City Surveillance
Video Surveillance Of Downtown Houston To Expand
HOUSTON (AP) — Police surveillance of downtown Houston is expanding with 180 new cameras that will bring the number of video feeds available to law enforcement authorities by early 2014 to nearly 1,000. The Houston Chronicle reported Thursday (http://bit.ly/1c7oMnF ) most cameras are pointed on public areas around downtown, including its theater district and stadiums. "With all the homeland security requirements that we have — we have more critical infrastructure to protect than New York City — we can’t do it without video," Police Chief Charles McClelland told the newspaper. The city has spent more than $18 million in federal money to build its camera system and has another $5 million in reserve. Houston also has expanded its video network through private sharing agreements, such as by accessing networks along rail lines. The expansion comes despite shrinking national security grants for video surveillance and studies showing mixed results on whether the presence of cameras improves public safety. Nancy La Vigne, a justice policy researcher with the nonprofit Urban Institute, said cameras help but can’t replace beat officers. "You need that human interaction," said La Vigne, whose 2011 study of surveillance networks showed variances in their effectiveness. In Baltimore, for example, where officers were trained to monitor video feeds, crime was reduced. In Chicago, while cameras at one park cut the crime rate in half, they had little impact at another, according to the study. But C.O. Bradford, a Houston city councilman and former Houston police chief, said the technology […]
Source www.khou.com
Bomb-Sniffing Dogs, Video Surveillance Part Of 2014 Rose Parade Security Plan
2013_rose_parade.jpg PASADENA, Calif. – Police plan to use bomb-sniffing dogs and wide-ranging video surveillance as part of a Rose Parade security plan developed after the Boston Marathon bombings that killed three and injured 260, it was reported Tuesday. Police officials said the Pasadena Police Department has been working for months analyzing national tragedies like the Boston Marathon bombings. Additionally officers have negotiated with business owners for full-time access to private security cameras. "All eyes will be on Pasadena that day," Police Chief Phillip Sanchez said in remarks reported by the Pasadena Star-News. Sanchez urged the hundreds of thousands of expected spectators to be vigilant. "If one of the parade goers sees something suspicious, and what I mean by that is they walk up and put a bag down and they walk away from that bag, have the courage and the insight and the willingness to engage and call that to the attention of local law enforcement officers," he said. Police Lt. Tracey Ibarra said the department has spent months working with businesses along the parade route to encourage them to tell their customers that if they "see something, say something." She also said police have coordinated with business owners so the department will have 24-hour access to their private security cameras if they are needed. Sanchez said 1,100 to 1,200 uniformed and covert officers will patrol the parade route. Also, more bomb sniffing dogs will be used. The dogs […]
Source www.10news.com
Integrated Security System Goes Live At Thailand’s Ratchaprasong Square
Home » business » Integrated security system set up at Ratchaprasong Square The Ratchaprasong Square Trade Association and its members have set up an integrated security system, which it says is the country’s biggest and most extensive, to ensure the safety and confidence of tourists in the central Bangkok shopping district during the New Year celebrations. In cooperation with Panasonic Siew Sales (Thailand) Co, the RSTA has spent Bt5 million to upgrade 83 closed-circuit TV cameras to include full high-definition viewing, 30-times zooming and panoramic recording. Ratchaprasong’s CCTV control centre also had a major upgrade with new software to connect the networks of more than 1,500 security cameras in 12 malls and hotels into a single system. The association also strengthened its cooperation with the Royal Thai Police to help reduce crime in the area. "All members of the RSTA, namely Gaysorn Shopping Centre, Amarin Plaza, CentralWorld, Erawan Bangkok, Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok, InterContinental Bangkok, Holiday Inn Bangkok, Four Seasons Bangkok, Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong, Maneeya Center, President Tower Arcade, and the Erawan Shrine have joined with the Royal Thai Police to set up a security solution for the district under three core strategies. These are technology, personnel, and proactive and defensive measures," RSTA president Chai Srivikorn said. "The result is a unified security system of the highest efficiency designed specifically for our square. It is considered the biggest and most comprehensive security-system network in Thailand, which can be used to prevent or reduce the crime rate to zero. "Our […]
Source www.nationmultimedia.com
Russian Blast Caught On Security Cameras
