6 Ways to Make Cities Safer

Crime likes to lurk in the darkness. Strategically placed lamp posts in public areas, parks and subways go a long way towards removing the darkness and raising urban safety.

But they do so not just by providing intelligently controlled illumination but also by doubling as ideal installation posts for safety-enhancing devices such as emergency call terminals.

Street lights with emergency call functionality

Where urban security is concerned, video surveillance is the most common solution. Although these cameras have a certain deterring effect, they have been shown to be useful mainly in solving cases of street crime, but hardly in preventing them. Read on.

This is because when the security of persons or assets is at stake, surveillance video images of the relevant areas alone are often not enough. Especially in critical situations the complementary ability to listen and especially to make oneself heard – and thus to actively intervene – can be crucial.

This is where Commend’s specially designed IP-based loudspeakers and amplifiers come in to enable live on-site communication. This way, security staff can quickly resolve or de-escalate problems, which helps to avoid damage and related costs

Talking cameras

Where strategically placed information terminals and Emergency Call Stations are available in the city, help is never more than the push of a button or the tap of a finger away. Emergency response staff at the control centre instantly have the caller’s location on their screen. Compared to a mobile call, this allows for a much more rapid response and has even helped to save lives.

In France several municipalities have implemented these kinds of solutions in an effort to improve inner-city security and emergency response.

Here various features and functions work in perfect interplay to meet individual demands. Displays or Intercom stations with touch screens provide real-time information before the journey – e.g. timetables, travel times, schedule changes or traffic details. They also provide crucial emergency call support and enable interactive enquiries. But that is not all: automated digital voice assistants for answering frequently asked questions are already in preparation. In future, the information and emergency call capabilities can be ported, for example, to self-driving buses to provide real-time information and safety to passengers. All in all, Commend solutions help to ensure passenger convenience and safety the smart way.

Information displays and terminals

What kind of risks are employees and visitors exposed to in public buildings? What is the worst-case threat scenario like in this environment? European Norm EN 62820 requires operators to conduct and document individual threat analyses to ensure optimum protection for persons in buildings. With its comprehensive set of rules, this standard describes, for example, the technical systems suitable for calling help, triggering alarms, warning affected persons and transmitting instructions under various security threat conditions. 

Advanced Security Building Intercom System

What does it take to ensure the protection of security-critical infrastructures such as a city’s electricity and water supply, water purification and emergency care? Commend offers answers to questions like these in the form of dedicated solutions for everyday and emergency communication in urban environments. The protection of security-critical outdoor areas is the main focus of Commend’s Perimeter Security solutions. Besides door/shutter communication and access control, they offer flexible PA for broadcasting direct or automated (e.g., sensor-triggered) warning messages, as well as two-way loudspeakers for directly addressing persons approaching the premises.