It is high time we prevented misuse of community sites

Shared amenities such as playing fields and parks form a critical part in the lives of modern communities. By remaining open for public use, such facilities provide much-needed open space for children and adults to lead a physically active life. However, these locations also run the risk of misuse and exposure to damage.

For instance, many such public locations witness fly-tipping, which involves large-scale accumulation of garbage and sometimes even unused furniture, which are typically dumped on the roadside.

Add to this the presence of anti-social elements in such locations, communities live in perennial fear even as the sites continue to suffer environmental damage. In 2021 alone, England & Wales's police forces received:

●      1,385,749 crime reports about anti-social behaviour.

●      462,730 crime reports about criminal damage and arson.

Illegal traveler encampments on transit sites across the UK present another major headache for local authorities. These factors combined with unruly, anti-social, and criminal behavior, have led to community sites becoming eyesores and unusable by the local communities. In fact, such poorly managed sites lead to disinterest from potential investors, resulting in lost economic opportunities for the local communities.

Any attempts to clear up such sites have thus far proven to be a total waste of money and time, as such efforts focus only on the symptoms and fail to address the root cause. As the habits of people remain unchanged, soon after such a clean-up operation, the sites go back to the sullied and polluted appearance.

HOW CAN WE BRING ABOUT A CHANGE? 

Local authorities have a critical role to play in bringing about a transformation in people’s mindsets. Authorities must have the ability to identify misdeeds in a timely manner and to penalise such actions swiftly. This is the only way that can make a visible change in attitude and behaviour among people while using public amenities. 

In this context, Cloudview’s CCTV Surveillance solution becomes an automatic choice for local authorities as it provides the following capabilities:

●      Receive alerts even as an event unfolds, which enables authorities to initiate an immediate response.

●      Only record actual events, avoiding the need to carry out 24/7 monitoring.

●      Identify events quickly, avoiding the need to search ‘empty’ footage.

●      Deploy cost-effective solutions using a 3G or 4G connection and minimal hardware.

●      Remote access from anywhere at any time to check events. Site visits are no longer needed to retrieve recorded footage.

●      Check the live status of the site and the health status of the cameras.

●      System health monitoring service to notify users when a camera is offline and not recording

●      Cloud storage means that even if the equipment is damaged or stolen, the footage is available to authorised personnel.

●      Meet stringent regulations norms as Cloudview provides military-grade security and supports GDPR compliance.

●      Provide time-stamped, legally admissible footage when required.