Source video.theloop.ca
Chatham County GA Park Gets More Security Cameras Following Illicit Activities
Chatham County plans to install surveillance cameras at L. Scott Stell Park after reports of vandalism and thefts. Signage at the park warns visitors to protect their valuables. Marcus E. Howard/Savannah Morning News ” src=”http://sav-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/story_slideshow_thumb/12897297.jpg”> <p node="media-caption">Chatham County plans to install surveillance cameras at L. Scott Stell Park after reports of vandalism and thefts. Signage at the park warns visitors to protect their valuables. Marcus E. Howard/Savannah Morning News </p> Thievery, vandalism and sexcapades continue to wreak havoc at Chatham County’s L. Scott Stell Park. At the request of the county Public Works and Park Services Department, Chatham County commissioners have approved a contract to buy four additional high-definition surveillance cameras at the park just off Little Neck Road with the hope of discouraging further problems. The thefts and repairs resulting from the vandalism, according to department officials, have cost the county an estimated $10,000. “Because the place is so isolated, they’ve stolen equipment we have, like weed eaters and lawnmowers,” said Lorenzo Bryant, the department’s recreation manager. “They have a lot of vandalism that occurs out there; so you have to go out on a regular basis.” The problems have occurred over the past four years, according to officials. Last year, thieves twice broke into a storage shed and stole a utility vehicle. About 300-feet of chain link fencing has also been taken. Security cameras, as well as a gate, were installed near the park’s shed in the summer of 2012 at the large recreation park, which has […]
Source savannahnow.com
Lincoln Police: Downtown Security Cameras To Be Turned On
Home / Headlines List / Article Lincoln, Neb.– Lincoln Police say they’re turning on security cameras in downtown in an effort to curb crime in the area. The cameras were installed at 14th & O Streets in November 2012, but haven’t been turned on until now. According to Lincoln Police Chief Jim Peschong, in one year the city sees over 4,000 reported assaults, 146 of those happened at that intersection. That’s more than any other part of the city and now the intersection is at its highest level of crime, according to Peschong. He hopes the cameras will help catch people causing trouble, but some wonder if they will keep the mischief away or just customers in general. Some downtown business owners told city leaders in July that they’re worried that new security cameras may scare customers away. “It is another tool to portray 14th & O Street inaccurate,” said Scott Hatfield, who has owned Duffy’s Tavern for six years. Officials say in addition to helping the police department identify those involved in a crime, police say the footage can serve as evidence in court. Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station. powered by Disqus
Source www.1011now.com
Mayor?s Proposal Would Add 3.7 Miles Of Surveillance Cameras In Evanston IL
Cameras would stretch along the entire length of Dodge Avenue and most of Church Street, in order to provide a safe route for kids to walk to school, according to the mayor. A map shows the location of the proposed surveillance cameras. Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl is recommending that the city add a total of 3.7 miles of surveillance cameras along Church Street and Dodge Avenue. After a resolution to create a “safe school zone” and extend policing powers around Evanston Township High School failed to pass city council , Tisdahl’s proposal is designed to provide an alternative measure to enhance safety for children walking to and from the high school. Speaking before city council members Monday, Tisdahl said that students would have fights on school grounds or across the street if they wanted it to be stopped, but if they didn’t want police or school security officers to step in, they would move the fight a few blocks from the high school. To stay up to date on this and other Evanston news, sign up for our free newsletter , like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter . “I certainly think we owe our students a safe route in and out of high school,” she said. Under the mayor’s proposal, police would add surveillance cameras along the entire 2.5-mile stretch of Dodge Avenue from Simpson to Howard streets, and along a 1.2-mile stretch of Church Street from city limits at McCormick Boulevard to Ridge Avenue. Cameras […]
Source evanston.patch.com
CommunityCam Launches Online Mapping Tool For Security Cameras
