Blog Archives
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Research into downtown security zones
By PublicSafetyWatch blog - Monday March 22, 2010I stumbled across an interesting research paper today titled " The Closed City: Downtown Security Zones and the Loss of Public Space ." The paper apparently was published as part of City Futures 2009 , "an international conference on globalism and urban change." The author was Jeremy Nemeth, Ph.D., with University of Colorado Denver, and Nemeth takes an in-depth look at how urban U.S. cities have established security buffers around key public landmarks and in financial districts. Nemeth takes a close look at how perimeter security measures have been employed to deny public access to these areas via fencing, bollards, or even simply designating areas as not for public use. The reasoning, as we know in the security industry, is that... -
Don’t forget to maintain security systems
By PublicSafetyWatch blog - Monday March 22, 2010
Public schools in Detroit, like many others in our big cities, are suffering on many fronts. This June, more than a quarter of the Detroit Public Schools’ 172 campuses will be shut to help close a $219 million budget deficit. Enrollment is dropping – from 164,500 students in 2002-03 to 87,000 in the current school year. Officials are projecting only 56,500 students by the 2014-15 school year. Campus crime is rampant, with shootings, fighting, drugs and theft becoming common occurrences. So it is good to see the district take the very bold step of spending $41.7 million to put cameras in every school and issue ID cards to high school students and faculty. Each high school will have 100 new cameras ; there will be 32 placed... -
Tips for mass transit security
By PublicSafetyWatch blog - Wednesday March 17, 2010
When the conversation turns to convergence, IP cameras and NVRs, it’s easy to see why even the most experienced transit security director would look for a proven, professional systems integrator when the time comes for a new installation or system upgrade. But how do you go about selecting one? The Internet? Yellow Pages? A security directory? Any of these might work, but then again, they might not. Selecting a quality, experienced integrator is crucial to getting the job done correctly the first time and saving money in the long run. Many transit agencies have to follow highly structured bidding procedures that ultimately lead to working with a low-bidder. However, most bid processes allow for the rejection of... -
Capitol security needs improvement
By PublicSafetyWatch blog - Monday March 15, 2010How important is security at our state Capitols? The answer seems obvious to security professionals but the reality is, security at many Capitol buildings is seriously lacking. A shooting in January was a wake up call for officials in Texas; and state officials in Minnesota simply rely on hope to keep their government facilities safe with an open access security policy. Big 3 Okay Capitol Security—Statesman.com—3/9/10 The Texas Capitol is in the process of amping up security after a shooting earlier this year. The Department of Public Safety has acknowledged the need for increased security by authorizing bike patrollers, bomb-sniffing dogs, a mass notification system and more in-depth training for security officers... -
Stopping registered sex offenders before they reoffend
By PublicSafetyWatch blog - Wednesday March 10, 2010The recent murder of Poway, Calif. high school student Chelsea King, killed while she was running at a public park, is one of the most tragic stories in recent memory. It gripped the nation and is begging some very important questions about how state and local governments deal with the hundreds of thousands of registered sex offenders on the nation’s streets. Almost the entire nation is now aware of Chelsea’s murder last month, but what is maybe more subtly shocking is the fact that California’s 118,692 registered sex offenders are falling through the cracks of the justice system. This trend also applies to the rest of the nation’s over 640,000, and growing, sex offenders. Theories on how to detain, treat and manage... -
YouTube – crime fighting superhero?
By PublicSafetyWatch blog - Sunday March 7, 2010A few years ago we started seeing police departments and local officials use YouTube to help solve crimes and catch criminals. It seems to have worked with varying degrees of success from case to case, yet the video-sharing Web site has grown in popularity with law enforcement. It is a great way to post surveillance video to a wide audience and use the public to help identify suspects leading to an arrest. The proliferation of video surveillance systems , both public and private, means there is a lot more security video available. Criminals caught in the act on video are becoming more and more commonplace. Once officials have the video they have to be able to use it to track down suspects. That is where YouTube comes into play... -
Prepare – or it could happen here
By PublicSafetyWatch blog - Thursday March 4, 2010
With each campus shooting, you can almost hear the cries, followed by “But that can’t happen here” from administrators across the country. Looking back at school shootings over the past 10 years you can see they happen at elementary, middle and high schools. They happen on college and university campuses. They happen in cities, in the suburbs and in rural areas. So are there any administrators truly preparing their campuses to help head off a tragic event? Apparently so. Patick Fiel , public safety advisor for ADT Security Services , found a news article from Illinois that was heartening. Following a shooting in a nearby district, the superintendent of the Aurora (Ill.) Public Schools updated parents and... -
Bring-your-lawnmower-to-the-park day
By PublicSafetyWatch blog - Tuesday March 2, 2010_10474464.jpg)
Cities across the nation are going bankrupt and local governments are cutting public jobs at a fever pace to try to make up for lost revenue. In fact, things have gotten so bad in the city of Colorado Springs that the city has decided to stop mowing the grass in its public parks and spaces. A spokesperson recently announced, “Community members are encouraged to bring their lawnmowers to cut the grass in city parks next year.” The city also plans to stop collecting trash and even operating some traffic lights. They have also drastically cut the number of police and firefighters. With fewer employees, parks and recreation areas with little to no regular maintenance, and emergency services marked up to a premium, local... -
Parking lots – a hot spot for crime
By PublicSafetyWatch blog - Friday February 26, 2010Parking lots are notoriously dangerous areas that are difficult for police and security officers to monitor. Often open 24-hours a day with little to no access control, parking lots attract loitering, vandalism, theft and leave visitors vulnerable to attack. More and more cities are using surveillance cameras, patrol officers and strategic lighting to make parking lots less of an easy target for crime. Here are two examples from New York and North Carolina. Police Fighting Crime in a Parking Lot. Theirs – New York Times – 2/19/10 Yonkers police have been losing an ongoing battle against vandalism in their own parking lot. Seeing as nobody likes speeding tickets and getting arresting Captain Hellthaler says the... -
Concerns of public transit riders
By PublicSafetyWatch blog - Tuesday February 23, 2010
We recently talked to Larry Mays , group director for transportation and logistics for ADT Security Services, about his experiences helping protect passengers of public transportation. He had some ideas of what most concerns those passengers. “Over the years, I’ve been a regular user of public transit systems and have talked to many of my fellow passengers about some of their fears and concerns about regularly riding on a bus, subway or train. At one point I commuted daily from Philadelphia to New York City to work on a project for New York City Transit. Some of those concerns, such as missing a train/bus and getting on the wrong car, fall into the category of personal responsibility. But here are three other concerns where...
