Unlawful behaviour can ultimately affect the ability for a Municipality to deliver critical services to its citizens, all while requiring significant funds to provide temporary mitigation, repair, & replacement costs associated with it. What issues have cities and townships faced, and what can be done to better protect them?
The adverse effects of theft & vandalism on Municipal Properties:
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Hamilton has seen a dramatic rise in criminal events that directly affect its municipal properties & services – due to theft, break & enter, and vandalism. These numbers almost doubled in a single calendar year, surging from 46 in 2019 to 90 in 2020, and further increasing to 109 in 2021 (1). In only five of the most significant incidents that have occurred during this timeframe, damages as a result of theft & vandalism have been reported to cost the city upwards of $600,000 (2).
In June 2020, criminals gained access to the rooftop HVAC system at Dalewood Recreation Centre. As a result, the HVAC system was permanently destroyed, after condenser equipment & coils were stolen – requiring complete replacement. This single event cost over $200,000 to the City for replacement of the unit; not including installation fees, commissioning, & staff resources associated with mitigating and remediating the damage.
In October 2021, the rooftop mechanical room at Ryerson Recreation Centre was accessed illegally. The perpetrator(s) removed metal piping and other valuable materials for scrap metal, leaving the HVAC unit in complete disrepair. Significant damage was also sustained on the ground floor of the building due to flooding – with an estimated cost of over $115,000 for equipment & building restoration costs. In the same month, the Birge Outdoor Pool was also targeted with its mechanical room being broken into, resulting in significant damage. Pipes were vandalised, cut, and removed for scrap metal; flooding to the building and destruction of equipment resulted in an estimated $250,000 in damages. (3)
Over the course of one night in November 2021, both the Central Library and the Provincial Offences Courthouse sustained significant damage after a vandal had broken exterior windows, resulting in estimated damages of $28,000 and $7,000 respectively. (4) These are Municipal Property crimes from only one city, in a country of many…
What measures can be deployed to help mitigate the costs of crime on Municipal properties?
Choose a Proactive approach to Security to reduce theft & minimize costs.
To prevent thefts from occurring, the traditional reactive approach to Security will never truly be effective. Police response to burglar alarms may catch the criminal in the act, and reviewing CCTV video footage after the fact may provide some details for Police to investigate… but how can these occurrences be prevented all together?
A proactive approach to Security focuses on the detection & deterrence of unlawful behaviour before it occurs. Our team of Security professionals rely on their years of experience & expertise to survey the property, identifying the threats and vulnerabilities of a location, establishing areas of importance or those of high-value, to develop a thorough & well-defined security plan. In order to deliver the necessary protection, our team deploys our industry leading live video monitoring units for ample coverage of the property perimeter, all while providing an expansive view of the key areas requiring safeguarding. Due to the nature of our patented Cellular LTE communications, our modular security units are easily installed in the critical areas in a cost efficient manner; with no requirement for trenching, internet cabling, or installation charges incurred.
When a trespasser is detected with our proprietary Artificial Intelligence detection system that is actively analyzing the feeds from our high-resolution cameras, our Remote Video Monitoring Operators will proactively attempt to deter the individual from the site… before a criminal act is committed. Utilizing our live communications speakers, our Operators will issue voice commands as a first line of defense against unwanted behaviour.
These voice commands inform the individual that they are being actively monitored & recorded, and that Police will be dispatched to the location if they do not immediately vacate the premises. By acknowledging key details of the individual, such as clothing worn, vehicle description, license plate number(s), and observed behaviour, voice commands are an excellent deterrence measure to prevent crime from occurring. In addition to issuing voice commands, our Operators will also activate our high-visibility blue LED strobe lights to assist in deterring the individual by drawing ‘unwanted’ attention to the area they are trespassing.
If the trespasser is brazen and not deterred by these measures, our team will immediately dispatch Police to the property to intervene. Our team will provide suspect description, location, observed behaviour, and will stay in close contact with the Police to update them on the developments of the event. Working alongside local law enforcement ultimately helps with apprehensions, arrests, and prevention of the destruction of property, theft, and the costs associated with rectifying the damage inflicted.
The collection of critical details and high-quality video evidence from our Pan-Tilt-Zoom cameras provides strong evidence to leverage in subsequent court proceedings and civil restitution cases – in the event that damages & costs are incurred during the event.
Once the security threat is contained, our team compiles all of the related information and delivers it to you & your team via our security information reporting platform, syncroReports. This platform is your private access point to all of the in-depth reports from your individual properties, robust analytics, and even PTZ camera control & live video feeds streaming directly from our security units.
Utilizing industry leading technology for live monitoring of events, and proactively deterring unwanted behaviour is the foundation of our industry leading 98% crime deterrence rate – proven to protect Municipal Properties when they need it most.
Resources:
- “‘Crimes of opportunity’: Precious metal thefts, vandalism during pandemic cost City of Hamilton $600K in repairs”, Kate McCollough, The Hamilton Spectator, June 8, 2022
- “‘Crimes of opportunity’: Precious metal thefts, vandalism during pandemic cost City of Hamilton $600K in repairs”, Kate McCollough, The Hamilton Spectator, June 8, 2022
- “2020 – 2021 Annual Corporate Security Report” Corporate Security Team, City of Hamilton, 2021
- “2020 – 2021 Annual Corporate Security Report” Corporate Security Team, City of Hamilton, 2021