Dec. 01–You’re walking down the street. Someone jumps out from behind a wall, grabs your purse and takes off. Time to cancel the credit cards and get a new purse? Perhaps not. A Portland, Ore.-based company that specializes in video surveillance solutions has just launched an online crowdsourced mapping tool in Boulder County that could help victims of crime track down perpetrators and bring them to justice. The tool is called CommunityCam, and it allows people to map online where surveillance cameras are located in a given area. Victims can visit the map — at videosurveillance.com/communitycam — to see if there was a camera in the immediate area where the crime was committed, be it a mugging or a hit-and-run. They can then request that police try to obtain any footage captured. “We’re seeing this as a community-based safety initiative that is being embraced because of the shortfalls in law enforcement budgets,” said Josh Daniels, founder of CommunityCam and president of VideoSurveillance.com. “Most of the cameras out there have been in place for years, and people simply don’t know that they are out there.” So far, 32 cameras in Boulder have been plotted on CommunityCam, with another 500 or so mapped in the Denver area. The first city to go online was Philadelphia, late last year. The Denver metro area went live last month. CommunityCam is also operating in San Francisco, Portland, Ore., Oakland, Chicago and Orange County, Calif. Daniels estimates that about 10,000 surveillance cameras have been mapped […]
Source www.securityinfowatch.com
Venice FL Installing 13 Crime-Fighting Cameras
VENICE – In an effort to deter vandalism and other crimes, the city is installing 13 cameras at some of its most frequented public places. Six security cameras now look over the bathrooms at Centennial Park downtown, while four others have been added to South Jetty Park. Three more are coming to the Venice Fishing Pier. John Veneziano, director of Venice Public Works, said the cameras were installed as a deterrent — not to spy on citizens. “Who has the time to monitor all that footage?” Veneziano said. “We’re working to make people understand that they can’t just destroy things without consequence.” Veneziano said the city spent $50,000 remodeling the park’s bathrooms after a string of vandalism this fall in which a wall was covered by graffiti, a urinal was ripped from another wall and fixtures, including a paper towel dispenser, were stolen. Centennial Park is not the only prominent public space damaged recently by vandals. Railings at the the Fishing Pier were destroyed. Piles of fish guts have been left on the wooden walkway for morning joggers to step in. Compare those expenses, Veneziano says, to the $1,500 the city spent to put security cameras in all three parks. Not everyone thinks the cameras are a good idea. Greater security means more intrusion by the government, warns Andrea Mogensen, vice president of the Sarasota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Mogenson said multiple cameras allow law enforcement or others to follow a person’s movements without a warrant […]
Source www.heraldtribune.com
Davis County Utah Upgrades Security Cameras
FARMINGTON — With high-definition security surveillance cameras, it is going to be much easier for Davis County to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Although county officials assure they will not be using the upgraded surveillance equipment to spy on others, but rather, to protect county properties from acts of vandalism and to prevent fraudulent claims being made against the county. The Davis County Commission this week approved a series of new contracts with Stanley Convergent Security Solutions in making certain county properties are protected with the best camera equipment available when it comes to surveillance. The contracts, marked confidential to avoid disclosing the exact placement of the cameras, totaled $38,000 in labor, installation and equipment, for four locations, County Director of Information Services Mark Langston said. The cameras will be installed at the Legacy Events Center in west Farmington, the County Memorial Courthouse in downtown Farmington, and at the two county-owned and operated golf courses, Davis Park in Kaysville and Valley View in Layton. “It’s not to spy,” Langston said. But the footage taken will serve as police evidence in the event a crime against the county does occur, he said. The Layton course this summer was the site of two acts of vandalism resulting in more than $10,000 in damage to the green of the nationally recognized 18-hole public course. “We’re just upgrading,” Langston said of the county now in the process of replacing its old analog cameras with new digital cameras. “It is like […]
Source www.standard.net
Small-Town Big Brother: Bunnell FL Eying Slew Of Spy Cameras In City?s South Side
