Several parks in the Addison Park District are finally ready for their close-up now that the agency has addressed problems with vandalism.  

“Vandalism is a growing problem for many of our members,” says Gerrit Prince, PDRMA Risk Management Consultant, “but our updated vandalism prevention program shows members – literally – how to evaluate problem locations and identify deterrents to reduce vandalism.”

PDRMA’s Minimizing and Preventing Vandalism downloadable video demonstrates how to evaluate locations prone to vandalism. The updated LRN #436 – Vandalism Prevention and Reduction Considerations provides additional preventive suggestions.

In recent years, incidents of vandalism had become more and more serious in Addison – especially in the Kenroy and Green Oaks parks. “There were two playgrounds burned to the ground and one partially burned,” recalls Mark Goode, Safety Coordinator for Addison/Bloomingdale/Wood Dale/Medinah Park Districts. “The two playgrounds that burned to the ground cost more than $60,000 each to replace. Sometimes two staff members would have to go out to remove graffiti on a Monday morning and spend a half day or more cleaning. That’s at least eight man hours being taken away from productive projects, but we can’t just leave the graffiti.”

The situation got so bad at one point that local residents petitioned to remove the playground equipment from Kenroy Park because of repeated vandalism and loitering. The turning point came in 2012 with plans to install a brand new playground at Community Park. Executive Director Mark McKinnon asked Goode to investigate the cost of installing outdoor cameras at the new playground and in other trouble spots.   

“We chose the parks based on their history,” Goode says, “and I worked with our vendor, Interact Business Products out of Wood Dale, to find the best cameras and determine where to put them.”

The cameras had to hold the recorded data since transmission was not possible, and Green Oaks required a solar-powered camera.

“I was able to quickly find a 110-volt, plug-in unit for Community and Kenroy,” Goode explains, “but finding a solar unit that also could hold data for Green Oaks was much more challenging.”

Eventually he found a solar unit made by Sun Surveillance that also had a removable SD card – a real asset in tracking down the perpetrators. “If an incident were to occur, we can go and pull the memory card and replace it with our spare, so it is immediately working again, and then I can go back to the office and review the info on the card and hopefully see the perpetrator(s).”

Luckily, that has not been necessary. Since installing the cameras last June, the number of vandalism incidents has dropped – to zero. Not a bad return for an investment of $13,000 for two plug-in cameras and a solar unit.

“With a $13,000 investment, Addison may very well save $120,000 in replacement costs while improving community relations,” adds Prince. “That is a small price to pay for reducing your loss exposure and preventing incidents of vandalism so the public can enjoy the parks again.”

PDRMA Resources

PDRMA has two new resources to help you protect against vandalism. LRN #436 — Vandalism Prevention Considerations outlines prevention strategies and approaches to consider for your agency. Our video, Minimizing and Preventing Vandalism, shows you how you can proactively address this threat to your property. To download either resource, click the links in this article or log in to the PDRMA website and type "vandalism" in the search bar at the top of the page. Both items will display in your results.