HowToSurveillance Blog

The huge budget deficit in the City of Phoenix, Arizona is now impacting public safety as some 350 police officers and 144 firefighters are set to be laid off. Municipalities across the country are dealing with the budget cutbacks due to revenue declines in the wake of the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression. However, the budget problems in Phoenix are especially severe resulting in the first layoff of police officers in the history of the city.

The Phoenix metro area has been hit especially hard by the mortgage downturn (one of the top 5 worst areas in the U.S. for foreclosures) and the ripple effect throughout the economy has resulted in drastically lower tax revenue.

Cops laid off? That almost never happens! This is really ugly folks and will almost certainly affect response times of police officers due to the fact that fewer officers will be available to cover the same area.

If this trend continues, security camera systems may be more necessary than ever. Why? If a crime occurs at your business, officers need something to go on and video surveillance footage is very helpful. Without it, they might, at best, get a vague or indefinite suspect or vehicle description from someone who happened to witness the crime.

However, with fewer officers to pursue investigations, they will need all the help they can get, and video surveillance can provide that extra help that can make the difference in solving a crime or not.

Article and News Video on Police Layoffs from ABC 15 Here:
Phoenix Police Dept. to Lay Off Hundreds of Officers

America’s Most Wanted broadcast some video recorded by a home security camera system (recorded Oct. 2006) showing the vehicle that is possibly driven by the Northern California (Nor Cal) rapist.
Video Surveillance of Toyota linked to Nor Cal Rapist

More video stills from ATM CCTV cameras are here: Nor Cal Rapist Stills

Full Story: Nor Cal Rapist Info

Combining an alarm system with a CCTV system can provide a synergistic security solution with a ‘force-multiplier’ effect.

The security benefits of an alarm system can be enhanced with the use of a monitored video surveillance system. Alarm systems can alert security personnel to a problem (e.g. intrusion, fire etc.) and assist them in making an appropriate and rapid response. Having CCTV cameras at various locations of your business allows security personnel to quickly monitor a wide range of locations in response to an alarm trigger. This helps to cover a large area and improve the efficiency of security operations (force multiplier). Read the full article (provided by Brownstone Security) at:

Combining Alarm Systems with Video Surveillance