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Security and Safety

Augmenting public and private services of a wide variety, Security and Safety seeks to improve the quality of life in the region through creative services in the area of safety and personal and property security. This includes crime prevention, home and land protection services, education to affect local perceptions of crime and safety, assistance in law enforcement, assistance in search and rescue missions, reduction of trespass and vandalism, fire and safety inspection, select legal unity contacts, security and safety sections of comprehensive planning systems The Trevey, superior hunting and angling safety programs, training and publications in all of the above. It also works closely with the Fire Force and includes select laboratory analyses supportive of the above, as well as GIS applications (e.g., viewing zones and search-and-rescue probability, and clandestine missions.

The general work on the areas where there is intensive work is:

• Protecting the visitors and users from the "environment" (minimizing falls and trauma from broken limbs or falling trees or rocks; minimizing contacts with poisonous plants and animals, with disease vectors, bad water, poor sanitation, or large wild mammals)
• Protecting the environment from visitors and users (minimizing contamination of water, breaking or defacing equipment and structures, or disturbing or killing wild animals and plants or conditions necessary for them); and
• Protecting the visitors/users/staff from the other visitors and their pets (This includes minimizing major-crime events and minimizing riots or their consequences to property or people, and minimizing drug use, theft, auto and boat accidents, and shootings)

The work includes planning for each difficulty, making prior arrangements, doing preventative patrols, using plantings and structures to guide people and their behaviors where desired, using signs, and exhibiting a "presence"

This is an innovative group within the region, progressing along lines of available expertise, costs of services, and ability to expand to meet needs.

Objectives

It is a system with objectives such as the following:

• minimize lost-people events
• minimize stress of lost-people events minimize costs of lost-people. events
• maximize regional citizen perception of security within the region minimize house and structural fires
• minimize estimated monetary losses from house and structural fires minimize burn victims
• minimize estimated occurrence of high-valued game and fish law violations minimize vandalism events
• minimize estimated monetary costs of recovery from vandalism events maximize citizen knowledge of natural-resource-related law
• minimizing perceived risks of back-country attacks

Computer systems will be used in innovative ways. These include 01.8 risk-level maps, client location maps, ownership, flight patterns (aircraft search), wildlife zones and search access, potential violation zones, and (with the Fire Force) fire control access times.

Computer analysis services will be offered to county, region and other agencies. Software for field computers will be developed. (A preliminary, comprehensive list is available. Staff works with citizen advisory work will complete the list.)

A section in The Trevey will be developed and dynamically improved.

A database on certain people and areas will be maintained.

Research protocols will be developed relating to input systems for enforcement and security groups

Visits and inspections made for clients will be held in one database.

Procedures/Processes

Little money is made from "education" but Security and Safety practice involves it in unusual ways, often as a PR cost of business. The strategies include:

• Automotive repair and maintenance schools to reduce fear and down time while in the "backcountry"
• Prevention
• Positive feedback to citizens ("we're better than last year")
• Knowledge of the law (inadvertent violations)
• Protection (locks, lights, etc.)
• Deterrence (visible presence, signs, rumors, reported arrests)
• Group action (community watches)
• Coordination and leadership (as in fire fighting and search crews)
• Apprehension, arrest, and court presentation
• Reconstruction
  • physical (as from vandalism)
  • personal (service time by convicted violators through work with the courts)
• Research
• Adaptive change

We operate on the basis of several theories of crime causation (Giles, 1989). The first is that some people are in deep poverty and have real needs and will eventually steal to get them. We develop (with others) select programs to assist (e.g., supply deer meat).

Other people (another causative mechanism at work) seek excitement. We develop activities for them (escape/evasion outdoor challenge courses; Poachers Anonymous; etc.) (see
NovoSports)

Others do not know the law. We educate in selective ways.

Protection is developed for cabins, farms, forest lands in area- and owner-specific ways. These include locks, window barriers, lights, signs, etc. Inspection visits are used. (Automatic alarm systems signaling a remote dispatcher are not contemplated as part of the service at this time.)

Boundary marking, education, and inspection (with apprehensions) are likely to keep timber trespass in check.

A strategy to reduce vandalism is available and included within The Trevey

A superior regional "hot-shot" fire fighting crew (Fire Force) will be developed. It may serve other regions. It may relate well to the excitement needed by some potential violators.

