In celebration of National Police Week, we want to highlight the various ways that our team of Security Professionals and Video Monitoring Operators work with the Police to combat criminal activity.
This year’s National Police Week began on May 15th and continues until the 21st. The week-long awareness campaign is focused on recognizing & celebrating the impact the Police have in our communities – both through protection of our citizens, and the various ways they help build up our communities on a daily basis.
National Police Week was first established in 1970 to coincide with the Peace Officers Memorial Day; a day dedicated to remembering the individuals who lost their lives in the line of duty(1). This year’s theme in Ontario is:
Your Police Services: Helping Build Safer Communities.
The focus of this campaign is to celebrate the relationship between the Police and Community Partners to support a holistic approach to service delivery and response efforts(2).
How do we assist Police in fighting crime & building safer communities?
While the basis of our services is the detection and deterrence of unwanted behavior before it turns criminal, there are instances where our team works directly with Police, either during or after an incident occurs.
Our proactive security measures aim to detect and deter criminal behavior. When our highly skilled video monitoring operators detect a trespasser on site through either our video monitoring platform or intrusion alarm devices, they will attempt to deter the individual by issuing voice commands that warn them that they are trespassing and being recorded. Simultaneously, a highly visible blue LED strobe light is utilized as a visual deterrence.
As our operators are utilizing our deterrence peripherals, they are also taking full advantage of our high-resolution stationary cameras and pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras to gather as many details as possible to assist Police as they are being dispatched. Key details that are gathered include, but are not limited to, the description of the suspect, location, and behavior. If the suspect is not deterred off the site, our operators will immediately contact local law enforcement and provide them with all the details that have been observed & collected.
As the crime is reported as it is being committed, the Police dispatch calls made from our UL Certified Monitoring Center are responded to as a priority to 911 operators & patrolling officers. This priority response results in faster Police arrival times to sites. As the police are dispatched, our team will stay in close contact, and continue to update them as the incident unfolds. Furthermore, once the Police arrive on site, our operators will direct them to the suspects location over the phone and with our blue LED strobe light, ending with the apprehension of the suspect.
Investigations
Our team’s work with the Police goes far beyond the initial incident, with our Investigations service. Our security cameras are recording 24/7, even outside of the standard monitoring hours (Monday-Friday 6pm to 6am and 24 hours on the weekend).
Often footage that seems unsuspecting, to those that are unaware, can be paramount in a Police investigation of a crime that took place elsewhere. When requested by Detectives, we notify our clients, and provide any footage we have collected that can further assist the Police investigation. For example: a vehicle drives by – a site equipped with our Video Monitoring devices – that is suspected in an armed robbery that occurred nearby – the discernible features of the driver, as well as the make, model, colour, and license plate are captured in high-quality video footage.
When corroborated with eye-witness testimony, camera footage from the scene, or previously established facts, our high-quality security footage can be utilized as hard evidence in court proceedings, or to further the investigation – providing a ‘break in the case’, or a new path for Detectives to investigate.
Moreover, our team of expert Investigators are readily available to review footage and conduct in-depth security reports that add context and answer questions for any incident, whether criminal or accidental, that occurs on or around our client’s site.
When criminal activity cannot be deterred, our Video Monitoring Operators will do everything in their power to assist the Police in apprehending the suspect on site, and provide court quality evidence for subsequent investigations, and court proceedings.
References:
1,2 – “Police Week” OACP, 2022