Municipal properties are essential to our communities, providing much needed services and offering safe public spaces for all to enjoy. What can be done to help protect these spaces and provide more effective public security?
Municipalities and the need for public security.
Municipality properties have long been targets for trespassing, theft, and vandalism within communities across Canada.
Many of these crimes negatively affect the use of public spaces and can lead to expensive repair costs, which are in turn, are often passed down to local taxpayers. Many communities have taken it upon themselves to assist with crime prevention and public security in their municipalities, including partnerships with other jurisdictions across Canada to present a united front against crime on municipal properties.
The Canadian Centre for Safer Communities (CCFSC), formerly known as the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention, is a non-profit partnership between over 100 municipalities across Canada. The CCFSC serves as a hub of community practice for municipal representatives, elected officials, and community leaders to improve public safety security and well-being at a local level.
Their view is that communities and the people who live within them are best positioned to work with local agencies to address security and safety concerns. Through community initiatives, training, and continuing collaboration, they aim to create safer public spaces across the country. (1)
Local governments struggle with municipal security.
Municipalities and local governments have experienced ongoing incidents of trespassing, theft, and vandalism on their properties.
For instance, since June 2024, the local government and Police department in West Nipissing, ON have seen an alarming rise in theft and vandalism at municipal landfill sites. The items stolen have run the gamut, including items such as port-a-pottys that have been set up for workers to use on-site. The landfills in particular have become ripe targets for crime because they operate on limited hours and are in less populated areas that are ‘off the beaten path’, which makes them hard to monitor by traditional means of security. City council says that the costs have been adding up for the municipality to replace damaged or stolen items and structures, included damaged gates and destruction to essential buildings. Police have appealed to the local community to help keep a watchful eye on these properties within the community. (2)
In July 2024, municipal flower beds in Summerland, BC were the target of continued theft. The city estimated that a swath of plants were stolen, in different incidents across various locations. The thefts have occurred all over the community, including in front of high profile locations such as City Hall and the local RCMP detachment. The thefts have added up to $2,000 in losses for the municipality and have negatively impacted the city’s efforts to create a more beautiful and sustainable community. (3)
During the same period, three individuals were arrested after breaking into a municipal building in Grey Highlands, ON and stealing three vehicles. The suspects gained access to the main doors of the building and found the keys to the vehicles, driving them off the property. Thankfully, the city had installed GPS tracking systems in each of the vehicles so Police were able to track and recover them (4). These are just a few examples of the incidents plaguing municipalities, with many more occurring in public spaces across the country.
Our proactive security technology and Live Remote Video Monitoring service provide community crime prevention in real-time, helping to assist with municipality protection and public security.
How do we provide effective municipality security?
Artificial Intelligence improves detections
It’s no secret that artificial intelligence is making leaps and bounds in a variety of industries, and it has also changed the face of proactive security. Our proprietary AI platform, syncroAI, is continually learning and adapting to the incident data it has received over time. We leverage the power of that data to deter crime – when someone enters into camera view, AI will differentiate their movement from other movement and objects on-site. Once detected by AI, our Monitoring team intervene, and issue proactive deterrents to warn criminals off-site. Artificial intelligence improves detections and allows for faster and more effective crime deterrence, in service of public safety security.
Our Video Security Units are the ultimate city security cameras
By leveraging the power of our proprietary cellular LTE+ platform, our Video Security Units provide ample wireless protection on municipal properties. Two high-resolution stationary cameras establish perimeter protection and situational awareness while a dedicated PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) camera allows our team to zoom in on important details for evidence collection. Multiple units are installed to cover all angles and areas of the property, and all footage is captured in high resolution and sent back securely to our Remote Video Monitoring facility.
Live Remote Video Monitoring provides real-time crime deterrence
The mission of our highly trained Live Remote Video Monitoring staff is to deter crime before it happens. They use proactive deterrents to send that message home – bright, LED strobe lights are a visual cue that the site is off-limits, and our authoritative voice commands send the message to would-be criminals that they shouldn’t proceed any further. If they don’t desist in their actions, Police will be dispatched to the scene, when required.
IR Night Vision provides effective night security
Municipal properties are vulnerable to theft and vandalism after-hours when staff have gone home and there is less activity on the property. In addition, there are also may be areas that are not as well lit and can be exploited by criminals who thrive under the cover of darkness. Infrared night vision cameras bring criminals out of the dark and into the light – using infrared light to fill the camera view and shine a spotlight on their actions.
While they may try to hide in the dark, our Live Remote Video Monitoring team will see them as clear as day.
syncroDetect provides interior protection
There are multiple areas on municipal properties, both exterior and interior, that require protection. Our wireless intrusion alarm system, syncroDetect, is a cost effective way to offer additional protection for areas such as offices, inventory rooms, and vehicle depots. Wireless door and window contact sensors will activate if entrance/exits are breached and motion sensors will catch movement and alert our Monitoring team to their presence.
syncroReports is a full service security reporting portal
We believe in providing full transparency for our clients through our proprietary reporting platform – syncroReports. This is your hub for security reporting and project management, available on both web and mobile to be there when you need it. Through syncroReports, you can view detailed log reports, control PTZ camera movement, view live camera feeds, and never miss a moment of what is happening on-site. Through syncroReports, we provide a window into how we help provide effective public security.
Municipal properties will continue to feel the negative effects of trespassing, theft, and vandalism. Live Remote Video Monitoring is a robust and effective solution that can help to stem the tide of crime on municipal properties and help communities across Canada to flourish.
Resources:
- “Our Story”, Canadian Centre for Safer Communities
- “How bad is theft at West Nipissing landfills? Thieves stole the port-a-potty”, David Briggs, BayToday.ca, October 16, 2024
- “’Disheartening’ thefts from Summerland municipal garden beds on the rise this season”, Klaudia Van Emmerik, Global News, July 29, 2024
- “Three Grey Highlands municipal vehicles recovered after theft”, South Grey News, July 16, 2024