TP_white Paper Combined v5

8/8/2019 TP_white Paper Combined v5

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MEASURING THE PERCEIVED EFFECTS AND BEST PRACTICES

OF MOBILE OPEN AREA SURVEILLANCE TOWERSRobert Blackwood and Read HaysLoss Prevention Research Council


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INTRODUCTION

Parking areas, parks, and other outdoor venues support

local quality of life by enabling public access for gather-

ings, shopping, sightseeing and other legitimate activities.

Local governments, businesses and groups seek to encour-

age legitimate open area use by keeping them safe.

But the perceived fear of crime in open areas including car

theft and burglary, assault, crowd insurrection, rape, and

robbery presents an ongoing and serious security chal-

lenge for governments and businesses.

Law enforcement and private security aim to make open

areas safer by limiting criminal opportunities through

access and weapons control, by increasing potential of-

fenders fear of arrest with obvious surveillance, and by

decreasing offender motives by removing valuable targets

and reducing stress.

Convincing potential criminals through surveillance pro-

grams their crime attempts will be quickly detected and

result in swift and severe punishment is critical to protect-

ing open spaces. Surveillance towers provide obvious 360

degree surveillance of open spaces to support the crime

reduction mission.


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BACKGROUND

The ICx Tactical Platforms SkyWatch system is designed

to deter criminals, make legitimate open space users feel

safer, and provide security, operations and law enforce-

ment people with real-time decision-making data. This

research paper provides feedback on the SkyWatch tower

system from actual law enforcement and security users.

System users were asked to assess the impact of the sys-

tems use on offenders, place visitors and where possible,

on crime event levels.

The SkyWatch system provides a vantage point for surveil-

lance that can be used for monitoring in a variety of venues

including parking lots, crowds at special events, prisons

and on national or other borders. The SkyWatch system

highly mobile and can include day and night cameras, ra-

dios, PA systems and other equipment to increase its utili-

ty and effectiveness. While SkyWatch can be used in many

different locations, this research focused on the security of

parking lots for retail stores, malls and shopping centers.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The SkyWatch system is designed to reduce crime by dis-couraging potential offenders from deciding to use Sky-

Watch-protected parking lots as a location of opportunity

for theft, assaults or other crimes. The SkyWatch system

may also improve parking lot visitors and employee users

83% of respondents indicated the

SkyWatch system was somewhat

effective or effective at reducing

armed robberies.

SkyWatch at 2007 Mardi Gras


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perception of safety. This studys questions were designedto help gauge the impact of the SkyWatch system on actual

and perceived crime and risk reduction.

RESEARCH METHOD

The Loss Prevention Research Council research team con-

tacted and interviewed twelve (12) SkyWatch users from a

contact list of 23 organizations for a response rate of 52%.Of the twelve (12) responding users, eight (8) were police

law enforcement, three (3) were transit law enforcement,

and one (1) was college law enforcement. The team ana-

lyzed user comments to help determine system impact.

RESEARCH FINDING HIGHLIGHTS

MEASURING SUCCESS

A modest majority of respondents relied on changes in

crime statistics to measure system success with 58% in-

dicating they looked for changes when deploying the

SkyWatch system. The remaining 42% primarily relied

on comments (input) from citizens and business owners

(n=12).

SYSTEM EFFECTIVENESS

A series of questions were probed to determine SkyWatch

system effectiveness.

Effectiveness Type

Proactive - 100% of respondents indicated the Sky-

Watch system was either effective or very effective as a

proactive tool to deter crime (n=12).

100% of respondents indicated theSkyWatch system was effective as a

proactive tool to deter crime.

SkyWatch in use along the southern border


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How effective is your SkyWatch system as aproactive (deterring crime) tool?

Responsive - 54% of respondents indicated the Sky-

Watch system was somewhat effective or very effective

as a responsive tool to detect and apprehend, 9% were

neutral, and 37% indicated it was somewhat ineffec-

tive or ineffective (n=11).

How effective is your SkyWatch system as a

responsive (detect and apprehend) tool?

