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Park Vandalism Affects our Community

Park Vandalism Affects our Community

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Our community’s public parks were built in order to bring recreation and joy to all who patronize them. Why certain individuals decide to vandalize these wonderful places, we may never fully know. Whether it’s to blow off steam or mindless boredom, the fact remains that our parks are easily accessible to the public, and as such, will continue to be a likely target for would-be vandals. What these vandals obviously do not take into consideration, however, is the toll the consequences of their actions have on the community that enjoys visiting these beautiful places.

In addition to the physical dangers vandalism incurs at our parks, the emotional distress that park patrons suffer upon learning they are victims of this heinous crime is also of serious concern. “The impact of vandalism, as well as other related crime, on victims results in emotional, psychological, physical, financial, social, and spiritual consequences” (National Institute of Mental Health, 2006). Children who frequent parks are inspired to develop their creative imagination and social bonds when they are engaged in what’s known as “free play”. In the event of park closure due to an act of vandalism, children are deprived of this emotional development which can lead to complications such as depression and anxiety in social situations. A child may not fully comprehend how or why someone has vandalized their play area, leading to acting out anger episodes and fits.

When a Virginia Beach park’s playground equipment was vandalized with derogatory sayings in January of 2015, children who had regularly enjoyed the park were visibly upset by the act. Izabella Garcia told ABC news, “It makes me feel uncomfortable to be on the swings and look at what they wrote. It just makes me feel like I shouldn’t be there.” Izabella mentioned that it makes her not want to play there anymore, which shows firsthand the distress vandalism causes to children.

Parks that suffer from recurrent vandalism may be perceived by community members that neighborhood crime is on the rise, causing fear, mistrust, and anxiety towards other residents. This type of personal isolation leaves a community more susceptible and vulnerable to further crime and acts of violence. Forcing the neighborhood in which one lives down a dark road of crime and urban decay. 

It is important the parks departments deter these nuisance crimes to prevent the emotional distress these crimes cause the community.

Stopping Vandalism with Behavior Modification

Stopping Vandalism with Behavior Modification

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The term vandalism is defined as “the deliberate or mischievous destruction or damage of property”. Acts of vandalism can occur on both private and public property, and at locations where there is little risk of the perpetrator being caught. Vandalism can occur at any time of the day, but is commonly committed at night, when there is less civilian oversight, and thus, less likelihood the suspect will be seen and caught.

These ideal situations for perpetrators of vandalism to commit the crime can be analyzed from a prevention point-of-view, leading to a means of behavior modification appropriate for deterring the act. While an act of vandalism is often seen as a senseless crime, it is obvious that any type of behavior does not occur without motivation.

Schools, who have implemented behavior-modifying programs which include positive environment reinforcement, as well as minimalizing occasions of student disruption, have shown a 78 per cent reduction in instances of vandalism. The interruption of an individual about to commit an act of vandalism, via this type of behavior modification, serves as an excellent method of crime prevention.

The vandalism camera works as a preventative measure against occurrences of the crime by way of behavior modification. The on-board technology of this type of camera sends out a verbal alert when triggered and serves as a behavioral intervention, causing the perpetrator to pause and reflect as to why they are committing the crime.

The placement and use of the anti-vandalism camera prevents instances of vandalism from occurring due to the nature of the camera. Because would-be vandals do not want to attempt the crime when the risk of being captured on camera is high, augmenting their behavior, the vandal simply moves on. 

Keeping Parks Safe from Vandalism

Keeping Parks Safe from Vandalism

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Childhood obesity is an issue many parents are currently facing in the United States. The answers many parents are considering include a multitude of after-school programs geared toward helping children stay fit and active. Sports, such as baseball or soccer, often take place in local community parks and/or recreation centers. Because the park hosts many different exercise programs, a vandalized park can easily leave children, as well as parents, with the feeling that their environment is unsafe.

Instances of graffiti vandalism at a community park can often incite further gang-related crime, and more recurrences of graffiti, if not quickly abated. The appearance of this type of negative, criminal element can easily scare a child and parent alike, naturally leaving parents with the notion that the park environment is unsafe for their child’s activity to take place.

The unsafe environment that a vandalized park alludes to leaves children with the inability to enjoy their recreation or activity of choice, causing a void that physical activity would normally displace. This type of inactivity only furthers the problem of childhood obesity and can easily lead to depression or other psychological malaise after a child’s beloved neighborhood park has been closed due to vandalism. Many parents are also circumspect about having their children play in the unsafe environment of a recently vandalized park.

Because safe parks are an integral component to helping curb childhood obesity, it is important to do our best to manage a means of prevention, keeping our parks free from things like graffiti and vandalism; allowing children to dutifully engage in safe and active recreation.  The National Recreation and Park Association, (NRPA) lists out guidelines on evaluating the park’s safety and the implementation of factors to create a safe park.  Some crucial conditions were, good maintenance, good lighting, enforced rules, and surveillance. 

What is your Parks Department doing to keep your park safe from Vandalism?

Prevent Vandalism at Water Treatment Centers

Prevent Vandalism at Water Treatment Centers

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The United States supplies its citizens with some of the safest drinking water in the world. Though many of us take this necessity for granted, many countries throughout the world do not have access to safe, uncontaminated drinking water. Much of the U.S. safe water supply is due to the implementation and operation of its water treatment centers.

Sources for drinking water are often subject to contamination by disease-causing microbes. These waterborne microbes, such as E. coli and Cryptosporidium, have the ability to cause debilitating sickness and disease. U.S. water treatment centers use a variety of different methods of water treatment processes to remove these types of dangerous pathogens in order to provide communities with safe drinking water.

Water treatment centers are starting to become a target for many would-be vandals who may be looking for a new swimming hole or to damage expensive equipment. Although vandalism is commonplace virtually everywhere, it exists as a very serious, potentially disastrous threat to a community’s water supply. Vandalized water treatment centers can easily lead to water contamination by means of damaged treatment hardware, rendering the purification process incomplete, thereby exposing the public to potential health threats.

Metal thieves, who often steal copper wire and other copper-containing equipment for profit, have been known to target remote utility centers searching for scrap materials. In addition to contaminating water supplies, the damage sustained by these thieves can end up costing millions of dollars in repairs.

Trying to prevent acts of vandalism at water treatment centers is difficult due to their often isolated placement. Water storage tanks are also maintained on rural hillsides in order to supply water pressure to the communities below. With little civilian oversight to deter vandals from trespassing and potentially damaging expensive equipment, there is little chance the suspect would be caught. Vandalism Cameras are necessary to protect the community’s source of drinking water.