An Arresting Report On Public Safety

Public Safety departments across the country are reinforcing their facilities to better support their populations. Driven by migrating citizens, rising crime rates, and a need for advanced security solutions in various industries and communities, the global public safety and security market is expected to grow approximately 7.2% by 2028 – according to the Market Research Network.

Based on information gathered from those we’ve interacted with at tradeshows, site visits, and in everyday interactions, these projections will appear to hold true within the North American market. In the information presented below, we’ll share the insight we gained from attending industry tradeshows and meeting with public safety professionals, as well as ways that our innovative storage solutions and design experience can help address their growing needs

Fighting Fire With Storage

Our first stop on the tradeshow trail was at the Station Design Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. This year’s show welcomed 66 exhibitors, all dedicated to bringing the latest and greatest public safety solutions to the more than 600 attendees on hand.

While interacting with attendees, we uncovered that most – approximately 75% – were associated with a fire department, and that finding effective storage solutions for their wide array of personal and professional gear is an ongoing need and challenge. Furthermore, many of these individuals stated they will have projects that will either come to completion or be well on their way there in the next 2-3 years.

Guns, Tack, Lockers – Our Version of GTL in Jersey

More than 6,700 attendees made the trip to Atlantic City for this year’s Police Security Expo seeking out the latest and greatest advancements in public safety. Spacesaver was among the 400-plus exhibitors, many of which reported a heavy focus on new construction from their on-site communications.

Most attendees we spoke to have a project either in mind or in the works that they were looking for support on. A strong majority of the new developments seemed to be occurring in the Tri-State region – which was not a surprise based on the show’s east coast location. Beyond the focus on new construction, some attendees expressed a need for more comprehensive evidence storage and gun locker options.

If You Design It, They May Stay

Retention has become the biggest factor driving upgrades/additions for police departments across the nation. Stations are investing an increasing amount of funds and resources into hiring and training new officers and are adding varying accommodations including customized duty lockers to keep them within their department.

Here are three of the leading trends we are seeing in the market, all of which we believe will continue throughout the remainder of the year:

• Facilitating proper storage of and access to new technology will set departments apart from competing options
• Police station design experts will favor turnkey, all-encompassing solutions intended to optimize available floor space and streamline processes
• Joint facilities between police and fire departments will be the preferred option for city planners, in that they allow all public services to be housed under one roof and create a more welcoming environment for community members to utilize these valuable assets