Labor Day Skateboard Apprehensions
While most of our outdoor arrests happen at night under the cover of darkness, we occasionally see illegal activity at our protected sites during the day. During weekends and holidays, trespassers, burglars and vandals find daylight opportunities at sites where there are typically workers. We saw an example of this yesterday, on Labor Day, when two separate incidents with skateboarders prompted alarms at a protected building.
At 10 a.m, a motion viewer was activated at the top of a ramp at a building under construction in Everett, WA. Stephany, an Operator on duty, could see a female wearing a light colored top and jeans and carrying a skateboard. She dispatched the police and called the emergency contact. The contact let Stephany know that the officers arrested the suspect. That night, another suspect tried their luck at the site. The same motion viewer was activated and another Operator, Kris, could see a person with a skateboard as well as a dog. The police were once again dispatched. We confirmed this morning that the second suspect was also apprehended.
Protecting spaces that are under construction is critical to completing projects on time and preventing material theft. From graffitti to accidents to theft, intruders can cause big setbacks and even dangerous conditions for laborers. We think that project setbacks of any kind can be considered a loss, so preventing vandalism and trespassing the same way we prevent burglary is our strategy. Getting police on the scene as soon as an unwanted visitor of any kind is at the premises prevents not only trespassing but burglary as well.