The Virtual Guard: A New Security Option for Gated Communities

Reliable bandwidth allows audio and video streaming. Now security guards can monitor community access gates, clubhouses, pools and other amenities remotely at a fraction of the cost of on-site guards.

Palm Coast, FL – August 26, 2013 – Private and gated communities have a new alternative to 24/7 guards, the virtual guard. Reliable bandwidth is now available to stream both audio and video. This allows security guards to monitor resident and guest access gates, clubhouses, pools and other amenities from a remote location at a fraction of the cost of on-site guards.

On-site guards have several drawbacks. They get sick, they quit, they have to take breaks, they fall asleep and they cannot watch in all directions or be at two or more places at the same time. And they are expensive; roughly $120,000 to $150,000 per year per guard station for 24/7 coverage. Many communities have multiple entrances as well as amenities to secure when not in use.

Gate security
Virtual guards operate much like live on-site guards. When visitors pull up to the guard kiosk, their vehicle is sensed by a loop in the pavement, triggering an event at the centralized guard location. Here, several guards, equipped with large-screen high-definition computer monitors and headsets handle incoming events on a rotating basis. They can see and hear the visitor as well as voice back to them.

At the kiosk, things progress as though the guard were there. The guard asks who the guest or vendor is visiting, verifies that the visitor is on the resident’s guest list or calls the resident to verify. After verifying the visitor’s identity, entry is allowed. If not confirmed, the visitor is denied access.

There are two important differences. First, the guard is located at a remote operations center, where a modest number of licensed guards can effectively monitor several communities. They can do this because, as we all know, live guards spend an inordinate amount of time doing nothing. Not that they are lazy. There is simply a lot of idle time built into their job.

Second, the entry gates are under constant photo surveillance. Special license plate cameras digitize all plates. Other cameras monitor entry and exit lanes. Another looks back from the entrance toward the highway, allowing the remote guards to detect cars backing up (stacking) at the gate. Such photo evidence is especially useful to recover gate damage costs. The evidence is clear and irrefutable.

Amenity monitoring
Some people find clubhouses and amenities attractive after hours or in the middle of the night. Community Associations worry about safety, vandalism and liability. On-site guards are too expensive. Roaming guards are hit and miss. A virtual guard is an obvious solution. High resolution cameras sense when a person enters the closed area. Trespassers may be in the dark, but they are illuminated by the infrared cameras. The motion triggers an event at the monitoring facility and the virtual guard voices down to the trespassers. The results are very effective and the event, both audio and video, are captured. The cameras can optionally be accessed by the community’s staff during the day to help monitor live activities at the gates or amenities.

The virtual guard system can work in conjunction with live guards. Some communities use the virtual guard only at secondary gates or for night shifts. Others use the virtual guard system to free up stationary guards for roaming.

When planning a new community, developers can integrate virtual guard technology and avoid the cost of erecting guard buildings.

Many communities, like Tidelands in Palm Coast where I reside, had to trim expenses because of the housing bubble. Too many owners were not paying their assessments. At Tidelands, which has both a condominium association representing condo owners and a homeowners association for the single-family residents, one casualty of the belt tightening was the 24/7 guard service at the community’s main entrance. That service was replaced by a simple phone/keypad entry system. Access control using a phone/keypad entry system is problematic, especially with slow opening gates. Results were very unsatisfactory.

Now fiscally strong, having weathered the downturn, both Tidelands owners associations were eager to improve their access control process. In March, Tidelands installed a virtual guard system offered by Boca Raton-based Envera Systems. The recurring cost of access control at the main entrance (resident and visitors) and the “residents only” second gate are less than half the cost of a 24/7 guard at the main gate alone.  Envera’s operations center is located in Sarasota.

9 replies
  1. John Boy
    John Boy says:

    Expensive Guards

    The problem is not the cost of labor, 24×7 Guards at $8.00 per hour is only $70,000 a year. No retirement, no healthcare, no vacation, etc. The difference is cost is the greed of the Companies that the HOA hire.

  2. toby
    toby says:

    Reply to Cyd

    Tidelands has ordered a fob based access control system for the clubhouse and pools to replaced the keypad system currently installed. The new system will share the resident database already in place for the virtual guard gate system. No decision has been made about an amenity monitoring system.

  3. toby
    toby says:

    Reply to Cyd

    Tidelands has ordered an Envera fob-based Access Control System for the clubhouse and pools to replaced the keypad system currently installed. The new system will share the resident database already in place for the virtual guard gate system. No decision has been made about an amenity monitoring system.

  4. Jim Happel
    Jim Happel says:

    Expensive Guards

    Rarely do I see guards hired directly by the community without a Security Guard company involved. Even if you can get a decent guard for $8.00 per hour, which I doubt, the company still needs its share. I really don’t find Security Guards hired through a Guard Company at less than $11.00-$12.00 per hour and these are base prices for guards who are new to the industry with very little experience. $120,000 – $150,000 per guard per year is right in the ballpark. Please give examples of communities who are paying $8.00 per hour to guards???

    I agree, however, that even if you were to hire a guard without a company and you were able to pay them $8.00 per hour, you still have all the other expenses you spoke about and a real problem with accountability of the guards.

    Virtual Guards are not the answer to all Guard needs and functions, however with recent advances in technology and Bandwidth, Virtual Guards are something to seriously consider!

  5. Jim Happel
    Jim Happel says:

    Expensive Guards

    Rarely do I see guards hired directly by the community without a Security Guard company involved. Even if you can get a decent guard for $8.00 per hour, which I doubt, the company still needs its share. I really don’t find Security Guards hired through a Guard Company at less than $11.00-$12.00 per hour and these are base prices for guards who are new to the industry with very little experience. $120,000 – $150,000 per guard per year is right in the ballpark. Please give examples of communities who are paying $8.00 per hour to guards???

    I agree, however, that even if you were to hire a guard without a company and you were able to pay them $8.00 per hour, you still have all the other expenses you spoke about and a real problem with accountability of the guards.

    Virtual Guards are not the answer to all Guard needs and functions, however with recent advances in technology and Bandwidth, Virtual Guards are something to seriously consider!

  6. Mimi Brookes
    Mimi Brookes says:

    Written estimate for Martin Downs Country Club – W

    Martin Downs Country Club – West Villages
    839 units. We currently have a Guard gated entry into our community. We are trying to reduce the cost of our HOA fees. We are checking with several security companies for a written estimate of the cost of installing keypad entry to eliminate the current system we have. We currently have a manned gate along with security vehicles that patrol our neighborhoods. We would like an estimate on keypad entry which we can operate from our homes to let workers or visitors in. Our intention is to be able to control gate entry from our homes. We are open to other options that you can suggest to keep us as secure as possible. That said, the estimate should include maintenance and repair.
    Please contact me as soon as possible. Time is of the essence.

  7. Luci Golab
    Luci Golab says:

    area codes

    we have the virtual guard chosen by the HOA here in Cibolo Canyon.

    the concern that we have it is only accessed with one area code that is different than ours.

    Therefore we are not on the gate list and I cannot let visitors or delivers enter.

    What solution do you have for this ?

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