Public housing security is an increasing concern for big city tenants and management. Many low-income housing apartments and multifamily homes have inadequate security. As a result, property value decreases and residents do not feel safe.
According to the New York Daily News, there has been a 31% increase of major crimes at public housing properties. This is a significant increase compared to the overall crime rate which only increased by 3.3%. One public housing police report said that low-income housing properties have been ideal locations to commit crimes. Public housing apartment communities are usually not monitored and have limited exposure to the outside world. The police report talked about crimes known as the ‘seven majors’ which include murders, rapes, assaults, burglaries, robberies, and grand larcenies/car thefts.
There are almost 3,000 low income housing locations in New York City alone. 20% of New York City’s violent crimes occurs at low income housing. Less than half of these buildings have public housing security cameras.
Approximately 400,000 residents rely on New York government housing properties. Many residents have lived through constant fear to avoid becoming another victim. Much of the crime at low-income housing properties was committed by ‘crews’. The deputy chief of the Housing Bureau said that a lot of the criminal activity was not about crime itself but about turf. Residents wanted a more reliable public housing security solution because of the violence.
Inadequate public housing security is not only a problem in New York. It can be found in major big cities across North America. In Pittsburgh, a male was fatally shot at a public housing location. The victim was actually banned from the residential property. Despite this fact, the victim still lived there. The shooting happened right after local authorities and property managers did not obey public housing security coverage warnings.
This residential property hired a third party guard service to help with their public housing security. The security guard service was about $30 per hour. According to the local news, the public housing properties requested almost 800 hours per week by armed guards from the third party service. The security guard service did not have the capacity to meet this residential property’s needs.
Neither of these residential properties are Stealth clients.
ECAM is the leader in remote video surveillance in Canada and the U.S, with over 400 employees, 11 offices, and 3 live video monitoring control centers. ECAM’s proactive video monitoring watches over 17,000 IP and CCTV security cameras. Our security solutions feature advanced technology and can detect and deter crime while reducing security guard and other expenses. Our remote monitoring service can reduce or even replace security guards at a fraction of the cost. A remote surveillance operator can see suspicious activity, activate a speaker warning, and call the local police.
Please call toll-free (855) STEALTH or contact us today for more information to protect your outdoor assets. Visit the Stealth website to see real arrest videos at construction sites, multifamily apartments, shopping centers, office buildings, warehouses, auto dealerships, and other commercial real estate properties.
