The Legal Chronicle
(FOX 10)
Parking garages present inherent security challenges as they frequently occupy a large space with low levels of activity and numerous hiding places for would-be attackers.
A woman was sexually assaulted in the RSA Battle House Tower parking garage Tuesday, June 5, 2018, according to FOX 10 reports. Police told media the incident occurred “around 9:20 a.m. in the RSA Tower parking garage on Water Street.”
The attack raises grave security concerns for parking facility owners throughout the state. Mobile police are now making “suggestions to RSA on how to improve security so a crime like this doesn’t happen again.”
“This is a pretty open parking garage. It’s pretty easy for people to get into,” Public Safety Director James Barber told FOX 10. “There is a lot of walk through traffic also that occurs between the RSA and YMCA and so again, what type of measures can they reasonably take to secure the area from unauthorized entry and certainly people that are up to ill will.”
Victims of Parking Facility Violence: Know Your Rights
Parking facility patrons have a right to feel safe and secure while on the premises of the establishment they are visiting. By law, property owners are required to protect all patrons legally on the premises from any foreseeable harm. For example, should a parking garage owner have knowledge of prior violence on or near property, they have a responsibility to implement additional security precautions to protect patrons and deter such crime. Should a property owner fail in this critical responsibility, they may be held civilly liable for any injuries, rapes, sexual assaults, or wrongful deaths which occur as a consequence.
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Parking lot and parking garage patrons have a right to feel safe and secure while on the premises of the establishment they are visiting. By law, parking lot owners must protect their patrons from any foreseeable harm. For example, should a parking lot owner have knowledge of prior violence on or near property, they have a duty to implement additional security precautions, such as bright lighting, security patrols and surveillance cameras, to protect patrons from such crime. Should a parking lot owner or manager fail in this responsibility, they may be held civilly liable for any injuries or deaths which occur as a consequence.