parent – Centralized Vision

Video Monitoring Satisfies State Medical Marijuana Security Plans While Doubling as Crime Deterrent

By Tom Vigilante, Jr.

My wife, Tami, and I have had the “Just Say No to Drugs” talk with our children already. I remember vividly how my parents outlined for me the dangers of getting involved with drugs and how falling down that path would more than likely prohibit me from achieving my lifelong dreams. As a parent, all I can hope for is that the education my wife and I provided our children for staying away from using drugs continues to resonate with them as they make their own choices in life.

So how do I explain why their parent’s real-time video monitoring services company is in business with medical marijuana dispensaries that are soon to be opening up for throughout Arizona and those that are already serving customers in nearby states, such as California, Colorado and New Mexico?

It’s easy.

Because CCTV and video surveillance at a medical marijuana dispensary acts as a crime deterrent and is mostly mandated by local law enforcement agencies in cities or territories handing out applications for these businesses to operate.

Let’s face it; medical marijuana dispensaries are legal now in 17 states and Washington, D.C. In addition to Arizona, the other states to have legalized medical marijuana sales are Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

According to a recent Arizona Republic article, the Tempe, Arizona Police Department uses a nine-page security plan to monitor dispensaries in their city. The plan includes mandatory requirements such as:
• Lighting requirements for the building’s exterior and parking lots.
• Closed circuit television system to monitor access the entrance and exits of the building, points of sale, grow areas and the parking lot.
• Sufficient lighting and illumination for exterior video cameras, which must have resolution of 704 x 480 or better.
• Digitally recorded video must be saved for a minimum of 31 days.

In a recent segment that ran on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” correspondent Steve Croft discussed the mandated video security in medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado. No state has gone to the lengths to manage medical marijuana that Colorado has. Every licensed dispensary must grow at least 70 percent of its own product indoors, so harvesting and sales can be closely monitored.

Matt Cook, a former narcotics officer who helped write the law and served as Colorado’s first director of enforcement, discussed his state’s medical marijuana laws to Croft during the “60 Minutes” piece.

“If you note, video security cameras systems,” Cook said to Croft in the “60 Minutes” segment as they tour a dispensary. “We created a very transparent regulatory scheme and wanted to ensure what they said they were doing, they were actually doing. We track everything from seed to sale and they have to account for 100 percent of it.”

At Centralized Vision, we offer an innovative security platform that provides pro-active protection of property and assets by using a remote-camera monitoring system with real-time response options that could be used by medical marijuana dispensaries to satisfy their state-mandated security plans. Dispensaries can be viewed 24 hours a day by our technicians that visually monitor our clients’ property in real time and can dispatch security or law enforcement officers if a crime occurs. By using the latest in security technology from a centralized location, Centralized Vision provides affordable pricing options that fit into the budget for any dispensary in any state.

We are already past the point of whether medical marijuana dispensaries should be allowed in Arizona and other states. I am more worried about how we can offer a solution to prevent crimes in communities where the dispensaries are located. The video monitoring services we offer at Centralized Vision are a good start to serve as a crime deterrent.

Tom Vigilante, Jr. is President & Founder of Centralized Vision, which has offices in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Denver. For more information on real-time video verification services or GPS monitoring, go to centralizedvision.com or call 855-888-8094. Businesses in Colorado should connect with Casey Kowal at caseyk@centralizedvision.com.

Dangers Associated with Autistic Children Wandering Away is Preventable

By Tami Vigilante

My life revolves around my two children.

Like most mothers, my day starts by getting them out of bed, making sure they eat breakfast and then driving both to school – hopefully on time so they are not late for their first class. After school, the daily tasks usually consist of getting Dayne to his flag-football practice or Tatum to her dance class while balancing time with their friends and making sure homework is done. And on the weekends, along with my husband Tom, we all spend time as a family doing various activities.

Knowing how much my children are a part of my life, it broke my heart to read an Arizona Republic article earlier this summer of how a mother lost her 9-year-old boy in Mesa, Arizona. Her son, Au-Juna, was struck and killed by a truck after wandering out on the freeway.

Two hours before being killed, Au-Juna was with his two brothers and sister having fun playing in the neighborhood. When Au-Juna didn’t return with his siblings to their Mesa apartment, their aunt, who was babysitting at the time, alerted the police he was missing. Mesa police spent an hour trying to locate Au-Juna until receiving a 911 call that a child was struck and killed on the U.S. 60 freeway – five miles from his apartment.

Au-Juna had wandered away because he was autistic.

Children with autism suffer from a developmental disorder that affects their social interactions, language and behavior, causing some to wander without a typical person’s sense of fear or danger. Parents must have an aura of constant vigilance to stay a step ahead of their autistic child. That is why in 2011, “autism wandering” became an official diagnosis in the United States with its own medical code.

That hour police and Au-Juna’s family spent franticly looking for him could have had a more pleasant outcome if they had an option of locating him with a GPS device. Those options are now available for parents to locate their autistic children.

Although our company, Centralized Vision, specializes in real-time video verification services to prevent theft and vandalism, we also offer various GPS monitoring devices that could quickly locate children with autism after wandering away from their home. Along with our partners at Adiant Solutions, we offer GPS devices that could be used as a keychain, worn as a pendant or bracelet or clipped to a belt. The same devices are also being used by seniors diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, so they can be located after wandering away from their loved ones or assisted-living facilities.

