Automotive storage facility levels up security with Summit

Summit supports an automotive storage provider with lots across the U.S. These facilities can be as large as hundreds of acres and are often in remote, low-traffic areas. Given the scale and location of the lots, security needs are complex and require multiple layers of protection.

Issue

The Chicago area location was the first to become particularly problematic. It was being targeting by a juvenile organized crime group. As youths, these 15- to 17-year-olds were not being prosecuted and were able to repeatedly hit the lot, which held over 27,000 vehicles, and sell stolen vehicles and parts.

Historically, the customer engaged local police departments to support these challenging sites. With so many different locations to protect, coordinating with multiple law enforcement agencies, scheduling officers, invoicing and officer payment became very time-consuming for the security team. At times when scheduling, billing, or officer payment didn’t go smoothly, tensions mounted between local PDs and the business, making staffing off-duty officers all the more challenging.

Solution

The customer called on Summit to enhance its existing security program. Specifically, it charged Summit with centralizing and managing the process of engaging off-duty officers, knowing that Summit has a vast network to draw from, a platform for coordinating everything from scheduling to billing, a solid and positive reputation with law enforcement agencies, and a customer support team dedicated to delivering a comprehensive off-duty officer program.

Adding officers to the bench of security forces gave the automotive lots on-site resources with the power to arrest and the ability to call in backup. In addition to the officers, they added physical security technologies including spike strips and thermal imaging cameras which make it possible to detect heat signatures from a distance to prevent intrusion.

Results

• Summit began supporting the Chicago facility at the beginning of 2020, staffing three officers working eight-hour shifts, 24/7.
• In the two years since the program started, the Chicago location has had five incidents total – 3 were car theft, the other two were smaller infractions. In each of these incidents, individuals were apprehended and/or arrests were made.
• Summit’s services expanded to the Houston area in 2021 with officers on the lot overnight. The Houston location has not been breached since having law enforcement stationed there.
• Summit began supporting two locations in the San Francisco area at the start of 2022. In the first five days of Summit officers’ engagement, they prevented 3 attempted thefts.