Total

Effective

Very effective

Organization Type Total

Police Transit Misc Police

5

3

8

2

1

3

0

1

1

7

5

12

Total

Ineffective

Somewhat ineffective

Neutral

Somewhat effective

Very effective

No response



2

1

1

3

1

0

8

0

1

0

1

0

1

3

0

0

0

1

0

0

1

2

2

1

5

1

1

12


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SPECIFIC CRIMESArmed robbery 83% of respondents indicated the

SkyWatch system was somewhat effective or effective

at reducing armed robberies while 17% indicated it

was somewhat ineffective (n=6).

Assaults and battery 78% of respondents indi-

cated the SkyWatch system was somewhat effective

or effective at suppressing assaults and batteries while

22% indicated it was somewhat ineffective or ineffec-

tive (n=9).

Sexual attacks 86% of respondents indicated the


at suppressing sexual attacks while 14% indicated it

was somewhat ineffective (n=7).

Murder 80% of respondents indicated the Sky-

Watch system was somewhat effective or effective at

suppressing murder while 20% indicated it was some-

what ineffective (n=5).Auto thefts and burglaries 100% of respondents

indicated the SkyWatch system was somewhat effec-

tive, effective or very effective at suppressing auto

thefts and burglaries (n=11).

Carjackings 91% of respondents indicated the


at suppressing carjackings while 9% indicated it was

somewhat ineffective (n=11).

Violence and unrest - 64% of respondents indi-

cated the SkyWatch system was somewhat effective,

effective or very effective at suppressing violence and

unrest, while 27% were neutral 9% indicated it was in-

effective (n=11).

100% of respondents indicated the

SkyWatch system was effective at

suppressing auto thefts and burglaries.

SkyWatch is shown to reduce the incidence of car theft and burglary


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Compared to Other Crime Reduction Tools 100% of re-

spondents indicated that the SkyWatch system was some-

what effective, effective or very effective at suppressing

crime (n=12).

Special law enforcement patrols 92% of respondents

indicated special law enforcement patrols were some-

what effective, effective or very effective at suppress-

ing crime while 8% were neutral (n=12).

Uniformed private security 42% of respondents in-

dicated uniformed private security were somewhat

effective or effective at suppressing crime while 25%

were neutral and 33% were somewhat ineffective, in-

effective or very ineffective (n=12).

Visible CCTV cameras 42% of respondents indicated

visible CCTV cameras were somewhat effective, effec-

tive or very effective at suppressing crime while 33%

were neutral and 25% were somewhat ineffective orvery ineffective (n=12).

High intensity lighting 67% of respondents indicat-

ed high intensity was somewhat effective or effective

at suppressing crime while 17% were neutral and 17%

were somewhat ineffective or very ineffective (n=12).

91% of respondents indicated

the SkyWatch system was

somewhat effective or effective

at suppressing carjackings.

SkyWatch in use at the Maricopa County tent city


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Public Perception Compared to Other Crime Reduction

Tools 92% of respondents indicated the publics percep-

tion was that the SkyWatch system was somewhat effec-

tive, effective or very effective at suppressing crime and

8% were neutral (n=12).

Special law enforcement patrols 92% of respondents

indicated that the publics perception was that special

law enforcement patrols were somewhat effective, ef-

fective or very effective at suppressing crime while 8%

were neutral (n=12).

Uniformed private security 50% of respondents indi-

cated that the publics perception was that uniformed

private security were somewhat effective or effective

at suppressing crime while 25% were neutral and 25%

were somewhat ineffective, ineffective or very ineffec-

tive (n=12).

Visible CCTV cameras 83% of respondents indicat-ed that the publics perception was that visible CCTV

cameras were somewhat effective, effective or very ef-

fective at suppressing crime while 17% were neutral

(n=12).

High intensity lighting 58% of respondents indicat-

ed that the publics perception was that high intensity

was somewhat effective or effective at suppressing

crime while 42% were neutral (n=12).

Effectiveness Timing 75 % of respondents indicated that

the positive effect of the SkyWatch system was realized

immediately, while 17% indicated after one week and 8%

after one month

100% of respondents indicated that

the SkyWatch system was somewhat

effective, effective or very effective

at suppressing crime.


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SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS

Local governments, businesses and civic groups seek to

encourage legitimate park, shopping, and parking use by

keeping public venues safe. However fear of crime creates

avoidance behavior resulting in lower venue usage and tax

revenues.

