Keeping crime out of the parks has been a struggle for many communities. Crimes in the parks consists of graffiti, vandalism, drugs, illegal dumping, and gang violence. When crime in the park occurs, the attendees begin to draw away feeling the park is no longer safe. When violence and unruliness take over, the crime spreads to the neighborhood and continues to grow.
An unsafe park creates an unsafe community for families and businesses. Unfortunately, unsafe neighborhoods statistically cause lower property values, which causes even more harm to the community. Everybody knows how beneficial a safe park, easy to access and enjoy, is to the community.
In order to keep crime out of the park, the community must come together and fight off the crime that plagues the park. Back in the 80’s, “Take Back the Park” began. A solution to take back the control of the recreational space by providing youth leadership and activities that include crime prevention training. The impact of the program was encouraging. 15 parks participated where summer programs bloomed.
This is still important today. Tragically, Clairemont Community experienced a park shooting around noon while kids were playing. The community then hosted a Take Back the Park Event to bring change to the neighborhood. It needs to be noted that taking back a park is not easy and does not happen overnight. To see a change the program must continue, and the community must be involved.
Perpetrators visually need to see the community cares for the park. Here is a checklist at a minimum that must be implemented to change the atmosphere of the park from neglected to loved.
- Remove Graffiti
- Repair Vandalized Equipment and Structures
- Install Park Crime Deterrent Systems
- Increase the Lighting
- Provide Activities for the Whole Community
- Increase the Presence of Site Managers and Police
Remove all signs of neglect like graffiti and vandalism immediately, as this attracts more serious crimes. Make sure the activities are enticing to the whole community, because the presence of people discourages most possible crimes. Make sure your parks department is equipped with the right tools to fight park crime. Traditional cameras do not deter crime; therefore, Park Crime Deterrent Systems are needed.
Take back your park and keep the crime out!
Protecting our Water- Preventing Illegal Dumping
/in Blog /by AdminWithout water all living things will die, therefore it is imperative that we prevent illegal dumping from entering the water systems.
Illegal dumping is a worldwide problem, from small country towns to large metropolises. If left unchecked the trash piles enter the water sources, which contaminates the very water people and animals rely on. According to the EPA, Trash can travel throughout the world’s rivers and oceans, accumulating on beaches and within gyres. This debris harms physical habitats, transports chemical pollutants, threatens aquatic life, and interferes with human uses of river, marine and coastal environments.
To prevent illegal dumping, municipalities need to implement a successful Illegal Dumping Program. To make an Illegal Dumping Program meet the standards of prevention, the program must show that the activity is decreasing.
The question communities should be asking is, “What causes dumpers to decide not to leave their trash.”
The Illegal Dumping Program should have multiple departments working together to create the program, because it involves legislation, enforcement, education, clean-up effort, and the ability to purchase Illegal Dumping Prevention Systems, that are specifically designed to prevent the act and secure high-resolution images that can identify faces, tattoos, items dumped, and license plates in complete darkness.
Most dumping occurs in remote areas, making it necessary to have systems that can provide details needed without electricity or internet connection. This is not just about cleaning up and hoping the trash doesn’t come back – this is about stopping the crime.
Prevent Illegal dumping in your community and protect the water sources.
City of Mission using high-tech cameras to stop illegal dumping
/in In The News /by AdminThe city of Mission have installed new motion-sensor cameras to stop illegal dumping.
The city is seeing an increase of illegal dumping in canals, a problem that can potentially create a life-threatening issue this hurricane season.
Code Enforcement Supervisor Irasema Dimas said the city bought seven motion-sensor cameras to put up around illegal dumping hot spots.
The city was able to compile a list of about 40 problem areas where people have been dumping their unwanted items. While illegal dumping can happen anywhere, the city says most of it happens in the canals and irrigation banks.
“We’re trying to deter them from doing that because if that’s on the banks, once we get hurricane season, or we get hit with another storm, all of that is going to go into the canal,” Dimas said.
Illegal dumping can also create health concerns since people dump trash, tires and even dead animals.
As for the new cameras, if they’re activated, a message will be broadcast letting the person know they’re being watched. The camera will also take a picture of the area.
If a person is caught illegally dumping, they could be fined up to $4,000.
Keeping Crime Out of the Parks
/in Blog /by AdminKeeping crime out of the parks has been a struggle for many communities. Crimes in the parks consists of graffiti, vandalism, drugs, illegal dumping, and gang violence. When crime in the park occurs, the attendees begin to draw away feeling the park is no longer safe. When violence and unruliness take over, the crime spreads to the neighborhood and continues to grow.
An unsafe park creates an unsafe community for families and businesses. Unfortunately, unsafe neighborhoods statistically cause lower property values, which causes even more harm to the community. Everybody knows how beneficial a safe park, easy to access and enjoy, is to the community.
In order to keep crime out of the park, the community must come together and fight off the crime that plagues the park. Back in the 80’s, “Take Back the Park” began. A solution to take back the control of the recreational space by providing youth leadership and activities that include crime prevention training. The impact of the program was encouraging. 15 parks participated where summer programs bloomed.
This is still important today. Tragically, Clairemont Community experienced a park shooting around noon while kids were playing. The community then hosted a Take Back the Park Event to bring change to the neighborhood. It needs to be noted that taking back a park is not easy and does not happen overnight. To see a change the program must continue, and the community must be involved.
Perpetrators visually need to see the community cares for the park. Here is a checklist at a minimum that must be implemented to change the atmosphere of the park from neglected to loved.
Remove all signs of neglect like graffiti and vandalism immediately, as this attracts more serious crimes. Make sure the activities are enticing to the whole community, because the presence of people discourages most possible crimes. Make sure your parks department is equipped with the right tools to fight park crime. Traditional cameras do not deter crime; therefore, Park Crime Deterrent Systems are needed.
Take back your park and keep the crime out!
Illegal Dumping Solutions for Municipalities
/in Blog /by AdminIllegal dumping is out of hand and has become a major priority for municipalities looking for solutions. Municipalities are under extreme scrutiny to clean up unlawfully dumped sites immediately and to prevent them from happening throughout the community. This daunting duty is never ending and very costly. In order to stop this the harmful behavior, an Illegal Dumping Enforcement Program must be implemented with the sole duty to handle illegal dumping.
An Illegal Dumping Enforcement Program needs to have the cooperation of many departments and have the resources to be successful. Because most unlawful dumping sites are remote, the problems municipalities face are unique. In addition to the complaints from citizens, the cities need to be accountable to any disease that the community is susceptible to because of trash piles that harbor disease carrying rodents and insects that spread to humans.
If your city, is not able to collect evidence to convict in court, the perpetrators will continue the harmful activity of throwing their unwanted items into an unlawful heap they know of or create a new spot to dispose of their broken appliances, trashy furniture, or construction debris. There are many video surveillance systems out there to tempt procurement, but do they actually help?
Many cameras in use are easily destroyed or stolen. Others promise license plates but cannot capture images of evidence to convict. Most systems require internet wiring or electricity, which is not practicable when the sites are remote and move around. Still others have batteries that need to be changed weekly or monthly. Most importantly, the images captured do not meet the needs of a court case and are not permitted in use during prosecution. In order to convict and generate revenue from collecting fees, the images and evidence must be beyond reproach, high resolution, and taper proof.
An Illegal Dumping Enforcement System must have the following:
The solution to stop municipal illegal dumping is a successful Illegal Dumping Enforcement Program that is equipped with the right tools.