Case for landscape and lighting

1. Lighting
The elements of private security are to detect, deter, delay and respond to unwanted activity in a
protected facility, lighting provides deterrence to criminal activity. In most hotels, the interior lighting plan
is generally more than adequate for most safety considerations however; the areas around the property,
especially parking lots often do not receive adequate attention.
Most of the criminal acts at shopping centers, strip malls and business offices occur in the parking lot.
Lawsuits often revolve around lack of sufficient lighting, surveillance and response. To improve security,
deter crime, reduce potential liability and create a safer environment ample lighting in parking lot areas is
essential.
Security lighting is used to increase awareness and visual range during periods of darkness or by
increased illumination of an area where natural light does not reach or is insufficient. Parking lots are
unique and each presents its own problems based on layout, terrain and atmospheric conditions. The
goal of exterior lighting is to provide a specified level of light throughout the area and good visibility for
guests and employees with minimum glare.
Special attention should also be give to entrances, exits, loading zones and access lanes of parking
areas. The acceptable light level “rule of thumb” at parking lot access to public streets should not be less
than twice the illumination of the connecting street. Lighting poles should be mounted along the parking
barriers and outside boundaries. The most severe problem is illuminating the small narrow "corridors"
formed by adjacent parked cars. In order to get light into these areas, arrange lighting so that any point in
the parking lot has illumination from at least 2 and preferably 4 lighting locations. The source should be
with pole lights mounted at a minimum height of 20 ft. The minimum recommended illumination level for
parking lots is 1 foot-candle (average maintained horizontal to the surface) for self-parking lots. That
minimum level can be increased to 5 foot-candles for aesthetic or commercial reasons such as
advertisement of hotel amenities where necessary.
Lighting should be positioned to increase visibility and the parking layout should be perpendicular to the
line of sight from the building exit. This is to reduce the criminal value of hiding between cars waiting for
potential victims. Walking corridors between cars at strategic locations also concentrates foot traffic and
increases natural surveillance.
Ensure that there is adequate lighting in areas where closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras are used.
Adequate lighting in the camera view areas may change the type of camera required which would reduce
the cost of the equipment and will provide more usable images for investigative and detection purposes.
Adequate lighting of a camera view will also provide enhanced response for security personnel. When
light levels are high, cameras can discern color, a major clue in identifying suspects that were observed
by the CCTV system.
Another lighting approach that is more often used in residential environments is motion sensor lighting. In
a hotel setting, this approach should be reserved for areas that are used infrequently such as secondary
entrances or fire exits. It has two benefits … the first is surprise. When a perpetrator enters a darkened
area, they expect that area to stay dark; motion sensor lighting detects the presence of motion in an area
and illuminates that area.
The second benefit is attracting attention to the area. This falls under the private security precept of
“detection”. The attention of those in the vicinity will be called if the light turns on. If the security staff has a
CCTV camera focused on the subject area and they are observing the monitors, the abrupt lighting
change should call attention to the scene. In some CCTV systems the system monitors the screen image
and when a sudden shift is detected (such as a motion sensor turning on a light) it can create an audible

2. alarm and, depending on the system, display the alarm image on a special screen to call attention to the
activity.
Building on this same theme, it is also possible to place motion sensors that are not connected to lights
but are instead monitored by an alert system. This system signals the security staff that activity is taking
place is what is usually an area of limited activity. They can then use a CCTV system to investigate that
activity and classify it as “threat / no threat”. Of course, threats will require a response and it is assumed
that sufficient lighting is available for the cameras to capture useful images.
Landscaping
Criminals operate best when undetected, this usually means under the cover of darkness or concealed
behind natural obstacles. Lighting can provide substantial deterrence to such activity but landscaping
designs often provide a ready-made hide for these perpetrators and defeat the goal of adding lighting.
The areas of greatest concern where concealing vegetation may be placed are often the same areas for
which lighting is proposed.
New construction and renovation designs that provide a landscaping plan should avoid placing tall dense
vegetation immediately adjacent to pedestrian walkways. These plants are not universally wrong; rather
they are wrong based on their proximity to passageways. Criminals can hide behind these plants and
surprise unsuspecting guests and employees as they pass by. This element of surprise aids the criminal
in committing the crime.
One of the precepts in private security is “delay”. This aspect can take several forms; it is more than just
providing a barrier to the perpetrator. Delay can also mean giving the victim time to respond to the threat.
For example, if high, dense, attractive plants are used in a landscaping plan and those plants are placed
30 feet from pedestrian walkways, the victim will have some time to react to the threat before the
perpetrator is near enough to do harm. Obviously, the farther away the better, so the design must balance
the security risk with the overall landscaping objective.
Additionally, accent lighting or garden lighting can often be used behind plants that are not very dense but
could conceal a perpetrator. The goal is to illuminate areas of concealment so that the criminals will not
have an easy place to hide thereby giving the guests and employees some notice of a pending threat.
Nearly all of our attention thus far has been focused on ground level threats, but look up! Tall trees,
especially those with branches close to the property can have a negative impact on security containment.
Often guests request rooms off the first floor because they feel safer on upper floors. Although this
attitude cannot always be reconciled with the facts, it is none the less a perception.
Tall trees can provide alternate access to rooms, especially when the guest has left a patio door open or
unlocked. This alternate access will defeat all of the security measures used to control ground floor door
access. If your landscaping plan calls for tall trees around the building, cut back branches so the rooms
are not accessible from tree limbs. Do not assume that trees without low branches cannot be climbed.
You need only observe a utility technician climbing up a pole using spikes to realize that any tree can be
used for an alternate access.

3. Chinese Holly
Although this article has, until now, portrayed plants as a nemesis to security, they can also be an aid.
Some plants, like Chinese Holly, can be used as a deterrent to unwanted activity. Chinese Holly has
tough thorny leaves that can penetrate clothing and even thick leather gloves... the author has personal
experience with these wonderful little barb wire imitators... placing these plants along a perimeter, under
windows and in areas of concealment can be an asset in deterring perpetrators from hiding in or
approaching such places. They are hardy and evergreen.