In this current age, safety concerns in public, exposed, urban spaces are vastly complex.
Modern technology, pandemic-fueled cultural shifts, and challenges that have hit local police departments have all contributed to a new physical security reality for the world’s cities.
In a recent piece for Security Magazine, Phil Malencsik, strategic account executive at Genetic, Inc., writes that an integrative, collaborative approach between public and private entities is needed to bolster physical security in 21st century urban spaces. What worked just 10 years ago no longer makes sense for 2024.
One of the major reorientations in public spaces rests in shifts in law enforcement at large. He explains that while community safety is top of mind for everyone, police departments face a range of challenges from budget cutbacks to staff shortages.
This has left something of a physical security and public safety vacuum. To fill this gap, Malencsik states that traditional law enforcement needs to foster community-driven partnerships.
Improvements in information gathering
“To make a smart city a safe city, law enforcement teams can incorporate information gathered from physical security systems from both the private and public sectors,” he writes. “Such solutions not only achieve security goals but also improve emergency preparedness, increase situational awareness and enhance operational efficiency.”
He points to a community camera registry program as one example. This type of program would “streamline police access to video evidence” by way of privately operated security cameras.
“Without a camera registry, officers must look for possible sources of video evidence, track down the owners, request access to the footage, and download the data. They then transfer it to another computer before beginning to view and analyze the contents. Each step takes time and is vulnerable to disruption or delay. The threat of data loss or tampering is also a concern,” he explains.
The power of security camera registries
Malencsik views these registries as a method for making citizens feel safer in general. He says the public will feel “empowered to contribute to proactive problem solving” through collaboration with police departments.
This level of partnership could also benefit small business owners, who could boost their own security capabilities, taking advantage of increased remote monitoring.
“Community policing initiatives like these also strengthen relations with stakeholders and are a practical way to improve services without expanding security budgets. For police departments, increasing situational awareness improves officer safety. Investigation cycles are shorter, and the ability to access and analyze data from more sources makes it possible to gain new insights and allocate resources more efficiently,” Malencsik concludes.
Essentially, to address the wide range of threats that impact our public safety on a daily basis, law enforcement and the public at large have to work together to make cities safer and more secure. Creative solutions will make the difference between communities that are left on edge by crime, and those where businesses and pedestrians feel safe.