FlaglerLive | February 8, 2011 magritte-false-mirror Magritte’s ‘False Mirror’ (1928) Bunnell city commissioners favor installing eight surveillance cameras at various locations in the city’s south and overwhelmingly black side. One camera would be reserved for the area around the First United Methodist Church and Bank of America downtown, where the homeless gather when the cold-weather shelter there is open. Commissioners are looking at surveillance cameras as a crime deterrent in drug-ridden zones, and as a way to expand the reach of the city police department, which is short-staffed: police officers would be able to conduct surveillance and zoom in and out on license plates, people’s faces or activity in streets or possibly through windows from their laptops, their desks or, conceivably—if they have the proper sign-ons—any computer. The cameras would be equipped with 220x zoom capability. “We have the whole south side, the whole infested area, under surveillance with these eight cameras,” Bunnell Police Chief Arthur Jones said. Four of five Bunnell city commission members conceptually approved of video surveillance in a meeting Monday evening. (They didn’t vote: it was a workshop where voting is not allowed.) They didn’t question whether the system should be in place, but how, and to what extent, it should be installed, considering the costs. Commissioner Elbert Tucker ridiculed the notion that drug dealers wouldn’t quickly adapt, and move out of sight of the cameras without leaving the area to do their business, since the cameras don’t by any means blanket the whole south […]
Source flaglerlive.com
Canadian Border ?Most Likely Entry Point? For Terrorists, U.S. Congress Hears
U.S. Border Patrol agents talk while at a marina on the Niagara River at the U.S.-Canada border on June 3, 2013 in Beaver Island State Park, New York. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which includes the Border Patrol, monitors the 5,525 mile long border, including Alaska, forming the longest international border between two countries in the world. OTTAWA — Canada represents the greatest threat from terrorists trying to enter the United States, a top U.S. border agent told congressional lawmakers this week. “As far as I am aware, all recent threat assessments have pointed to the northern border as the most likely point of entry into our country for terrorists,” Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, told a House of Representatives’ subcommittee on national security. Judd, who represents more than 17,000 unionized Border Patrol agents, offered no specifics in his prepared statement to the committee, hearing testimony about reforming the agents’ pay system. Still, he warned the panel that U.S. officials must not become complacent about the dangers that lurk along the border with Canada and “the ongoing threat … to the safety of the American public.” “In the early to mid-1990s, San Diego and El Paso were ground zero for both illegal immigration and drug smuggling,” he said. “In response, the border patrol threw all of its resources at those two areas without also strengthening the other areas of the border.” The thinking was that Arizona’s inhospitable climate and terrain would help deter other illegal […]
Source www.vancouversun.com
Seattle Latest City To Install DHS Surveillance Equipment
Seattle Latest City to Install DHS Surveillance Equipment Add Seattle to the list of local governments taking money from the Department of Homeland Security to put their citizens under federal surveillance. Seattle newspaper The Stranger reports : If you’re walking around downtown while looking at a smartphone, you will probably see at least one — and more likely two or three — Wi-Fi networks named after intersections: “4th&Seneca,” “4th&Union,” “4th&University,” and so on. That is how you can see the Seattle Police Department’s new wireless mesh network, bought from a California-based company called Aruba Networks, whose clients include the Department of Defense, school districts in Canada, oil-mining interests in China, and telecommunications companies in Saudi Arabia. Perhaps wiring the city with high-tech, federally funded surveillance equipment is what Seattle mayor meant when he described the city’s budget as “a moral document. It puts resources behind our vision of the city we want to see.” Apparently, part of those resources are coming from the federal government and they are earmarked for use to putting the city under the vision of the Department of Homeland Security. When pressed for details about his department’s new monitoring agreement with DHS, Seattle Police Department Detective Monty Moss said he “is not comfortable answering policy questions when we do not yet have a policy,” as reported by The Stranger . The paper continues: But, Detective Moss added, the SPD “is actively collaborating with the mayor’s office, city council, law department, and the ACLU on a […]
Source thenewamerican.com
Columbia SC City Council Propose Hundreds Of Security Cameras Throughout City
Some 400 more security cameras would be installed throughout Columbia next year if a proposal discussed Tuesday by City Council is implemented. The cameras would be at roughly 100 locations – four cameras per location, assistant city manager Missy Gentry told council Tuesday afternoon in a workshop session. “This will be a significant change from what we’ve done in the past,” Gentry told council members. The city already has security cameras in city facilities and in a limited number of public places. And the Five Points restaurant and bar area is saturated with some 200 security cameras financed in large part by the Five Points Association, a group of local business owners. Video from those cameras is made available to law enforcement, which has used them to solve major violent crimes. “The whole focus (of the new cameras) will be on capturing everything, vehicle-wise and pedestrian-wise, that’s coming into the city, mostly on the main arteries,” interim police chief Ruben Santiago told council. “But we want to be very mindful that they aren’t in a neighborhood pointing at someone’s house,” he said. Gentry said the city will own the data from the cameras, but will not own the cameras themselves. The camera operator will keep the video from the cameras, which will be active continuously, for 45 days. During that time, police can retrieve video from a specific time and place if need be. Current plans call for signs to be placed near the cameras warning people the area […]
