Video Safety Partnership

Wilmington is experiencing a rebirth. With new development on the rise, downtown choices for living, playing, and working are ever-increasing. Our city's government, communities and business leaders vision of Wilmington as a premier mid-sized city in which to live, work, visit and have fun is becoming a reality. However, for this vision to be fully realized, involved parties must first work to correct the misperception that it's not safe downtown.

The Downtown Video Safety Partnership

The Vision
Wilmington is home to a number of major banking and industrial corporations each of which operates its own monitoring and security system. Downtown Visions wanted to supplement these existing corporate security systems with its own cameras and create a communications network that would provide complete coverage of Wilmington's Business Improvement District. The city's visitors and residents could take comfort in knowing that someone would always be looking out for their safety.

It sounds simple enough on paper, but this type of corporate/private/public collaboration had never been attempted.

The History
Downtown Visions spearheaded the formation of the Wilmington Video Safety Partnership, an ambitious, never-before tried project made possible with the support, both logistically and financially, of the downtown corporations, local, county and state government, local foundations, the non-profit sector and the Wilmington Police Department. By achieving an unprecedented level of cooperation between all involved, the goal of covering the Business Improvement District with video cameras was met. In April of 2001, the Video Safety Partnership network went live.

The Downtown System
Our program is the only one of its kind in the United States in that it is the only video system which covers an entire downtown district, in addition to being linked with other corporations' video systems. This network allows for the live feeding of events to law enforcement officials.

There are twenty five cameras covering the BID which are monitored by a trained and dedicated Downtown Visions staff seventeen hours a day, seven days a week. Overseen by retired Wilmington Police Officers, the system not only allows for "live feeding" of activity to the Wilmington Police but also for monitoring calls for service received by the police at Downtown Visions headquarters. Any crime or event is then digitally recorded for future prosecutions.

The Neighborhood System
Crime has been reduced in the Downtown and the system has achieved a level of success that resulted in the formation of a subsidiary corporation named Clean & Safe Services, which we utilize to manage and monitor 38 cameras in the neighborhoods outside the business improvement district, with an additional ten cameras being installed at this time. These cameras have also had an immediate impact on crime in the neighborhoods and the police rely heavily on them in their efforts to keep the city safe.

The Impact
The system has assisted the Police and Fire departments in well over 600 incidents since the system began in April of 2001. These include not only criminal acts, but also locating lost children, assisting disoriented elderly persons, locating people in need of medical attention and even discovering building fires before they were reported to the Wilmington Fire Department, resulting in less property damage and injury.

This system has served as a benchmark for other cities to mirror. Currently, the staff of Downtown Visions is assisting Philadelphia, Chester (PA) and Atlantic City (NJ) in their efforts to create a successful video safety program.

Downtown Visions, through our for-profit subsidiary, Clean & Safe Services, Inc., is prepared to offer its services to assist your city or B.I.D. formulate and implement a video safety program. Our experience will help you to develop a successful strategy and avoid pitfalls and delays in starting a video safety program. These services are offered on a "Fee for Service" basis. For more information call Michael Maggitti, Director of Safety Operations, at (302) 425-5371 or via email at mmaggitti@downtownvisions.org.