Hunter safety will be emphasized with public announcements, e.g., "x-thousand hunter-hours without an accident."

Hunter safety drama groups will be encouraged for entertainment, as well as for education.

Hunter distribution may be use to increase safety.

Enforcement within The Deer Group and The Fishery will support The Pest Force.

A quality set of publications will be produced.

Training will be needed.

Dogs will be used in tracking, education, and demonstrations (see Good Dog).

Insurance group support will be sought for the safe hunter or angler (trained and with rates decreasing with safe behavior).

With hunters declining, emphasis is on outdoor user, hikers, etc. and desired behavior (that without costs to landowners).

Tables 1 and 2 present a list of related issues and opportunities.

Feedback

We need personal rewards. These will be studied. Annual reports to customers..." x-days without disruption" may suffice. Citizens need to know about improvements made. "Thermometer" on the green at each area of the Lasting Forests or other properties may help express progress.

We have to clarify objectives. For example, not working for "arrests" but "arrests for high-valued crime" is the direction, then we may include costs and effort of achieving each objective related to prevention.

Stability in the program will be difficult. There is little research; much is service- and PR-related; much is innovative. Awareness of the need will assist in reducing costs and gaining clients.

Feedforward

The region is changing. Baseline data are needed so we do not look like we are "causing" problems since our measures may get worse, not due to us, but due to changing socioeconomic factors. We need to express changes made within many sub-groups since the number in the sub-group may change faster than the factors we are trying to change. We need to issue news releases on our views of the future, sponsor university essays, etc.

1. Computer-based foot, horse, and mobile patrols
2. Computer monitoring of teen-ager-driven vehicles to promote safe driving and reduce local accident rates and deaths (Contact: Automobile Club of New York, Robert Sinclair, Jr., Manager of public information, Office: 516/873-2258 , E-mail: rsinclair@aaany.com); partial relations to 4 x 4 Group
3. Boat safety and anti-violation education with tours
4. Protective signs
5. Land boundary marking (re trespass)
6. Property survey and scoring with suggestions for improved safety
7. Free entrance to annual crime-stopper fair (See Table 2)
8. Patrols with dogs by uniformed staff
9. Wildlife law enforcement leadership
10. Sponsor an 800-phone line; Develop an extra contact when in need - a hot-line
11. Strategic staff-efforts to reduce crime and fear of crime in the region
12. Law education
13. Access to low-cost security and safety equipment and its installation
14. Security system sales and management (group purchases)
15. Lighting services
16. Random patrols
17. Speakers group
18. Sponsored research
19. Court officers included in tours
20. Annual regional crime report
21. Neighborhood crime-watch organizations
22. Fire prevention checks and scoring
23. Intensive newspaper work
24. Fire Force rapid response unit
25. Work with private detectives
26. Insurance benefits - premium based on attending a safety school and record
27. Insurance photo and records (bonded)
28. Mysterious/clandestine action and show of force
29. Distribute "obey the rules " cards
30. Youth program work (including wards of the courts and the Rollers)
31. Distribute safety "card game "
32. Make maps of problem occurrences
33. Cooperative work with other agencies,including bringing research results to the region
34. Study distributions, and develop predictive models
35. Back-of-truck demonstrations
36. Literature searches
37. Sponsor rewards
38. Self-defense education
39. Safety clothing design and sale
40. Make restaurant and meat locker checks for illegal products and have a "certified legal" sign
41. Handgun safety and education includingsupervised firing range work
42. Hunting safety and education
43. Work with taxidermists to reduce work with illegal animals
44. Affiliate with Stables Group

• food
• dogs
• guns
• hand-to hand combat demo
• equipment
• contests: (1) who can find most security violations; (2) who can find most fire violations
• books
• dog attack
• trespass signs
• night goggles
• game law enforcement booth and trail to teach the law
• "problem" drop box
• "leads" drop box
• computer demo
• fire fighting
• squirt-can contest
• safety skits
• other Lasting Forests services

Development costs....................$200,000

Estimated annual profits (5th year)...$100,000

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This Web site is maintained by R. H. Giles, Jr.
Last revision January 2, 2001.