Transaction Search Form: please type in any of the fields below.
Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:41 pm
Time: 8:41 pm
Results for parks
4 results foundAuthor: U.S. Government Accountability Office Title: Homeland Security: Actions Needed to Improve Security Practices at National Icons and Parks Summary: The September 11 terrorist attacks have heightened concerns about the security of the nation's icons and parks, which millions of people visit every year. The National Park Service (Park Service) within the Department of the Interior (Interior) is responsible for securing nearly 400 park units that include icons and other parks. In 2004, GAO identified a set of key protection practices that include: allocating resources using risk management, leveraging technology, information sharing and coordination, performance measurement and testing, and strategic management of human capital. As requested, GAO determined whether the Park Service's security efforts for national icons and parks reflected key practices. To meet this objective, GAO used its key practices as criteria, reviewed five icons and parks to gain firsthand knowledge, analyzed Interior documents, and interviewed Interior officials. The Park Service has implemented a range of security improvements since the September 11 terrorist attacks and has worked to integrate security into its primary mission to preserve national icons and parks for the public's enjoyment. For example, it has established a senior-level security manager position and taken steps to strengthen security at the icons, and is developing a risk management program for small parks. These efforts exhibit some aspects of the key protection practices, but GAO found limitations in each of the areas. The Park Service does not allocate resources using risk management servicewide or cost-effectively leverage technology. While the Park Service, with assistance from Interior, has conducted risk assessments and implemented countermeasures to enhance security at the icons, some critical vulnerabilities remain. Moreover, the Park Service has not advanced this risk management approach for icons to the rest of its national parks. Without a servicewide risk management approach, the Park Service lacks assurance that security efforts are focused where they are needed. Furthermore, while icons and parks may use a variety of security technologies and other countermeasures, they do not have guidance for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of these investments, thus limiting assurances of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Additionally, the Park Service faces limitations with sharing and coordinating information internally and lacks a servicewide approach for routine performance measurement and testing. Although the Park Service collaborates with external organizations, it lacks comparable arrangements for internal security communications and, as a result, parks are not equipped to share information with one another on common security problems and solutions. Furthermore, the Park Service has not established security performance measures and lacks an analysis tool that could be used to evaluate program effectiveness and inform an overall risk management strategy. Thus, icons and parks have little information on the status and performance of security that they can use to manage daily activities or that Park Service management can use to manage security throughout the organization. Finally, strategic human capital management is an area of concern because of the Park Service's lack of clearly defined security roles and a security training curriculum. For example, staff that are assigned security duties are generally not required to meet qualifications or undergo specialized training. Absent a security training curriculum, there is less assurance that staff are well-equipped to effectively identify and mitigate risks at national icons and parks. Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2009. 47p. Source: Internet Resource; GAO-09-983 Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 119422 Keywords: Homeland SecurityParksRecreation AreasSecurityTerrorism |
Author: Seattle (Washington). Office of City Auditor Title: Cal Anderson Park Surveillance Camera Pilot Program Evaluation Summary: From January through February 2008, the City of Seattle installed three surveillance cameras in Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park. In June 2008, the Seattle City Council adopted an ordinance that created the Surveillance Camera Pilot Program and established controls over the cameras’ use. The ordinance governing the pilot program requires that the City Auditor conduct a program evaluation to address: Departmental compliance with the policies of the ordinance; The effect of the cameras on crime deterrence; The effect of the cameras on crime detection and investigation; and The effect of the cameras on the public perception of safety. This program evaluation is intended to help the Seattle City Council decide whether to grant additional authority to the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Seattle Police Department, and the Department of Information Technology to operate surveillance cameras in Cal Anderson Park, or to install surveillance cameras in other City parks. Details: Seattle, WA: Office of City Auditor, 2009. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 16, 2010 at: http://www.cityofseattle.net/audit/docs/2009Oct_PublishedReportSurveillanceCameras.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.cityofseattle.net/audit/docs/2009Oct_PublishedReportSurveillanceCameras.pdf Shelf Number: 119819 Keywords: Criminal InvestigationDeterrenceParksPreventionSituational CrimeVideo Surveillance |
Author: New Yorkers for Parks Title: Tracking Crime in New York City Parks Summary: This report analyzes data collected through a pilot program which tracks crime in the New York City’s 20 largest parks. The goals of this report are to provide the public with an assessment of the first 18 months of data on crime in parks (April 2006 – September 2007); and to put forth recommendations to improve and expand this program. Details: New York: New Yorkers for Parks, 2008. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 27, 2010 at: http://www.ny4p.org/pdfs/TrackingCrimefinal.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.ny4p.org/pdfs/TrackingCrimefinal.pdf Shelf Number: 119825 Keywords: Crime Statistics (New York City)ParksRecreation Areas |
Author: Iqbal, Asifa Title: Assessment of crime and safety issues in parks Summary: The aim of the thesis is to obtain a better understanding of the importance of parks for urban quality, particularly for safety. This is achieved in two ways; first, by assessing parks' impact on the perceived quality of the urban environment (whether it is incorporated into housing prices or not) in Stockholm. Second, the study investigates whether safety in parks may be assessed using principles of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) using a high-crime park in Stockholm's inner city. The thesis starts with an introduction to the theme, with a brief discussion of background theory, literature review, the study area and the methods. Then, it reports the results of the articles included in the thesis and discusses their main contributions to the field of research. A mixed methods approach utilizes both quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Regression models and a Geographic Information System (GIS) were used in Paper I, which aims to clarify how park proximity affects housing prices and, when considering residential properties and park type, how crime rates in parks affect housing prices. Findings show that the further away an apartment is located from a park, the higher the discount on its price effect, but this effect (dependent on the park type), as an accumulated measure of parks, lowers prices or is negligible. Paper II assesses the use and adequacy of CPTED principles to guide the assessment of safety conditions of an urban park. The historical development of CPTED is presented followed by an analysis of a case study, Tantolunden, in Stockholm. Site observations, crime mapping, people count and interviews were conducted. Results show many entrances in this particular park defy the principles of access control and in turn impose limitations on park maintenance. Findings also show that interrupted sight lines create limited surveillance. The paper concludes by identifying the potentialities and challenges of CPTED principles when applied to safety in parks. Findings presented in this thesis are relevant for many stakeholders in society as results show the variation in crime and safety in urban parks, and the way they can be assessed and tackled. Details: Stockholm: Royal Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and the Built Environment, Department of Real Estate and Construction Management, 2015. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 30, 2017 at: http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:861815/FULLTEXT04 Year: 2015 Country: Sweden URL: http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:861815/FULLTEXT04 Shelf Number: 146422 Keywords: Crime MappingCrime Prevention Through Environmental DesignDesign Against CrimeGeographic Information System (GIS)High Crime AreasParksUrban Areas |