It is important to get light into the edges of parking stalls rather than just into driving aisles. Pedestrian paths should be carefully planned to concentrate egress - focusing them through one portal improves the ability to see and be seen. Attendant booths, parking offices and security stations should be where attendants can directly monitor activity. Dead end parking areas, nooks and crannies should be avoided Keep shrubbery planted away from the facility and trimmed to eliminate hiding places or having the shrubbery obstruct observation of the area Historically, stairs, lobbies and elevator cabs have been at highest risk for personal injury incidents because they are typically enclosed, small spaces that attract persons with criminal intent. Design stairtowers and elevator lobbies as open as code allows.
Restrooms provide a security problem because their use is infrequent and hiding places abound.
These are some of the ideas expressed in the Research in Brief, April 1996. Victims of crime are seeking compensation from the owners and managers of properties on which crime takes place with increasing frequency. In these court cases, commonly known as premises liability cases, juries are being told that the crime was the result of a perpetrator's ability to take advantage of a lack of security in a certain building or property. Factors such as not having a security plan, not being aware of what is happening on the property, and not having properly trained security agents may all contribute to the occurrence of crime. The lack of prior similar crimes does not mean that a property owner should not take reasonable precautions to prevent crimes that most would agree should be reasonably foreseeable.