256 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
256 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
ELEVATOR VANDALISM SQUAD
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By
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Ronald Welsh
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Captain
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Housing Authority Police Department
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New York, New York
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and
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Peter Cestare
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Sergeant
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Commanding Officer
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Elevator Vandalism Squad
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Housing Authority Police Department
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Today, most Americans take elevators for granted. These
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wonders of the modern age allow architects to design structures
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that provide ample working and living areas, while making
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efficient use of limited space in urban centers.
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However, elevators also create special problems for law
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enforcement agencies that provide police service to public
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housing highrise buildings. In New York City, this
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responsibility rests with the Housing Authority Police.
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With an increasing number of apparent elevator vandalism
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cases that caused some New York City elevators to come to a
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halt, new problems confronted Housing Authority officers.
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Department leaders responded by creating the Elevator Outage
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Reduction Program, which evolved into the Elevator Vandalism
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Squad (EVS).
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This article discusses the EVS and how it aids in reducing
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vandalism and serious injuries on elevators. It also explains
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how the squad assists in investigations of crimes that occur on
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elevators, such as robberies and sexual assaults.
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BACKGROUND
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In 1980, the estimated cost of elevator vandalism in New
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York City's public housing developments approached a staggering
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$10 million annually. In addition to this large financial loss,
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the vandalism also caused great inconvenience to scores of
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housing development residents.
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To combat the problem, Housing Authority administrators
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developed the Elevator Outage Reduction Program. They began the
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program by assigning two investigators to review elevator
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records in buildings that reported an unusually high number of
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outages. Officials hoped to determine whether the outages were
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actually caused by vandalism or whether the problem was,
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instead, a result of stolen elevator parts.
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These investigations revealed that most outages were a
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result of parts thefts, not merely vandalism. However,
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investigators also discovered a far more dangerous situation--
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juveniles were playing in and on the elevators, which resulted
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in many injuries and deaths. This discovery led department
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leaders to expand the program and to form the Elevator Vandalism
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Squad, which now focuses on reducing the number of juvenile
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deaths and injuries on elevators.
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SQUAD SELECTION
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Given the technical nature of the assignment, most
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investigators chosen for the EVS have either a mechanical or
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electrical background. These backgrounds are helpful because
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squad members receive extensive training, much like that given
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to elevator mechanics. Squad members learn about elevator
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electrical systems and how to read wiring schematics and
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blueprints.
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The extensive training provided to squad members gives them
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an added edge in solving cases. Their expertise in elevators
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allows them to pursue suspicions they may have about how the
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crimes were actually committed or how the accidents really
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occurred, either proving or disproving the original theories of
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responding investigators.
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SQUAD DUTIES
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The Elevator Vandalism Squad focuses primarily on reducing
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the number of elevator injuries and fatalities among juveniles
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who play dangerous elevator games. However, they also
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investigate other elevator injuries and deaths and make
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recommendations for elevator safety modifications that may
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reduce unsafe access to elevator shafts. In addition, they
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assist in other investigations that involve elevators, and they
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support drug teams when they raid apartments in highrise
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buildings.
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Investigate Elevator Deaths
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The expertise of EVS members is crucial in investigations
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of elevator deaths. This expertise allows them to determine
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whether an injury or death resulted from a dangerous elevator
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game or whether it resulted from an elevator malfunction.
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For example, when Housing Authority officers found a blind
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woman at the bottom of an elevator shaft, they originally
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believed that the woman was murdered. However, the responding
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officers immediately called in EVS members to assess the
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incident.
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When squad members arrived, tenants advised them that the
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elevator doors on the third floor (the victim's floor) would
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often fail to open. With trained eyes, EVS members focused on
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the elevator's locking mechanism, which should have prevented
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the outside door from opening before the elevator arrived at the
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floor. When squad members took the lock apart, they found that
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the catch to the lock had actually been bent, allowing the door
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to open without the elevator being on the floor.
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Further investigation revealed that the blind victim had no
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way of knowing when the elevator arrived at her floor. Because
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of this, she constantly pulled on the hallway door to the
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elevator until it opened. When the door opened, she assumed the
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elevator was there. Tragically, on the day she died, the lock
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failed because of the repeated pulling action.
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In other cases, EVS members determined how juveniles died
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while playing dangerous elevator games. The youths would gain
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entry to the elevator shafts by circumventing safety features
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and then jump from the top of the elevator to the counterweight
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or from one elevator to the next. Eventually, bad timing, lack
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of concentration, or other factors led to the loss of life.
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Investigate Elevator Injuries
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The EVS also investigates elevator injuries to determine
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how the injuries actually occurred. For example, one youth left
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his apartment and returned later with three fingers missing.