This study looked at the effectiveness of SkyWatch as an

emerging law enforcement and private security tool de-

signed to limit criminal opportunities, while increasing

potential offenders fear of arrest with obvious surveil-

lance. Active SkyWatch users were interviewed across the

US to gain their perspectives on system effectiveness, de-

ployment tactics, and possible improvements.

The law enforcement and private SkyWatch users inter-

viewed revealed the system has proven effective in deter-

ring crime attempts, while providing citizens with greater

peace of mind.

All survey participants perceived the SkyWatch system to

be an effective proactive tool to deter crime. And most felt

the same way regarding its effectiveness as a reactive tool.

Asasolution tospecic crimes,a largemajorityof par-

ticipants believed the SkyWatch system to be a solution

to reducing those crimes. Inclusive are armed robberies,

assaults/battery, sexual attacks, murders, auto thefts/bur-

glaries, carjackings and violence/unrest.

75 % of respondents indicated thatthe positive effect of the SkyWatch

system was realized immediately.


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Additionally, all participants believed the SkyWatch sys-tem to be more effective than other traditional crime re-

duction tools such as special law enforcement patrols, uni-

formed private security, visible CCTV cameras and high

intensity lighting.

These positive crime reduction perspectives were also

equaled with respect to how participants feel the public

perceives the SkyWatch system.

LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE

RESEARCH

This research provided valuable insight into the use and

effects of surveillance towers, but further eld research

would provide empirical validation of the towers crime

reduction and peace of mind impact. Field research would

alsoprovidecriticaldataonreningtowerbestpractices

in different environments.

54% of respondents indicatedthe SkyWatch system was

effective as a responsive tool

to detect and apprehend.


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WHITE PAPER

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RESEARCH FINDINGS DETAIL

In addition to the above research highlights, information was collected from participants to better understand by

whom, how and when the SkyWatch system is used, as well as how it is funded and other service related details. Fol-

lowing are the results:

Organization Type by Organization State

Participant Title

Reduction of actual crime incidents

Police

Transit

Misc

Total

5

1

0

6

2

0

0

1

0

1

0

2

0

1

0

1

1

0

1

2

8

3

1

12

Texas Georgia Tennessee D.C. Florida Texas

Organization State Total

Sergeant

Lt.

Captain

Total



Asst/Deputy Chief

Chief

1

2

3

2

0

8

0

1

2

0

0

3

0

0

0

0

1

1

1

3

5

2

1

12

Neutral

Somewhat important

Important

Total

1

2

3

1

0

0

1

1

1

0

0

1

2

4

4

2



Very important

8 3 1 12


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WHITE PAPER

12

Somewhat important

Important

Very important

Total

1

1

6

8

2

1

0

3

0

0

1

1

3

2

7

12



Perception of increased safety to the public

Perception of increased security to business owners

How do you measure the success of your SkyWatch system?

Very important

Neutral

Important

Total

0

0

3

5

1

0

2

1

0

1

0

0

1

1

5

5



Very important

8 3 1 12

comments and stats

comments from citizens and business owners

comments from publiccomments from public and business owners

comments of citizens and drop in crime rates

crime statistics

crime stats

crime stats before and after SkyWatch

crime stats where they deploy

reduction in crime rates

reduction of crime stats

Total



1

1

01

1

1

0

1

0

1

1

8

0

0

10

0

0

1

0

1

0

0

3

0

0

00

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

1

1

1

11

1

1

2

1

1

1

1

12


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WHITE PAPER

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How effective is your SkyWatch system at suppressing armed robbery?

How effective is your SkyWatch system at suppressing assaults and battery?

How effective is your SkyWatch system at suppressing sexual attacks?


PoliceTransit MiscPolice


Somewhat effective

Effective

No response

Total

1

2

1

4

8

0

1

1

1

3

0

0

0

1

1

1

3

2

6

12




Somewhat effective

Effective

No response

Total

1

3

2

2

8

0

0

2

1

3

0

0

0

0

1

1

3

4

3

12

Ineffective 0 1 10




Somewhat effective

Effective

No response

Total

1

2

1

4

8

0

0

2

1

3

0

0

1

0

1

1

2

4

5

12


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WHITE PAPER

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Somewhat effective

Effective

No response

Total

1

2

1

4

8

0

0

1

2

3

0

0

0

1

1

1

2

2

7

12

How effective is your SkyWatch system at suppressing murder?

