The Regional Municipality of York is a large geographic area located just north of Toronto. It is recognized as the fastest growing census division in Canada.
The region covers more than 1,761 square kilometers and is currently home to over 950,000 people. At the current growth rate, the population in the region is projected to exceed 1.5 million within the next 20 years.
When it acquired Emerald Security in August 2006, Securitas Canada began providing patrol and alarm response services to the York Catholic District School Board facilities. There are approximately 100 Catholic elementary schools, secondary schools and school board offices spread across the entire region. Securitas immediately embraced this business and continued the high level of service that Emerald Security had been providing to the York Catholic District School Board.
In August 2007, after a successful bid process, Securitas Canada won the contract to provide patrol and alarm response services to the York Region District School Board.
Like most schools, those in York Region are regularly used outside of school hours for their sporting fields and park-like settings. Area teenagers often choose school grounds them as a place to congregate on milder evenings. As a result of the after-hours use, schools face constant and repeated vandalism. Broken windows are by far the most common ‘abnormal’ finding when conducting a school patrol or responding to an alarm condition. To help combat this situation, Securitas mobile patrol units in York Region all carry laminate window repair kits so that cracks and small breaks can be quickly and temporarily repaired to restore the integrity of the perimeter.
In addition to alarm response services, Securitas also provides holiday and anti-vandalism patrols for both school boards when requested. On a summer holiday weekend, Securitas can sometimes be responsible for providing full perimeter and interior patrols at over 100 locations across the region. When a particular location is subject to a rash of undesirable activity and/or occurrences, Securitas is often requested to increase the frequency of patrols outside of normal school hours in order to detect and deter unwanted activity. At any given time throughout the year, Securitas provides patrol service to several school locations in York Region on a daily basis.
Securitas received one particularly challenging request during the Christmas and New Year holiday period in 2007. Securitas was asked to provide 2 separate patrols for each of the 225 schools in the York Region District School Board. One patrol at each of the locations was to be completed between December 22nd and December 24th and a second patrol was to be completed at each location between the 29th and the 31st. Securitas was able to manage an amazing 98% completion rate, an accomplishment that astounded our client. They were very pleased with Securitas’ performance because in previous years their past security providers were only able to manage a 40% completion rate.
Providing timely alarm response and patrols to over 325 locations spread across such a large area presents some unique challenges. Long distances between locations and adverse weather and traffic conditions combine to challenge the Securitas officers. Securitas has risen to the challenge and has provided a consistently reliable service to meet every requirement the client sets.
“Securitas has consistently performed well in carrying out its various duties and responsibilities.The firm has proven to be accommodating and responsive to the school board’s changing requirements. A particular strength of the firm is the excellent on-line reporting tools. I would have no hesitation in recommending Securitas to any other interested customer.”
Walter Olenych, Manager, Facilities Services Unit
York Catholic District School Board