San Antonio nigid Pole Construction Company is celebrating Bo

years of serving the lumber industry.

Our thanksto a few ofourfriends who have made the last 3o years possible.

A-Wahl's Building Materials, Inc.-Sun Minton LumberCompany-Mountain valley View

All-Coast Forest Products, Inc.-Chino National Softwood Sales-Pomona

Beaver Lumber Company-Arcata Reid & Wright Lumber

Big Valley Lumber Company-Bieber Company-Arcata

Burbank Lumber Company-Burbank Saddleback Lumber and

C. E. Jordan Hardwood Company, Hardware-El Toro Inc.-Carson

Sanford-Lussier, lnc.-Huntington Park

California Landscape Supply-El Toro Scott-Caudill Lumber Company-City

De Wolfe Lumber Company-Quartz of Industry

Hill Seamans Molding

Decore-ative Specialties, Inc.- Company-sacramento

Irwindale

Setzer Forest Products-Sacramento

Don Oaks Lumber Company- Serra Lumber Company-Capistrano

Hesperia Beach

Far west Fir Sales Company-

Huntington Beach

Stockdale Materials-Bakersfield

Swaner Hardwood Company,

Ganahl Lumber Company-Anaheim Inc.-Burbank

H&M Wholesale Lumber Company- TErry Building Centers-Mrzana

Etiwanda

United Wholesale Lumber Company-

Home Lumber Company-Hesperia Montebello

Koppers Company, Inc.-Ontario

Lane Stanton Vance Lumber

Upland Lumber Company-Upland

Vista Lumber Company-Vista Company-City of Industry

Wall Dry Kiln-Carson

Louisiana-Pacific Corp.-t-os Alamitos Wickes Flrrest Products-Elmira

(7141s29-779O

Branch: P.O. llox 837 Williams, Ca. 959a7 (916) 473-5341

How safe is your parking lot?

Director

-IIRENS wail as police cars and iElan ambulance rush to a dark parking lot. There they find a victim, injured and bleeding, who tells them a story of being jumPed as he walked to his car after shopping. The thug, who attacked him, threw him to the ground, stealing his wallet.

Stories such as this are read everY day in the daily newspaper, but usually nothing is said about the effect on the store owner providing the parking lot. Will he be held responsible?

The business community, especially those providing retail and wholesale outlets, has long been aware of the necessity to provide "free" parking to attract customers. This convenience is usually budgeted as a fixed cost and other than routine maintenance or an occasional beautification project, the potential for serious financial impact is not perceived. Yet, a civil action and judgment against a company could. forceably jeopardize the success of that business. Lawsuits and judgments have increased dramatically since 1967. Total payments awarded in incidents, where inadequate security or failure to prevent crimes was the basis. have been increasing at approximately a 30090 rate. This figure does not take into consideration the costs associated with legal fees required to defend against these claims and lawsuits.

The business owner's responsibility to provide adequate security for parking lots he, orin conjunction with neighboring business, provides for the convenience of his customers is shown in some of the following cases: e In North Carolina, a property owner and the retail merchants of a shopping mall were held resPonsible for not providing adequate security, or not "forseeing" the possibility of an assault against a female customer in the mall Parking lot. was abducted from a shopping mall parking lot and sexually assaulted. She settled out ofcourt for a high five-figure amount. Her suit was based on the premise that the mall's management had previous knowledge of similar crimes committed on the grounds, but did nothing to insure the safety of their customers, oA woman drove her car into a market parking lot in New Jersey where she was assaulted and her purse stolen. In ruling in her favor for a judgment, the courts indicated that it is the merchant's responsibility to provide customers adequate protection in high crime areas or in areas where there have been other criminal attacks.

These, and other similar cases, now working their way through the various state and federal judicial systems, are setting precedent for future litigation against property and business owners. Although the rules change from state-to-state, or often between cases in the same state, if businesses will recognize the basic standards, then their defense is enhanced if civil litigation is filed. These standards can be generally defined as: o Obligation to protect against crime. o Protection against the probability of crime. r Adequate security.

Story at a Glance

Retailers are obligated to pro. tect customers on parking lots ...lawsuits and judgments rising .,.how to analyze your need for security measures and imple. ment adequate protection.

Although somewhat vague, and obviously not within the scope of most business marketing bases, these standards can be addressed. Security measures, or plans, should be based upon a careful and knowledgeable analysis of the area to be protected. Whether it be a multi-story enclosed parking structure or a simple lot, each situation must be evaluated for specific inherent circumstances.

Items of immediate concern are: safety and the prevention of accidents, control of the property area, and customer,/visitor convenience and protection. If employee parking is provided, it is necessary to include these areas.

It would seem that providing a safe and secure parking area is a simple task requiring little investment of time or money; however, there are many points to consider such as: entrances and exits and location as related to traffic patterns surrounding the business: the need for controlled access or exit using guard personnel where parking must be carefully monitored; automated access control or mechanical contrivance if required; traffic flow patterns that are expedient and safe; parking space and materials placement for efficient fire equipment maneuverability; emergency vehicle access; lighting requirements both during and after normal business hours; unauthorized use or access during non-working hours; and the condition of surface coverings and general maintenance in the parking area.

There will be many other points of consideration unique to the locale being evaluated. If the parking structure is fully or partially enclosed, the potential for toxic or other health hazards must be also considered.

As previously mentioned, the basic liability standards tend to instill a requirement that there be some protection against the probability of a crime occurring. Any attempt to project when and where a crime may occur is, at best, a calculated guess. Major metropolitan law enforcement agencies, aided by reams of data and intricate computer programs, cannot accurately predict the occurrence of a crime. The courts have however.

taken the position that if the owner of a piece of property has knowledge of criminal activity regularly taking place within the area of his property, then he is obligated to take adequate steps to protect persons in and on that property. A failure to do so is viewed as "negligence" on the part of the property owner. The evidence of prior 'criminal activity and the"probability" of future acts should also be included in the aforementioned analysis.

The term, "adequate security" has been referred to several times in the context of what the courts seem to require. Fulfilling this need can only be achieved after the evaluation and analysis of the particular parking area. It may be as simple as the installation of a fence, increased lighting, or a redirection of traffic flow. If the situation dictates, it may require a substantial financial investment and major changes in operation.

The use of a security specialist or consultant is recommended in many cases to assist in the analysis and evaluation process. One major issue cited by various legal experts is that any existing security measures should not be reduced, unless there is careful consideration and reasonable need and the justification for reduction should be in writing.

The need for an effective and efficient security program within each business, regardless of size, is becoming more apparent daily. The philosophy of prevention of incidents, is, in the Iong term, much less costly than the reactionary plan of paying the fines and civil judgments, and then having to institute proper safeguards. The best possible way to prevent litigation is to properly safeguard customers and employees from becoming victims of a crime. This prevention should begin on the"front door step," which in the majority of cases, is the parking lot.