How effective is your SkyWatch system at suppressing auto thefts and burglaries?

How effective is your SkyWatch system at suppressing carjackings?




Somewhat effective

Effective

No response

Total

1

3

3

1

8

0

2

1

0

3

0

0

1

0

1

1

5

5

1

12




Somewhat effective

Effective

No response

Total

0

6

1

1

8

1

0

2

0

3

0

1

0

0

1

1

7

3

1

12


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WHITE PAPER

15

How effective is your SkyWatch system at suppressing violence and unrest?

How effective are the following in suppressing crime compared to special law enforcement patrols?

How effective are the following in suppressing crime compared to uniformed private security personnel?

Ineffective

Neutral

Somewhat effective

EffectiveVery effective

No response

Total



0

2

2

21

1

8

0

1

0

20

0

3

1

0

0

00

0

1

1

3

2

41

1

12



NeutralSomewhat effective

Effective

Very effective

Total

04

3

1

8

11

1

0

3

00

1

0

1

15

5

1

12

Very effective

Ineffective


Neutral

Somewhat effective

Effective

Total



0

1

1

2

2

2

8

1

0

0

1

0

1

3

0

1

0

0

0

0

1

1

2

1

3

2

3

12


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WHITE PAPER

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Very ineffective

Somewhat effective

Neutral

Somewhat effectiveEffective

Very effective

Total



0

1

4

11

1

8

1

0

0

11

0

3

0

1

0

00

0

1

1

2

4

22

1

12

How effective are the following in suppressing crime compared to visible CCTV cameras?

How effective are the following in suppressing crime compared to high intensity lighting?

How effective are the following in suppressing crime: SkyWatch system?

How effective does the public likely believe the following are in suppressing crime compared to special law enforce-ment patrols?

Total

Neutral

Very ineffective


Somewhat effective

Effective

Organization Type


Total

0

1

2

3

2

8

10

0

1

1

3

00

0

0

1

1

11

2

4

4

12

Total

Somewhat effective

Effective

Very effective


Police Transit Misc Police1

4

3

8

1

1

1

3

0

0

1

1

2

5

5

12


PoliceTransit MiscPoliceNeutral

Somewhat effective

Effective

Very effective

Total

0

1

4

3

8

1

0

2

0

3

0

0

1

0

1

1

1

7

3

12


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WHITE PAPER

17

How effective does the public likely believe the following are in suppressing crime compared to uniformed private secu-rity personnel?

How effective does the public likely believe the following are in suppressing crime compared to visible CCTV cameras?

How effective does the public likely believe the following are in suppressing crime compared to high intensity lighting?

Total

Somewhat effective


Neutral

Effective

Very effective

Organization Type


Total

2

2

21

1

8

0

1

11

0

3

1

0

00

0

1

3

3

32

1

12



Neutral

Somewhat effective

Effective

Very effective

Total

2

5

0

1

8

0

1

2

0

3

0

0

0

1

1

2

6

2

2

12



Neutral

Somewhat effective

Effective

Very effective

Total

5

2

0

1

8

0

1

2

0

3

0

1

0

0

1

5

4

2

1

12


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WHITE PAPER

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How effective does the public likely believe the following are in suppressing crime: SkyWatch system?

Considering all the previous questions, in total, how effective do you consider SkyWatch system to be?

If the perceived effectiveness of the SkyWatch system is 4 or greater, how quickly was the positive effect realized?



Neutral

Somewhat effective

Effective

Very effective

Total

0

2

2

4

8

0

1

2

0

3

0

1

0

0

1

5

4

2

1

12



Neutral

Somewhat effective

Effective

Very effective

Total

0

2

2

4

8

1

0

1

1

3

0

0

0

1

1

1

2

3

6

12

Total

After 1 week

Immediately

After 1 month



0

2

6

8

0

0

3

3

1

0

0

1

1

2

9

12


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WHITE PAPER

19

Do you man your SkyWatch system with law enforcement?

Do you man your SkyWatch system with private security?