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The youth told responding Housing Authority officers that the
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injury was caused by the elevator door closing on his fingers.
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A trail of blood from the elevator to the youth's apartment
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appeared to corroborate this story, but the officers could not
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find the severed fingers.
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When EVS members arrived to investigate, they meticulously
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searched the garbage-strewn elevator shaft for the fingers.
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They then examined the top of the elevator, actually riding the
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top to check every ledge, where the fingers might possibly have
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fallen.
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Past experience then led them to check the guide rollers on
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the floor where the accident occurred. (Guide rollers are
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wheels attached to the steel tracks that run vertically inside
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the shaft. The elevator runs on these tracks, and the rollers
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stabilize the cab while it is in motion.) Juveniles who ride the
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tops of elevators sometimes grab the steel tracks for balance.
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This young man, while playing a dangerous game on the elevator,
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grabbed the steel tracks for balance, and his hands slid up to
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the guide roller, severing his fingers. EVS members found the
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fingers still in the guide roller.
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Through investigations of this type, the EVS provides
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valuable information that protects the Housing Authority from
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costly negligence lawsuits. Officials estimate that this
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program saved the Housing Authority between $40 and $50 million
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over the last 10 years.
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Recommend Modifications
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In addition to investigating injuries or deaths on
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elevators, EVS members make recommendations concerning possible
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safety modifications that could prevent future incidents. In
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some cases, simple modifications can totally eliminate specific
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problems.
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For example, prior to the formation of the EVS, the city
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required that all safety hatches at the tops of elevators remain
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unlocked in order to allow trapped riders to exit the elevators
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in cases of emergency. However, EVS members determined that
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juveniles were being killed or injured when they climbed through
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the hatches to ride the tops of elevators.
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EVS members convinced city administrators that trapped
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riders would be safer if they remained inside the elevator until
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help arrived, rather than risking injury by climbing through the
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safety hatch. Now, the city requires all safety hatches to
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remain locked. This simple modification resulted in an
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immediate decrease in the number of juvenile injuries and deaths
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caused by riding the tops of elevators.
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At times, specific cases serve as the impetus for changes
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that enhance elevator safety. When the blind woman died as a
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result of the faulty elevator lock, the EVS recommended certain
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changes that have since been implemented. First, whenever
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possible, building managers rent ground floor apartments to
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blind individuals. Second, elevator maintenance workers now
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focus special attention on the locks of elevator hallway doors
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on the floors of blind residents. These simple precautions can
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help to reduce elevator fatalities among the blind.
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Investigate Other Elevator Crimes
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The EVS also investigates other types of elevator crimes,
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such as robberies and sexual assaults. Elevators provide ideal
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environments for such crimes because criminals can contain the
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movements of the victim and control the movement of the
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elevator. The isolation also heightens the victim's fear.
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When a particular crime pattern develops, EVS personnel
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mount cameras (approximately the size of a pack of cigarettes)
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equipped with pinhole lenses on the roofs of elevator cabs.
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This allows them to view the interior of the elevator on a
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television monitor located in the motor room. They can also
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video tape any action within the elevator.
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This technique helps to obtain valuable information in
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cases where authorities identify particular crime patterns. The
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EVS has used the cameras in over 20 crime patterns that
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detectives identified, solving cases in 8 of these patterns.
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Assist Drug Teams
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Often, EVS members are called on to assist drug teams that
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plan to raid apartments in highrise buildings. When such a raid
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is planned, the drug teams contact EVS members, who enter the
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buildings disguised as elevator mechanics. They then hold an
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elevator at the main floor so that the drug team can enter the
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building, quickly get on the elevator without waiting for one to
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arrive, and go straight to the appropriate floor.
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Another benefit of having the EVS present during drug raids
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is that they can keep the elevator at the floor where the raid
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takes place. This way, if any injuries occur during the raid,
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an elevator is immediately available to take the injured persons
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directly to the lobby.
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CONCLUSION
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The Elevator Vandalism Squad has proved to be an asset to
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the New York City Housing Authority Police. The professional,
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knowledgeable investigations conducted by the squad avert costly
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lawsuits, saving the Housing Authority large amounts of money.
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Because of their speedy responses to elevator accidents, the
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squad can reconstruct the incident almost immediately, as
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opposed to reconstructing the incident at some later date in
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response to a civil lawsuit. In addition, the EVS reduces the
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amount of vandalism to elevators, as well as thefts of elevator
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parts.
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Most importantly, however, the EVS saves lives. Buildings
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that previously experienced numerous elevator incidents now
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report no problems. This is due, in large part, to the
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implementation of EVS recommendations.
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Departments continually seek out programs that make their
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citizens safer, while conserving money. This is a program well
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worth consideration by departments that must ensure the safety
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of their citizens while in elevators.
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