Tip 11: Get involved
Statistics show that neighbourhoods with Block Watch or Neighbourhood Watch programs experience a decrease in crime. Members of the community who actually care enough to do something about the increase in crime do make a difference.
The first step is to approach your local community policing office. These professionals are capable of helping you and your neighbours develop a special program to suit your needs.
It’s also important for you and your neighbours to watch over one another. Get to know your neighbours, and let them know that you will watch over their property when they are not around. Ask them to do the same for you. When something out of the ordinary is spotted, take the initiative to report it.
Block Watch program requirements
Block Watch is an interactive community program, and there are requirements to maintaining an active block. Local police departments, in fact, reserve the right to revoke Block Watch status.
Requirements:
1. Have at least ten households on your block participating
2. Have an annual meeting for all Block Watch participants. This can be done at any time of the year. This meeting enables you to determine those participants who are still involved as well as those who are interested in joining. Please advise the Block Watch office at least two weeks before your meeting so we can arrange to have a police officer(s) attend.
3. Send in an updated block map to the Block Watch office after your meeting. List all the changes to your block participants. Even if there are no changes (which is unlikely), you must 4. Always have both a captain and a co-captain. Neighbourhoods are always changing, people are always on the move. It may be difficult to fulfil this obligation at times. To initially sign on with Block Watch, you must have both positions filled before you will be contacted to attend training. Once you are an established block, however, you may encounter difficulties if one of you moves or resigns. If this happens, please notify the Block Watch office, and we will work with you to get the position filled.
5. All Block Watch participants must properly engrave all their property.
Security system design and consulting
In order to design the most effective security system, we first determine your goals and needs. Then we present a customized set of options, costs and specific strategies for a supported, well maintained system. And after sign-off, we do extensive testing and training.
Paladin works in thorough ways. We provide turnkey solutions, take a holistic approach, work in partnership with you throughout, and even train your staff to make sure every part of the security systems strategy is effectively implemented.
Customized security officers
We know from our experience that providing the best security is about having the right people for the specific job and environment. At Paladin, we don’t believe a guard is a guard, but practice strategic staffing, where we determine the specific mix of skills and attributes needed for the each position.
We invest considerable time and resources into recruiting right. Superior people want to work with a superior company — one that cares about quality, treats their people well and offers personal growth and advancement — so we are fortunate to receive many applications. We then use our stringent hiring to processes filter out the most ideal candidates, which is approximately one successful new hire out of twenty applications.
Training is what differentiates us, and it’s why we lead the industry. Once we have the right candidates on board, we start by conducting extensive pre-employment training and certification for each new staff member, which surpasses all legislative and regulatory requirements and standards across the country. Each Paladin security officer then undergoes pre-assignment training and site training unique to each position and its respective industry. In total, we provide 35 different courses through our University of Paladin, including ongoing training.
To ensure our people continue to perform above expectations, we have a multi-faceted field management model and provide various employee support programs.
GPS-enabled mobile patrols
We have the largest mobile emergency response fleet in the industry, with trained, licensed and bonded emergency response officers. Our mobile patrols can keep any type of building and premises safe. Our personnel can perform fixed-time and or random checks to look for unusual activities or problems, which can keep you and your property secure; in one patrol of high-rise under construction, we discovered a leaking pipe, which saved the client hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Access control systems
We provide access and intrusion detection systems that offer the best protection. Only Paladin offers complete, end-to-end service: we design, implement, install and service our systems, which means more efficiency, security and convenience for you.
Card systems are more cost effective than traditional locking systems. Most businesses recognize the costs of re-keying, for example, but with a card, a client can simply cancel an individual user. In addition, our access control systems can provide detailed information for workforce time management.
We can maintain your access system remotely, including adding and deleting users, controlling lock and unlock times, backing-up the database and performing system diagnostics. This eliminates the need for on-site computer staff to maintain your system.
24/7 security system monitoring and response
Paladin has the most state-of-the-art technology and advanced central monitoring stations in the country, with multiple back up systems in place. Unlike other security companies that contract out to a third party, we operate our own alarm and remote video monitoring stations across Canada. That means you benefit from a faster response to all of your alarm signals. Our stations meet and exceed the highest industry standards through our ULC AA listing and our CSAA 5 Diamond certification.
Temperature control monitoring
We install and monitor the most effective temperature control systems for protection against freezing pipes or over-heated server rooms.