Our safety-certified operators that man our call center at Centralized Vision 24 hours a day are trained to quickly locate a person wearing a GPS device. The operators are also well-versed in communicating with local law enforcement or medical personnel to quickly administer any emergency.

The GPS devices are affordable with annual or monthly service plans to give anyone associated with an autistic child peace of mind if an emergency would occur.

A parent, teacher or care giver still can’t predict when an autistic child may elope. But if a child wanders on their own, now there are options to quickly locate them while being returned to a safe environment. And hopefully a number of situations like the unfortunate one that took Au-Juna’s life can be prevented.

That’s all a mother can ask.

Tami Vigilante is Executive Vice President & Co-Founder at Centralized Vision. For more information on real-time video verification services or GPS monitoring, go to centralizedvision.com or call 855-888-8094.

GPS Monitoring Devices

Centralized Vision provides real-time GPS monitoring and tracking with two-way communication devices to make people feel safe and secure wherever they may be throughout the world.

Our monitoring can locate seniors with dementia or Alzheimer’s, autistic children that elope, low-level criminals or transportation fleet vehicles with easy-to-use, customizable technology.

Our various GPS monitoring services have numerous features, including SOS Assistance to call for help, G-Force Sensor Alert to report immediate impact or fall, Geo-Fencing to report crossing of pre-determined barriers, pre-determined text messages and Two-Way Voice Communication to talk with our 24-hour support staff.

Our GPS monitoring for personal vehicles, motorcycles and boats allows us to easily notify you in real time if your possession is stolen or towed. We can also immediately track your vehicle’s location and alert local law enforcement to return your valuable possession.

Our 24-hour support offers a team of technicians that are safety- and CPR-certified and accustomed to accurately communicate with any type of individual, whether it’s a public safety officer or the parent of a child with a cognitive disorder.

Executives

Tom Vigilante President & Founder	Tom Vigilante, Jr. is the President and Founder of Centralized Vision and is an expert in innovative security solutions after spending more than 15 years in the security industry. Headquartered in Phoenix, Centralized Vision is a leading company that offers real-time video surveillance services and personal GPS monitoring and tracking to provide safety and security for companies and families throughout the world. Vigilante and his wife, Tami, founded Centralized Vision in 2007 after hearing the frustrations of business owners who had difficulty in preventing property damage and theft with un-monitored security cameras. With innovations in technology and increased bandwith on the Internet that enabled live video streaming, Vigilante was able to develop an innovative security platform that provided pro-active protection of property and assets for companies by using remote-camera monitoring with real-time response options. With a call center equipped with safety-certified operators and video technicians 24 hours a day, Centralized Vision now provides real-time video monitoring for companies such as auto dealerships, retail centers, recycling facilities, office buildings and warehouse distribution centers. Centralized Vision also specializes in GPS monitoring and tracking to ensure that people can be located easily and efficiently, including monitoring convicted felons or individuals with special-needs suffering from Alzheimer’s, dementia or autism.Vigilante received his start in the security industry while in high school as a part-time security officer working for Vigilante Security Services (VSS), a small security services company his parents founded in 1988 that has currently grown to more than 500 employees and recognized as Arizona’s No. 1 security company by Ranking Arizona Magazinefor the past 10 years (2001-11). After attending college and developing a strong business acumen as a leading salesperson for an office solutions company, Vigilante returned to work at VSS as Sales Representative in 1999 and created $2.5 million in sales in the first year. As VSS continued to grow with more efficiency with redeveloped marketing campaigns and customer-service programs, Vigilante was promoted to Vice President, Senior Vice President and Executive Vice President. He currently is active with many associations, such as ASIS International, BOMA International, NAIOP and AACM.Prior to earning a degree in Sociology and minoring in Communication from Arizona State University in 1996, Vigilante played baseball at Glendale Community College, University of Arizona and Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. He and his wife, Tami, currently reside in Scottsdale, Ariz. with their children Dayne and Tatum.

Tami Vigilante Executive Vice President & Co-Founder	Tami Vigilante is the Executive Vice President and Co-Founder of Centralized Vision and developed core customer service philosophies that has enabled the company to grow rapidly while maintaining strong client retention. Headquartered in Phoenix, Centralized Vision is a leading company that offers real-time video surveillance services and personal GPS monitoring and tracking to provide safety and security for companies and families throughout the world. Vigilante and her husband, Tom Jr., founded Centralized Vision in 2007 after hearing the frustrations of business owners who had difficulty in preventing property damage and theft with un-monitored security cameras. She maintains great working relationships with all of the company’s clients while also organizing weekly property reports to accurately showcase their 24/7 monitoring coverage. If there is an incident, Centralized Vision’s clients receive a report immediately along with photo or video images of the occurrence. Vigilante also has a hand in assembling the company’s team of technicians that are safety- and CPR-certified and accustomed to accurately communicate with any type of individual, whether it’s a public safety officer or the parent of a child with autism.Vigilante developed her customer service and office management skills while working for IKON Office Solutions for seven years from 1992-97. She began her career as an Office Manager and was quickly promoted to Assistant for the company’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing, which allowed her to develop customer service strategies while networking with new business clients. Vigilante became a Junior Sales Representative and supported a team of five Senior Sales Representatives before owning her own territory as a Sales Representative. She met her husband while working at IKON and left her position to start a family while Tom rejoined his parent’s security company, Vigilante Security Services (VSS), as a Vice President. Being the mother of two children, Dayne and Tatum, Vigilante could not be happier that Centralized Vision is providing deterrents and services to make the world safer for her family and others to live in.