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Community Corner

Community Update

Thirty five members of the Pacifica 24 Hour Fitness have signed a petition to request the installation of security cameras in the parking lot. Management at the gym has paid only lip service to our request. Management has posted signs in the parking lot and in the gym for members to be careful with their belongings. Nice trick, but has not gone down well with the gym's membership. Here is a copy of the petition.
We hope you act on it.
By the way, you may purchase a system from Costco for less than $500.00. A small price to pay for our security.
To: Todd Shypett, Manager, 24 Hour Fitness, Pacifica, California
From: Humberto Gutierrez and other interested 24 Hour Fitness members
Re: Request to buy and install a video camera security system overlooking the parking lots

Calls for service from 24 Hour Fitness in Pacifica to the Pacifica Police Department from 3/31/2009 to 3/31/2014 show the following results:
There were a total of 73 calls for service to the Police Department. They break down in the following manner:
• There were 31 Burglaries: Second degree. These are mostly (if not all) auto break-ins.
• There were 5 Grand thefts: Money/labor/real property.
• There were 8 petty thefts.
• There were 2 vandalisms less than $400.
Other calls varied from suspicious person to criminal threats and one hit and run.
The statistics average to more than one incident a month. They also do not show unreported crimes, which would most probably make the number of incidents much higher. This number of cases is unacceptable and can lead to more serious crimes.
With the installation of security cameras, members will feel safer and prevent more serious crimes, not only during the day, but at night when women are more vulnerable. Closed-circuit television, “as part of a surveillance system, are most effective in parking lots, where their use resulted in a 51% decrease in crime.” This statement is taken from a 2009 analysis by Northeastern University of Cambridge.
We hope that this information will be a wake up call to the management of 24 Hour Fitness and will promptly install the security system. Thanks in advance for your concern.

Respectfully,
Humberto Gutierrez

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