Economy playing role in workplace security www.privateofficer.com

Economy playing role in workplace security http://www.privateofficer.com

Atlanta GA. OCT 29 2008

BY: Rick McCann
NTL. ASSOC. PRIVATE OFFICERS
www.privateofficer.com
At 4:20 on a Monday afternoon Randy checks in with the gate sergeant of a large gated community just outside of Orlando Florida.

The plush green grass, 18 hole golf course, million dollar homes and miles of private roads make it hard to patrol on foot or bike, so the security department use to patrol in a 2006 Crown Victoria with light bar, spotlights and a very nice stereo system. But that was before the economy and gas crises and before money was an issue for the management of this wealthy community.
Now, Randy makes a walk around his new patrol vehicle, and makes sure that the golf cart is charged and ready to go.

The patrol car that he had enjoyed driving for the past year sits at the gatehouse and is now only used for medical emergencies or other priority calls, off property mail or errand runs and the occasional trip to pick someone up or drop them off at the airport.
It gets us around Randy says but it’s not very fast or official looking and it hesitates a little going up and down some of our off road areas but it’s cheap and that’s what the bosses are looking at right now.
When Chris Turner turns onto Broadway Street in downtown Nashville Tennessee at around 6 a.m., he can’t help but feel a bit proud. Aside from the occasional office light flipped on by someone who has come in even earlier, his employer’s at Draper Centennial Tower is dark. Only the LifeWay Publishing Company sign atop the building glows as a beacon in the night.
“That time of the morning you can kind of see who’s interested in trying to save power and money,” said Turner, who works for LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
But the Draper building isn’t the only one that’s gone dark in Nashville in an attempt to save costs and energy and some in the security and law enforcement community is concerned. Officer Robert Franklin said with the darkness comes the increases of burglaries and other safety concerns.
High rise office buildings, shopping centers, and office complexes have cut back lighting or set their timers to shut off all exterior lighting earlier in the evening when no employee or other authorized person should be on the property.

While it may save them money on their utility bill Franklin said, it’s probably going to cost them in the long run as they see an increase in thefts, vandalism, and break-ins.
Jimmy Johnson patrols a number of these sprawling office and business complexes in metro Atlanta and he has seen the same thing. Exterior lights being cut off and dim lit exteriors that cause him great concern for his personal safety and the safety of others. People do work at some of these places late or come in very early in the morning before the sun is up and now with the properties being as dark as they are it makes these workers an easy target for people to rob them. Just as he was saying that, two men walked out from between two buildings almost undetected. They were office workers who had stayed late but they could have been muggers and we barely saw their darken figures.
Securitas Security, one of the largest security companies in the world is contracted to provide a mobile patrol of the Windsor Square shopping center covering several city blocks of Independence Blvd. in southeast Charlotte. The security officers use a small compact patrol car with the Securitas logo which helps to defray the costs of fuel but now instead of constant patrol, they have been told to sit for fifteen minutes each hour with their engines off and monitor store parking areas.
Many law enforcement agencies are feeling the economic hit also and have scaled back services, patrol areas, and even laid off personnel.

In Sacramento California this week, a huge cut in police services and staffing was announced and a loud outcry from the community was heard.
Police say that they will still provide quality services but that response times will be slower and some services such as responding to minor calls of vandalism, private property accidents, and dogs barking will be eliminated.

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