John Singleton shows off the new security camera system. (Photo by Susan Knox Wilson)
Susan Knox Wilson
“Because we have private roads here in PebbleCreek, it’s hard to manage traffic issues the same way it’s done on public roads,” noted John Singleton, PebbleCreek’s Director of Community Services. “Our Community Services Patrol officers do not have the power or authority of police officers, so we have to continually try to find ways to get drivers to obey the rules and keep the community safe for everyone.”
John, who retired from his position as a Goodyear Police Department patrol lieutenant to join the PebbleCreek HOA staff in 2015, has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience. He was also an adjunct law enforcement faculty member at Glendale Community College and an instructor in two Phoenix area police academies for nearly 20 years. His teaching experience is proving invaluable in helping the Patrol staff achieve their objective of working with residents to prevent or solve problems and keep our roads safe.
“We were brainstorming about what to do about vehicles going too fast and decided to try installing the radar signs, and they have really helped,” shared John. “Speeders who are alerted by the radar do slow down up to 80% of the time. We’ve found typical average speed reductions are 10% to 20%, and overall compliance with our posted speed limit has increased. The radar signs have a great impact on our road safety.”
“We also recently switched vendors for our gate security cameras and have upgraded the entire system,” John added. “Our new cameras record all vehicles going in or out of our gates and can capture license plate numbers. We typically get 10 to 12 barrier arms damaged every three months. With our new system, we’ve been able to identify most offenders and fine them.”
Priscilla Wardlow, PebbleCreek Golf Resort Director of Technology, worked closely with the Community Patrol team to identify and launch the new gate security camera system. “With our new Verkada system,” says Priscilla, “footage is saved both onboard the camera and in cloud-based servers. As a result, we’re confident that as long as the cameras have power, they are always recording and footage is immediately available.
“In addition to remote access on any browser or device (I can even watch from my home computer!), the Verkada Viewing Station is set up so patrol staff can easily monitor ongoing incidents in real-time. Say someone gets stuck between the entry arm and the gate, patrol can see where they are and remotely open the gate. It’s effortless for the team to use—you just turn on the [viewing station] and up come the cameras.
“The new cameras use edge-based processing and computer vision technology to capture license plate numbers, which helps us when we need to investigate vehicle damage to the barrier arms and gates and identify vehicles that violate access rules, such as tailgating or entry through an exit gate.
“The resolution of the cameras is excellent and the advanced search feature saves everyone a lot of time. For example, if Patrol gets a call about a white pickup truck entering through exit gate 8, the officer can ask the system to display clips of all white trucks entering the wrong way through gate 8 and it pops up automatically. The technology is just amazing.”
“Now that we can see clearly who is breaking the barrier arms and gates, we can more effectively take steps to recoup the damages,” explained John, “and so far, it’s a substantial amount. We also encourage homeowners to report vehicles who violate our access rules. Now that we have the ability to photograph the offenders, we can impose the fines that work so well to deter future bad behavior.”
Patrol officers and Greeters are on duty 24/7. Telephone: 623-935-0387