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Posted by: fscpd907

Letting their guard down: BHA plans to ax security officers at elderly housing

By Laurel J. Sweet and Jessica Van Sack
Monday, August 20, 2007 - Updated: 12:01 AM EST

The safety and peace of mind of some 1,800 elderly and disabled residents could hang in the balance because of a Boston Housing Authority cost-cutting plan to replace security guards with surveillance cameras in 13 senior complexes, the Herald has learned.

The proposal has golden-agers spitting mad.

“They’d rather save a buck than save a life. When those cameras break, I guarantee they won’t fix them,” Glenn Williams, 53, said yesterday at Roxbury’s Martin Luther King Jr. Towers, where the oldest resident is 98.

Federally funded BHA stands to save $650,000 a year by axing up to three unarmed sentries at the developments between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday - the very hours most elders are up and about.

Councilor-at-large Sam Yoon chairs the Boston City Council’s Committee on Housing and has called a meeting for 2 p.m. Wednesday to pore over newly compiled crime statistics from BHA’s targeted buildings.

Between Jan. 1 and July 24 of this year there were only 16 reported crimes - mainly burglaries but one rape - in all 13 developments under the existing security arrangement. That compares to 1,963 serious crimes in the immediate surrounding neighborhoods, including seven murders, 24 rapes and 195 robberies.

It’s that surrounding environment of crime that seniors like Frances Sawyer, 59, who suffers from glaucoma, fears will move into her building.

“We need all the security we can get. We need security on top of security,” said Sawyer.

Gary Downing, 62, angrily agreed.

“I don’t want the cameras,” Downing said. “You can’t talk to no camera when you have an emergency.”

Said Yoon, “Shame on us, from the federal government on down to the city, if we let things get so bad as to take away something as basic to your home as your sense of security.”

Making matters worse, Yoon said the BHA Police Department could run out of funding by October, as they are only operating now thanks to a $2.1 million emergency shot in the arm from the city.

BHA officials reached yesterday referred comment to BHA administrator Sandra Henriquez and a spokeswoman, who could not be reached. Yoon said Henriquez told his committee the feds have slashed her agency’s budget by $29 million since 1995.

Still, Yoon said, a camera is “not even an effective deterrent. The deterrent is the real live person at the front door.”

Council President Maureen Feeney said, “We’re really talking about the most vulnerable group of people in our society. There’s all kinds of drug activity, prostitution and intimidation. That’s why we absolutely, positively need to have a commitment to the 24-hour security service.”

One BHA security guard, speaking on condition of anonymity, called the plan “utterly ridiculous. A camera can’t stop someone from coming in with their friends or a hooker from wandering through the door. It’s not safe in these buildings as it is.”

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Posted by: FiXXXer024

"Camera's are just as good as cops..."
Total genius... Next they'll be dropping patrols in Bromley-Heath. Cause camera's can chase dealers and trespassers... Hmmm

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Posted by: justanotherparatrooper

Good plan, they'll save a fortune...what DIPSHITS

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Posted by: FiXXXer024

Come to think of it, they'll be very careful about where they decide to axe patrols for cameras... It would be a terrible black eye to catch, for instance, the property managers of state/federally funded housing developments doing things they shouldn't be, right? Cameras may not have legs to chase people but they also have no discretion in what they see... nothing but the pure truth of the matter.

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Posted by: kwflatbed

BHA drops camera plan for housing

Residents' protests about safety succeed

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff | August 22, 2007

Facing mounting criticism from senior citizens worried about their safety, the Boston Housing Authority yesterday dropped its plan to replace some of its daytime security personnel with surveillance cameras.
BHA officials had proposed the move, saying they could enhance security and save $650,000 if they removed daytime security guards at 13 of the city's housing developments, where about 1,800 elderly and disabled residents live, and installed cameras instead.
Residents of the projects reacted fiercely and came by the busload to a recent public hearing, packing the City Council chambers and wielding signs in opposition to the proposal.
With more crowds expected at rallies today, BHA officials said they planned to withdraw its proposal.
"At the end of the day, policies implemented by government officials need to have the support of those most directly impacted," BHA deputy administrator Bill McGonagle said in an interview last night."Although we think our policy was a good one, we didn't think it had sufficient support from the elderly and disabled residents to implement it."
The proposal would have eliminated the security guards stationed at the housing developments between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. and instead installed cameras and other technologies, such as lobby phones and pullcords, that residents could use to summon housing authority police.
McGonagle said the agency has been running over budget and had hoped to reduce its operating deficit partly by eliminating daytime guards. He said the agency this year will tap into reserves and next year will seek other sources of revenue or other expenses to cut.
The city is expected to publicly announce the decision today at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Towers in Roxbury. Community activists had planned to meet at the development to rally against the proposal, but they got word last night that their rally would become a celebration of victory.
"This is something that has made the residents feel heard and feel more secure in their homes," said Carolyn Villers, a community organizer at the Massachusetts Senior Action Council. "It's great news that's being celebrated throughout the developments."
Earl Frost, a 64-year-old blind resident at the Frederick Douglass development in Roxbury, said the security personnel have been vital for keeping the housing developments safe. He said he recently dropped his keys and could not find them until a security guard noticed he needed help.
"We were just afraid for safety in general," he said last night. "I've told some of the tenants, and they are ecstatic. They're clapping their hands and praising the Lord and everything. I was so glad because it let us know that wherever you are, if you work together for one cause, there is power in numbers."
Mayor Thomas M. Menino also praised the decision last night.
"He always made it very clear that while he appreciated the use of technology in our housing authority, the priority must lie in the safety of the residents," said his spokeswoman, Dot Joyce.
City councilors had also expressed concern that residents' safety could have been compromised with fewer security personnel.
Councilor at Large Sam Yoon, who chairs the Council's Committee on Housing, said: "This is a big victory for Boston's senior citizens and people with disabilities, who rely on security guards to help ensure their safety and well-being."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/art...n_for_housing/

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Posted by: Tuna

That's great, Fixed cameras to protect one of the most vunerable sections of our sociaty. What are these nitwits thinking. They should have cameras and security personel if you ask me.

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Posted by: kwflatbed

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuna That's great, Fixed cameras to protect one of the most vunerable sections of our sociaty. What are these nitwits thinking. They should have cameras and security personel if you ask me.

Did you read the post before this one ??
It's over !!

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