A few months ago the neighbor across the street from me was the victim of a middle-of-the-night break-in. His barking dog alerted him to a couple of guys in his carport, rifling through his work van. My neighbor is a repairman for a large retailer so he carries quite a few parts and tools on a regular basis.

Of course his arrival scared off the burglars, but not before they got away with a fair amount of loot. Even though my neighbor has insurance to cover the theft, the hassle is still enormous. Plus, he had to report the break-in to his superiors, whom I can only assume questioned whether their work vehicle was indeed safe in our neighborhood. The guy does have a garage, but his new mustang is parked there, leaving the work van in the carport.

The day after the break-in, he installed a very bright security light at the top of his garage. Believe me, that sucker works well. Any time a cat passes by, I get light glowing through my front window. But, hey, if it keeps a few baddies off the block then its worth it.

While theres no denying security is a critical deterrent at every storage facility, sometimes the just perception of security is enough to ward off crime. Have a look at thisarticle on giving the illusion of security.

Of course, some operators are taking the word illusion too literarily. Last week, an ISS news item spotlighted a N.C. storage owner who employs fake cameras to keep crime at bay. The camera at the front gate is legit, but the eight devices mounted around the facility are fake. Why he told a news crew this info is beyond me. Talk about opening up a can of worms! I bet real cameras will be installed soon at this facility. Read what other operators have to say about this on this Self-Storage Talk thread.

Im sure there are few operators who employ fake cameras. But even real cameras are not the only security solution operators should use. In the next week or so youll receive the June edition of Inside Self-Storage magazine. Inside youll find several articles about security, including a great primer from Sentinel Systems David Essman. Theres also information about a new deviceradio frequency wireless-alert systems. Of course, you can also find these articles and dozens of others on the topic of security on our website. Just look under security on our topics page.

Have a security tip? Post a comment below or on Self-Storage Talk.