With residents demanding safer communities, operators are turning to AI-enabled cameras, smart access control, and CPTED design principles to redefine apartment security for the next decade.
According to the FBI, property crimes in 2025 are dramatically down across the nation, the continuation of a years-long falling trend.
That encouraging fact may be cold comfort to many multifamily owners and operators, given that 7 out of 10 renters believe property managers should do more to improve apartment community security, according to Deep Sentinel.
Residents’ concerns can be attributed in part to systemic challenges like:
“Criminals and vagrants are getting smarter,” warns Yetta Tropper, president – multifamily of Tennessee-based Southern Land Co. (SLC). “They’re very reactive. You put a preventative measure in place and a day later they’ve learned to get around it.”
“Understaffing of local law enforcement presents a challenge. We view our law enforcement partners as one of our greatest security assets,” reports Kevin Tarangioli, director of security and safety for Pennsylvania-based Pennrose. “Local police understand the issues impacting their jurisdiction. They know what security measures work and can help avoid needless expenditures.”
To help mitigate risk, operators are placing greater reliance on camera surveillance, access control solutions, and a comparatively new design concept called Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED).
These and other initiatives will likely increase in prominence over the next five years and beyond. A closer look:
AI-Enabled Cameras. “We use cameras on our sites, but now we’re looking into enhancing the technology behind those cameras with artificial intelligence (AI),” explains Vibha Gore, chief technology officer of SLC. “AI is our first line of defense.”
It makes sense. AI technology is ideally suited to flag anomalous behavior and unusual activities that begs, ‘What’s going on there?’
“We are moving toward a system where AI reviews matters of possible security concern. It escalates some and weeds out others,” Tropper adds. “The system can actually voice an audible caution if it’s a minor transgression. Or it can alert the on-site team or the police if it’s perceived as a major transgression.”
Gore reports SLC is actively engaged in an AI-enhanced IoT (Internet of things)-based pilot. The firm is investigating the best ways to use AI to make their buildings smarter, even more secure. “We’re very prudent about enabling thermostats, security cameras, access controls, and water leak controls. We’re working on breaking down silos to create a more seamless, unified IoT platform for maintenance and facility management,” she says.
Access Control Technology. Advancing the resident experience often starts with convenience. Yet, striking a balance between convenience and security can be a tall order. Consider access control, for example. “Access control is so much easier if residents can use a mobile phone or facial recognition,” SLC’s Tropper observes. While IoT technology has a big role to play, building and unit security still depends on commonsense resident compliance, such as not propping open exterior doors or letting strangers into a building.
Still, it’s good to know next-generation access control devices offer operators and residents with unprecedented simplicity and convenience. Not just for new builds, either. Now Class B and C properties can be easily retrofitted with sophisticated access control locks that require no Wi-Fi or wiring.
Unlocking couldn’t be simpler, either. For example, the AccessIQ locking device presents residents with five unlocking options, including Apple Wallet/Android Smart Tap, key card, pin code, mobile app and, even an old school mechanical key.
CPTED. Why not design rental communities from the outset to be more safe and secure? That, in a nutshell, is the operating premise behind CPTED.
Tarangioli is a certified CPTED practitioner and views the proactive prevention discipline as a good way to maximize AI benefits. “CPTED involves the effective use of a built environment to reduce the opportunity for criminal activity. The concept is gaining traction with architects, local police, and private security,” he reports. CPTED uses a variety of design strategies—from lighting and landscaping to fencing and site design—to create spaces that help minimize opportunistic crime and create a safer, more secure community atmosphere.
In Tarangioli’s view, CPTED is a future-focused approach that “… includes understanding and maximizing AI, realizing the benefits of integrating security with collaborations from IT, security, maintenance, and other departments.”
The advent of AI everywhere promises to unlock new dimensions in multifamily property and resident security. What it portents for best practices in 2030 is difficult to predict, though it’s safe to say the notion of security will likely be more affordable, simpler, and effective in stopping bad actors.