Working together to make you safer

After a rise in incidents in the Pine Hills area, the local public safety and security agencies decided to take action. Representatives from three agencies; the Albany City Police Department, the University at Albany Police Department, and the College of Saint Rose Safety and Security Department, came together to form a partnership. This partnership, now called the "Operation Safe Corridor Steering Committee", has already made a great deal of progress in the Pine Hills area.

From the inception of the committee, the concept of creating safe streets was merely a vision. Now, that vision is becoming a reality. The Steering Committee meets regularly to discuss safety within our community and our future enhancement plans for the selected streets. The goal of Operation Safe Corridor is to create designated safer routes in the Pine Hills area which pedestrians could utilize as they conduct their daily and nightly business. Residents are encouraged to walk on these designated Operation Safe Corridor streets rather than side alleys or other less traveled streets. The Operation Safe Corridor streets are as follows: Western Avenue - from Main Street to Quail Street; Quail Street - from Western Avenue to Central Avenue; and Ontario Street - from Western Avenue to Yates Street.

To date, several enhancements are already in place. The three agencies established an Operation Safe Corridor detail, which runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights and is augmented with uniformed patrols in the area. Several video surveillance cameras have been set-up to monitor pedestrian traffic. In addition, a Crime Prevention Team was created using officers from all three agencies. The team conducted a security survey of the corridor and made recommendations for future improvements. See the following information for a listing of our current status and our future enhancement plans.

CURRENT STATUS OF THE CORRIDOR

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

Safety Fairs are conducted twice annually at the Alumni Quad Cafeteria. We bring together many representatives to give the community valuable information regarding safety.

 

Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) is a program of realistic self-defense tactics and techniques for women 12 years of age and up.

 

Fatal Vision Fatal Vision is a police run program that allows individuals the opportunity to experience the dangers of impairment from drugs and alcohol without suffering real consequences.

 

MIDTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

The Midtown Neighborhood Watch program involves late night patrols (including the corridor area) by resident volunteers, college students and long-term neighbors. For more information or application, contact University at Albany Police at 442-3130 or the Albany City Police at 458-5669.

 

POLICE/SECURITY PATROLS

The Operation Safe Corridor uniformed detail runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights to ensure the safety of our area residents.

 

SECURITY SURVEYS

Annual lighting and security surveys are conducted by the newly created Crime Prevention Team. These surveys make recommendations for security enhancements in the Operation safe Corridor area.

 

TAXI-STANDS

Albany City Police requested an additional taxi stand be created at the corner of Madison Avenue and Ontario Street. This stand has helped ensure the safety of our area residents by providing them with a safe location to hail a taxi.

 

SAFE BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS

Local area businesses have agreed to participate in the "Safe Business" partnership by providing a safe haven for individuals in need of police assistance. These businesses are identified by a "Safe Business" sign in their windows. A complete list of Safe Business partnerships is located on the back of this brochure.

FUTURE ENHANCEMENT PLANS

 

"BLUE-LIGHT" 911 PHONES

Outdoor "blue light" emergency phones will be installed in designated areas throughout the corridor. This security measure is provided to ensure safety. When these phones are picked up, they automatically dial into the dispatch center as a 911 emergency call for the City of Albany Police, the College of Saint Rose Safety and Security, or the University at Albany Police, depending on the location of the phone.

 

IP VIDEO SURVELLIANCE SYSTEM

A digital camera "views" the scene in front of it, broadcasts the video images as a digitized signal over a LAN line (Local Area Network) where it's then transmitted to a computer or server. Several cameras have already been installed. The goal is to expand existing cameras to cover the entire Operation Safe Corridor region.

 

STREET LIGHT UPGRADES

In accordance with recommendations made by the new Crime Prevention Team, our goal is to increase the lighting in the Operation Safe Corridor area. These upgrades will help to create pedestrians-friendly streets.

 

REMEMBER

This corridor has been identified, but your safety begins with you!