NCJ Number
143661
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 62 Issue: 6 Dated: (June 1993) Pages: 10-13
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the formation, training, and duties of New York City's police Elevator Vandalism Squad (EVS).
Abstract
In 1980, the estimated cost of elevator vandalism in New York City's public housing developments approached $10 million annually. To combat the problem, the Housing Authority developed the Elevator Outage Reduction Program. The first step was to assign two investigators to review elevator records in buildings that reported an unusually high number of outages. These investigations revealed that most outages resulted from parts thefts, not merely vandalism. The investigators also discovered that juveniles were playing in and on the elevators, which resulted in many injuries and deaths. These findings prompted the Housing Authority to expand the program with the formation of the EVS. The EVS focuses on reducing the number of juvenile deaths and injuries on elevators. Most investigators selected for the EVS have either a mechanical or electrical background. Squad members receive extensive training in elevator mechanics. This knowledge enables them to detect or reconstruct the causes of elevator outages and accidents. In addition to reducing the number of elevator injuries and fatalities, the EVS also assists in other investigations that involve elevators and supports drug teams when they raid apartments in high-rise buildings. Due largely to the effectiveness of the EVS, buildings that previously experienced numerous elevator incidents now report no problems.