Police Say Dumpster Diving Can Lead to Theft & Property Damage

By Tami Vigilante

I routinely receive various crime prevention tips from local police departments because of the great relationships Centralized Vision has established with local law enforcement agencies. A recent email I received from the Peoria Police Department is worth passing along because it warns businesses about the circumstances if people are going through trash dumpsters on their property.

Peoria Police warn businesses that they could be held liable if information in their trash is left unprotected. While people may be “dumpster diving” for treasures, they can also collect customers’ personal identity information, business information or precious metals that can be resold on the black market. The Peoria Police Department highlighted Sec. 22-9 of their criminal code that addresses “disturbing contents of containers”:

(a) Any person not authorized by the City to utilize for other than its intended purpose the lid from any solid waste or recycling container.
(b) Any person not authorized by the responsible party to remove, collect or disturb the solid waste and recyclables stored in such containers or to remove from a solid waste or recycling container any solid waste or recyclables
(i) set out for recycling or collection and disposable by the City, licenses solid waste contractors, their agents or assigns or
(ii) deposited at a City recycling drop-off center. This prohibition does not apply to law enforcement officers acting within the scope of their official duties.
(c) Any person to scatter solid waste or recyclables upon any private or public property.

Centralized Vision offers an innovative security platform that provides pro-active protection of property and assets for companies by using remote-camera monitoring with real-time response options that act as a crime deterrent. Our technicians visually monitor our clients’ property in real time and can dispatch security or law enforcement officers to prevent dumpster divers from collecting a company’s private information.

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.

Music Awakening Seniors Suffering From Cognitive Disorders

By Tami Vigilante

A growing part of our business at Centralized Vision is real-time GPS monitoring and tracking. We can easily keep track of low-level criminals or locate a fleet of transportation vehicles by having our team of 24-hour support technicians monitor GPS tracking devices anywhere around the world.

But a significant portion of our GPS monitoring business has nothing to do with criminal activity.

Many of our GPS monitoring clients are assisted-living facilities that house seniors afflicted with cognitive disorders, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Because people may suffer memory loss or be disoriented, having those that suffer from either of the disorders wear a GPS bracelet allows our company to locate them if they wander away from the facility.

Currently, there are more than a million people with dementia or Alzheimer’s living in assisted-living facilities throughout the country. Centralized Vision adds another level of security and safety to protect loved ones living in such facilities. But there are other organizations that offer various therapeutic options to improve the quality of life for people spending the remainder of their lives in these facilities.

One of those organizations improving the quality of life of seniors afflicted with dementia and Alzheimer’s is Music & Memory. Started by social worker Daniel Cohen six years ago, Music & Memory’s mission is to improve the quality of life for the elderly suffering from cognitive disorders through the use of personalized music and digital technology.

I learned about Music & Memory when the organization was featured on an episode of “The Doctors” recently. On the show, they told the story of an older gentleman named Henry living in an assisted-living facility and being unresponsive to most things because of dementia. He didn’t recognize family members and sat in a daze most of the time. However, when he was given an iPod with his favorite songs to listen to, Henry came alive. It broke my heart to hear him talk about his favorite singer Cab Calloway and to hear him sing a few lines from Bing Crosby’s 1943 classic “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”

The therapy Music & Memory provides helps seniors suffering from cognitive disorders remember who they are and helps reacquire their identity after listening to their favorite music on an iPod. You can help the non-profit organization allow seniors to relive their younger years by donating a used iPod or giving as little as $49 to assist them in purchasing new iPod Shuffles. Log on to www.musicandmemory.org to learn more about how to donate used iPods or purchase new ones and to watch the video segment from the recent episode of “The Doctors.”

Keeping seniors living in assisted-living facilities safe and secure is important. But making sure those suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s have an improved quality of life is something we all can contribute to.

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.