Do you man your SkyWatch system with citizens crime watch?

Do you typically deploy the SkyWatch system in conjunction with a vehicle(s) to respond to observed incidents, etc?

Total

Yes

2.00

No



2

6

0

8

0

2

1

3

0

1

0

1

2

9

1

12

Total

Yes

No



8

0

8

2

1

3

1

0

1

11

1

12

Total

Yes

No



5

3

8

2

1

3

1

0

1

8

4

12

Total

Yes

No



4

4

8

0

3

3

0

1

1

4

8

12


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WHITE PAPER

20

Do you typically deploy your SkyWatch system daily?

Do you typically deploy your SkyWatch system weekly?

Do you typically deploy your SkyWatch system on weekends?

Do you typically deploy your SkyWatch system for holidays?

Total

Yes

No



3

5

8

0

3

3

0

1

1

3

8

12

Total

Yes

No



2

6

8

0

3

3

0

1

1

2

10

12

Total

Yes



8

8

3

3

1

1

12

12

Total

Yes

No



0

8

8

0

3

3

1

0

1

1

11

12


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WHITE PAPER

21

Do you typically deploy your SkyWatch system for special events?

How many hours do you man the SkyWatch system during an average week?

Do you typically deploy (extend) the SkyWatch system when its unmanned in the eld?

Total

Yes



8

8

3

3

1

1

12

12

2.00

4.005.00

8.00

10.00

48.00

70.00

84.00

168.00

Total

Organization Type


Total

2

21

1

1

0

0

1

0

8

0

00

0

1

1

0

0

1

3

0

00

0

0

0

1

0

0

1

2

21

1

2

1

1

1

1

12

Total

Yes

No



1

7

8

0

3

3

0

1

1

1

11

12


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WHITE PAPER

22

If you do typically leave your eld-deployed SkyWatch system extended, do you try to make it look occupied usingdummies, moving lights, etc?

If you do typically leave your eld-deployed SkyWatch system extended, how many hours a week is it extended?

Do you typically deploy the SkyWatch system?

Total

Total

Police Transit Misc

Organization Type

Police

No

Yes

N/A

5

2

1

8

2

1

0

3

1

0

0

1

8

3

1

12

.00

10.0024.00

32.00

40.0084.00

N/A

150.00

180.00

Total

Organization Type


Total

250.00192.00

0

12

0

01

1

1

1

8

10

0

00

1

10

0

0

0

3

01

1

00

0

00

0

0

0

1

00

1

12

1

11

1

1

1

12

11

Total

Overtly



8

8

3

3

1

1

12

12


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WHITE PAPER

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If you deploy the system overtly, how do you draw attention to your SkyWatch: Paint Scheme?

If you deploy the system overtly, how do you draw attention to your SkyWatch: Flashing Lights?

If you deploy the system overtly, how do you draw attention to your SkyWatch: Signage?

If you deploy the system overtly, how do you draw attention to your SkyWatch: Barricades?

Total

Yes

No



0

8

8

1

2

3

0

1

1

1

11

12

Total

Yes

No



6

2

8

2

1

3

0

1

1

8

4

12

Total

Yes

No



2

6

8

1

2

3

0

1

1

3

9

12

Total

Yes

No



3

5

8

0

3

3

0

1

1

3

9

12


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WHITE PAPER

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Do you deploy the SkyWatch system at the following locations?

Total

Yes

Public Parking Lots

No



0

8

8

1

2

3

1

0

1

2

10

12

Total

Yes

Private Parking Lots

No



1

7

8

0

3

3

0

1

1

1

11

12

Total

Yes

No



6

2

8

3

0

3

1

0

1

8

4

12

Parks

Total

Yes

No



0

8

8

1

2

3

1

0

1

2

10

12

Special Event Locations


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WHITE PAPER

25

For the previous types of areas where you deploy your SkyWatch system, do you deploy it at the entrance?

Total

Yes

No



4

4

8

2

1

3

1

0

1

7

5

12

Crime Scenes

Total

Yes

No



6

2

8

1

2

3

1

0

1

8

4

12


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For more information on the SkyWatch mobile surveillance towers and related products, contact

ICx Technologies.

1.866.458.ICXT(4298)

www.icxt.com

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