Thursday, January 24, 2019

5A – Identifying Local Opportunities


1.    ‘Chaos on the radio:’ documents detail failures during Parkland Shooting.
This article describes the poor communications system that was in place at the time of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas. It details how Coral Springs Police, Broward Sheriff’s deputies, and school officials were not able to exchange information in an efficient way due to compatibility issues between the systems they each used.
The opportunity presented here is one that incorporates a communications system that better connects various law enforcement agencies to schools in Florida and to one another to better respond to difficult situations.
The problem in this story was the lack of efficient communication during a time of crisis. During a situation like this, it is crucial for law enforcement to effectively communicate with one another to act in the quickest and most time sensitive manner.
The problem in this story affected students at faculty at Douglas because their lives depended on how quickly law enforcement responded. More generally, this issue affects any facility or institution in Broward County that could face a similar situation.

2.    State senator calls for plastic bag, straw ban for businesses that sell take-out food
This article describes an attempt by legislators to create a ban on businesses from using disposable plastic straws in Delray Beach FL.
Here is an opportunity to begin using alternatives to disposable straws and become eco-friendlier.
Plastic straws are difficult to recycle, are easily blown away which causes them to end up on the streets and pose a risk to sea animals.
We are all affected by this problem. Plastic pollution affects our lakes, our streets, and our environment.

3.    Those tolls you pay on Miami’s Highways could come to an end if this bill passes   
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article224903915.html
Law makers are attempting to pass a bill that ends the Miami-Date Expressway authority, which levies tolls on some of Miami’s largest highways.
This is an opportunity for people to make use to highways free of cost.
The problem of paying high toll fees fell mostly on Miami Dade residents who might have had to may considerable amounts of money to transport themselves. It is also a problem for tourists that frequent these roads.

4.    Suspect caught on video using cloned credit card
Broward PD is looking for a man who purchased over $1200 in money orders using a fake debit card.
The problem is credit card theft, which many residents may be victims of. This is not just a problem for residents in Broward. According to creditcards.com, between 2012 and 2016, 13 million complaints were filed due to card fraud.
There seems to be an opportunity here to improve security measures that prevent someone from cloning debit cards and stealing people’s money.

5.    Walking? You’re risking your life in Florida, the deadliest state for pedestrians
Data has shown that Florida, especially South Florida and Orlando, is one of the deadliest places for pedestrians due to the infrastructure built for speed above safety pedestrians. This is concerning and unlike other places and countries where fatalities do not happen at the rate they do in Florida.
The problem is that the roads are not safe for pedestrians due to design and lack of controls that could potentially prevent fatalities.
As stated in the article, those who see themselves most affected are the elderly and minority individuals in the most impoverished areas of Florida since they are the ones who walk the most.
There seems to be an opportunity here to create better roads that are more pedestrian safe, and implement regulations such as better driver safety laws that can regulate the type of driving that causes this issue.  

3 comments:

  1. All of your posts about local opportunities are very good. You included all required information for each opportunity. I completely agree with your post about the Parkland Shootings. Having a communications system that better connects law enforcement agencies to schools in Florida is truly needed and is an opportunity. All schools and law enforcement agencies in Florida need to be prepared in case there is ever a similar situation. Both your opportunities and the ones I listed are alike, in that they are ones that help the public.

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    1. Thanks for your respons! Just so you know, it looks like your profile is private so I can’t comment on your posts.

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  2. Hey Angelica,
    You did a good job flushing out the opportunity from the problem. There are many school security problem posts that are included on people's lists. I can't decide if this is something that should be privately capitalized on by a company or solved by regulations like gun control. Potentially schools could individually find ways to fund a private security company to patrol schools everyday. It would be in that companies interests to keep children and parents gripped in fear.

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