Source www.thestate.com
Brazil Fifa World Cup 2014 Lifts IndigoVision With Video Surveillance Deal
Fifa World Cup 2014 will be held in Brazil in between June – July 2014 and the government has started preparations for this much awaited and world renowned event almost two months ago. Brazil is hosting Fifa World cup for the second time (Fifa was held in brazil for the first time in 1950) and will be the fifth country to have hosted the world twice after Mexico, France, Germany and Italy. Thirty two country football teams will be taking part in this event and will be playing in 12 cities located throughout Brazil. Meanwhile, Indigo Vision, a well known video security specialist has been awarded three major projects including the contract for Fifa 2014 in Brazil. The Edinburgh company admits that it will provide video IP systems, cameras and video storage for at least one FIFA venue in Brazil. Additionally, the government of Brazil has also awarded a new project to Indigo Vision which is to provide all the needs related to video surveillance to its Sao Paulo International Airport. It is also reported that Indigo Vision will now on provide video surveillance services to preserved colonial city, Olinda, which is one of the major tourist attractions in Brazil. In a recent press release, Indigo Vision has also announced that it has plans to release exclusive products such as 20 MP cameras and an explosion proof camera range for the FIFA event. But the company added that the said new products will not be restricted to the event […]
Source storageservers.wordpress.com
Lowell, MA Police Deploy New Surveillance Vehicle
Press Release – For Immediate Release Contact: Public Information Officer: Captain Kelly Richardson Krichardson@lowellma.gov Office: (978) 674-1709 New Tool in Crime Detection and Deterrence LOWELL, MA (November 13, 2013) Lowell Police will be rolling out a new tool to help combat crime and disorder in our city. A Lowell Police van that has been refurbished is now equipped with video surveillance capabilities. The cameras will be obvious to an observer and the van will be clearly marked as belonging to the Lowell Police along with its surveillance capabilities. These cameras will allow for the recording of incidents in close proximity of the van even in low light conditions. Records of those legally obtained recording will be maintained and if needed will be used for the identification and prosecution of individuals involved in illegal activity. This van will be clearly marked as such in hopes that it will also have a deterrent effect on any crime or disorder in or around its stationed location in the city. The first roll out of this new tool will be in an undisclosed location in the city this weekend
Source lowell2020.wordpress.com
Surveon 3-Megapixel HD Cameras Secure Southern Taiwan City
Source: Surveon | Date: 11/08/2013 Related tags: Surveon , NVR , WDR To ensure the protection of citizens, city surveillance is the most direct and productive method for any government. However, due to a large geographic coverage with thousands of cameras, the installation, integration, stability and reliability issues are very difficult to overcome. Surveon has completed a professional project with 3,000 IP camera installations and fulfilled requirements of high stability, reliability and an extremely low rate on the return merchandise authorization(RMA). Customer A major city in Southern Taiwan planned to upgrade its inner city surveillance system to provide safety and security for its population of 2.8 million in 38 districts. The project would include upgrading to megapixel solutions that can be fully integrated with the control center, branches, sub-station junctions and the existing IT infrastructure. CHALLENGES High Reliability To maintain a project with 3,000 cameras spreading across the city is not an easy task; any RMA is costly for the SI and inconvenience for the customer. Especially many cameras are installed in the intersections and at higher points, it time-consuming and more resources required to evaluate the situation and conduct the repairs. Wide Monitoring Area The widely distributed network areas, scalable architecture and maintenance issues were the challenges the SI first faced in this project. Environmental factors such as heat, humidity, and temperature changes were also obstacles to overcome. Complex Lighting Conditions Every corner is required to be monitored at all times to protect people, prevent potential security threats […]
