Housing estate security in Karaköprü and new residential areas

Problems specific to new housing estates

In Karaköprü and the newly developing areas of the city, housing estates are filling up quickly. Most of these estates consist of a few blocks, an open parking lot, green space and a playground. When the contractor hands over, there may be a barrier at the entrance and a few cameras. But as residents move in, traffic increases, guest and cargo entries multiply, and cards get lost.

In the first years, management usually has not settled yet. Which resident arrives with which vehicle, who has been given a card, and who has moved away are not on record. The security system carries this disorder too. That is why the rules need to be set before the equipment: how will vehicle entries be defined, how will guests be let in, and who will look at the recordings?

There are also the neighboring parcels where construction continues. Dust from the construction site and work machine traffic mean the entrance cameras and the barrier photocells need to be cleaned more often.

Vehicle entrance: card access or license plate recognition?

How the barrier opens is the decision residents feel every day. Card or remote-control access is simple: the resident taps the card and the barrier opens. If a card is lost or given to someone else, management cancels that card. With license plate recognition, the camera reads the vehicle's plate and opens the barrier when a registered plate arrives; the resident does not have to roll down the window.

License plate recognition needs the camera to be installed at the right angle and the right distance. At night, headlights, rain and dirty plates can reduce reading success. That is why, at estates that use license plate recognition, a card or remote control is also defined as a backup. A separate lane for guest vehicles, or an arrangement that the security guard can open by hand, should be set up.

Which one is suitable depends on the number of vehicles, whether there is staff at the entrance, and the budget. If a queue forms at the entrance in the morning rush hours, the opening speed of the barrier and having entry and exit through separate lanes are at least as important as the recognition method.

Expert note: Position the license plate recognition camera not right above the barrier, but at a point where the vehicle's plate appears flat before it stops. The more squarely the camera looks at the plate, the more reliable the reading.

Pedestrian gates and blocks

Keeping the vehicle entrance tight and leaving the pedestrian gate open is a common mistake. The pedestrian turnstile gate or card-access gate, and the video door phone and access control at block doors, should be considered together. Where couriers who bring cargo and food orders can go should be decided in advance.

If card access is used at block doors, having the same card work at both the barrier and the block door makes residents' lives easier. Management also adds and removes cards from a single software. For this, the barrier and door systems need to be chosen to be compatible with each other.

• Every pedestrian gate should have a mechanism that checks that the gate closes and locks.
• There should be a camera at the block entrance that sees faces.
• The door phone image should also be able to reach the resident's phone.
• A simple method for reporting a lost card should be set.
• The card of a resident who moves out should be canceled the same day.

Where are common area cameras placed?

The purpose of estate cameras is to monitor the common area: entrances and exits, the parking lot, the playground, the garbage container area, block entrances and technical rooms. Cameras should not look at residents' balconies, windows or inside apartments. This both causes problems in neighbor relations and creates a risk in terms of protecting personal data.

Camera recordings count as personal data under Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data. It is common practice to put up a warning sign at estate entrances saying that camera recording is in progress, to decide through a management decision who can access the recordings, and not to keep recordings longer than necessary. For detailed obligations, we recommend consulting a legal expert.

In parking lot cameras, do you want to see the vehicle's plate and door, or the general area? It is hard to do both with one camera. Separating the camera that monitors the wide area from the detail camera at the entry point gives better results.

Infrastructure: finish before the estate fills up

The biggest advantage of new housing estates is that, if the landscaping and parking lot ground are not yet finished, conduit and cable runs can be pulled easily. Once the lines connecting the barrier, camera poles, pedestrian turnstiles and blocks are planned and laid, later additions become easier.

For links between blocks, fiber optic cable is more advantageous than copper cable over long distances and against lightning risk. A locked cabinet with airflow should be set aside in the security room or the management office for the recorders and network equipment.

If a central TV system that distributes satellite and television broadcasts from a single point is considered at the same stage, there will not be a crowd of dishes on the roof. Setting this up after residents have moved in is much harder.

Common mistakes we see in new housing estates

Hasty decisions made in the first months after moving in take years to correct. Most of the mistakes below could be prevented by ten minutes of discussion at a management meeting. A simple rule written in the decision book also shortens arguments that come up later.

• Handing out cards without keeping records, not knowing who has which card.
• Leaving the recorder's password with the contractor or the former manager.
• Putting cameras only at the entrance and leaving the parking lot and playground uncovered.
• Never cleaning the barrier arm and the photocells.
• Installing a different brand and software of door system in each block.
• Leaving guest and courier entry to the guard without setting a written rule.

Management and maintenance routine

The job is not done when installation ends. The barrier arm, motor and photocells need regular checks because of dust. The list of cards should be kept up to date, and whether the recorder's disks are full should be checked. When management changes, handing the passwords and permissions over to the new management should not be forgotten either.

Desa Bilişim plans barrier, access control, camera and central TV installations together in housing projects in Şanlıurfa. If you have your estate's site plan, we can go over it during the on-site inspection.

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