Maximizing Assets in the “New Normal”

A recent article in the L.A. Times reported that “The California League of Cities estimates cities around the state will collectively lose $7 billion over the next two years due to the pandemic, and billions more if the stay-at-home order extend into the summer and beyond.”  The article calls for innovative planning and ends with this taste of reality: “Either we try to preserve the bloody stump of the way we used to do things— or we invent new ways of solving today’s problems.”

Cities that were already treading financial water may find themselves facing a grim future, forced to make ends meet when reduced revenue forces cuts to essential services such as police and fire, neglecting infrastructure repairs, and defunding existing projects. In the past, these types of cuts inevitably lead to a downturn in the local economic climate that could take decades to recover from.

Keeping Cities Safe

Now more than ever, cities need to realize that the old structure of public safety and government is outdated and unsustainable, and if they move forward with “more of the same,” they will continue to fall behind—their citizens suffer, public safety is compromised, infrastructure is insecure, and quality of life is diminished across the board. These unfortunate circumstances are avoided as with any successful initiative— through innovative leadership and a willingness to move toward less traditional solutions.

Leverage has the technology to push the paradigm, but it is about more than tools—we have first-hand experience auditing and evaluating failed surveillance installations. We determine why they failed, build a plan to address the shortcomings, and integrate the old pieces with the new to create a sustainable, effective comprehensive surveillance system that addresses current requirements and is scalable to meet future needs.

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Distribute the Costs with Unified Surveillance

A thoughtful deployment of modern surveillance technology can allow city, police department, school districts, and public works agencies to work together in what we call a Public Safety Video Network (PSVN). The advantages of this kind of unified network are powerful:

  • distributing the costs across multiple budgets
  • providing improved video access to more public spaces
  • sharing camera access across multiple agencies
  • faster public safety and public works response
  • improved city planning
  • cost recovery
Develop-Infrastructure

Our DETECT Surveillance solutions are custom-designed to meet each city’s requirements, and put technological tools in place to maximize the effectiveness of the human workforce. Solutions such as responsive camera actioning and audio intervention tools work to multiply the forces you already have, and allow them to work smarter. An initial investment pays dividends for years—improved access and response without an increase in staff requirements.

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