Source www.asmag.com
Spying Street Lights Which Record Video & Audio
The Las Vegas Public Works Department has begun testing a newly installed street light system around City Hall . These new street lights are capable of recording video and audio. The lights are currently being tested in Las Vegas but they could soon be positioned on public streets throughout the city. We’ve all learned what federal authorities are capable of through the National Security Agency, with recordings of cell phone conversations and emails. This is yet another attempt by authorities to potentially invade our privacies. “This technology, you know is taking us to a place where, you know, you’ll essentially be monitored from the moment you leave your home till the moment you get home,” said civil rights activist Daphne Lee. “At what point do we say this is the land of the free? People have a right to a reasonable amount of privacy,” Lee added. According to the Michigan based “ I lluminating Concepts ,” the system’s main benefits include “energy management, security and entertainment.” The Las Vegas setup includes such features as emergency notification flashers, playable music and a sound announcement system, all controlled from an Ipad. “Actually, there’s a server that’s housed by the company that’s providing this product and we’re communicating with just a wireless, wi-fi connection,” Neil Rohleder of the Public Works Department told My News 3. According to the Intellights projects website the Navy Pier in Chicago and the City of Auburn Hills also in Chicago have installed the spy lights. One […]
Source massprivatei.blogspot.com
American Cities Installing Ominous Surveillance Tech Despite NSA Scandal
American cities installing ominous surveillance tech despite NSA scandal Never mind the negative press the NSA has received in recent weeks after Edward Snowden began leaking top-secret documents to the media pertaining to the United States’ spy group’s broadly scoped surveillance programs. Law enforcement agencies and local leaders in major American cities are nevertheless signing on to install new systems that are affording officials the power to snoop on just about anyone within range. Seattle, Washington and Las Vegas, Nevada are among the latest locales in the US to acquire surveillance tools, the likes of which were both discussed in regional media reports over the weekend that are making their rounds across the Web and causing privacy advocates around the world to raise their voice. Neither West Coast city has announced plans to acquire telephone metadata or eavesdrop on email traffic, and combined their operations likely pale in comparison to what the NSA has accomplished. Civil liberties activists are sounding the alarm regardless, however, after new reports revealed what kind of information city officials could collect using newly installed equipment. In Seattle, a city of around 635,000, the police department recently used a Department of Homeland Security grant for $2.6 million to purchase and put up a number of wireless access devices that together create “mesh networks” which law enforcement officials can connect to and in turn more quickly share large chunks of data, such as surveillance camera recordings and other high-res information. Those access points, or APs, do […]
Source www.scenereleases.eu
Englewood NJ Council To Take Up Issue Of Video Surveillance In Business District
ENGLEWOOD — A plan to place the city’s downtown business district under video surveillance will be discussed at the City Council meeting Tuesday night. Businesses line Palisade Avenue in downtown Englewood. Businesses line Palisade Avenue in downtown Englewood. If approved, Englewood would be the first municipality in Bergen County to have a police video surveillance system. North Bergen has had surveillance cameras in its commercial areas since 2009. Police Chief Arthur O’Keefe asked the council in September to install 40 cameras along Palisade Avenue to help solve crimes and prevent a variety of illegal activities. The cameras would be attached to utility poles at intersections from Engle Street to the war memorial monument. Police would monitor the cameras and keep the footage for 90 days. The system would cost $300,000, which O’Keefe has said would come from forfeiture funds provided by federal agencies and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. The system would be modeled after one now used by New York City, O’Keefe said, and could expand in time to cover city parks, pools and other public areas. Palisade Avenue was chosen as the first place to install cameras because it draws 40,000 to 60,000 vehicles and countless people every day and attracts large crowds for parades and community events. The council is taking up the discussion as city merchants prepare for the holiday season, when shoppers flock to downtown to buy gifts and patronize local restaurants. The chief told the council in September that surveillance cameras could have […]
Source www.northjersey.com