in solving 1-2 crimes every day. Communities that have installed a Flock system even report a 30-50% reduction in crime since installation.

Take it from property managers who thought gates would help, but instead have more trouble on their hands searching for the person who rammed their gate. Take it from residents who’ve told us they feel safer at home with Flock keeping watch over their entrances.

Whether you have a small neighborhood with 30 homes, or a large community of 250 homes, Flock Safety has the coverage you need to keep crime out.

Interested in learning more? Book a demo with one of our consultants today!