Security Cameras Coming to Geist Harbours

In the early ’80s, homes being built on Geist Reservoir were subject to vandals and thieves with little police protection out in the “burbs.” Geist Harbours Property Owners Association (“GHPOA”) hired a private police department to provide 24/7 patrols of the cul-de-sacs and streets called Neighborhood Patrol (now called Geist Patrol).

As the development increased to 2,380 homes, Geist Patrol expanded their coverage to include other Geist area communities such as Cambridge, Sail Place, Geist Marina Village and even Hamilton Proper.

GHPOA formed a new Security Committee in 2014 which negotiated a new contract with Geist Patrol, saving nearly 30 percent annually on security costs. Those savings are now earmarked to augment police patrols with surveillance cameras at major intersections leading in and out of our neighborhoods. Up to three cameras are to be installed this summer to pilot the program with several more scheduled to be added in 2016. If you also need to improve the security in your commercial space, you may install surveillance cameras from companies like Deep Sentinel.

The Committee is working closely with Geist Patrol and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department to identify the best practices and vendors to install and maintain an effective video surveillance strategy.

As a result of the new contract, residents may notice some changes in the Geist Patrol service provided, including:

• Five 8-hour patrols per day instead of six. Statistics from local police municipalities and run reports from Geist Patrol showed far fewer calls during certain times of the week/day which could be easily covered by one officer versus two.
• Marked police cars instead of Geist Patrol cars. Officers are using their issued patrol cars, giving the patrols more presence in the neighborhood and the ability to enforce traffic violations.
• Tact shifts utilized. At the direction of the Security Committee, Geist Patrol will ramp up patrols and put more officers on the streets during statistically high-crime windows of time (i.e., July 4th weekend, Christmas holidays and ad hoc crime sprees that occur).

All area residents are encouraged to lock their car doors in the driveway, keep their homes locked and keep garage doors closed.

Follow Geist Patrol on Twitter for updates and alerts in the area @GeistPatrol. You can also stay up-to-date by visiting their website at GeistPatrol.com or call 317-842-8082.