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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 governments are going to be hard-pressed to maintain public safety.
As more and more cities are overcome with job cuts and budget shortages, the security industry can offer a way to better use the resources they have by implementing security technology.
Surveillance cameras for example, are force multipliers; they provide police with more eyes, giving them the opportunity to focus their efforts in other areas.
Patrick V. Fiel, public safety advisor for ADT, said, “Surveillance cameras never get sick or require vacation time, they don’t need healthcare or lunch breaks.”
Fiel noted that it’s going to take more creativity and planning from state and local governments to secure their cities with less. He said that city officials should look for available state grants and work with private business owners to partner for increased community security and offer incentives to implement security technology in shared public/private spaces.
-- PSW Staff
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Image: Patrick V. Fiel
