Following a shooting at a medical marijuana dispensary in Tempe, Ariz. on Oct. 25 that left an employee hospitalized with life-threatening injuries while three male suspects were still on the loose, Phoenix Fox affiliate KSAZ-TV (Ch. 10) talked to Centralized Vision President Tom Vigilante, Jr. about how real-time video monitoring could help prevent similar crimes at other dispensaries throughout Arizona.
Fox 10 news anchor John Hook reported it is violence like what happened in Tempe that opponents of medical marijuana have been warning people about from the beginning. Hook stated that Arizona law requires dispensaries to have security, but some are wondering if it is enough?
In the segment that ran during the station’s 9 p.m. newscast on Oct. 26, Vigilante said medical marijuana dispensaries “are a cash-rich environment, not to mention an environment with a lot of marijuana.”
Although nobody can totally prevent someone from attempting to rob a dispensary, Hook stated that advance security systems like the services offered by Centralized Vision can help track down criminals or serve as a deterrent to prevent crimes.
“The goal is to get (the suspects) in the moment so we don’t even get that far,” Vigilante said. “A panic button might also come into play to where if a person feels threatened they can simply press a button, which can be monitored or received on our end by one of our operators. Combine that with live-feed video and the ability to look in in real time, you have a very powerful solution that increases the likelihood of capturing would-be offenders, thieves or criminals in those types of environments.”
