Verticals
Port Arthur, Sabine-Neches Waterway Improve Video Security
Port Arthur featured With high-level national security implications, live-camera views and the ability to quickly check recorded video is essential to the port’s operational standards for efficiency. As the fourth largest port in the U.S., Port Arthur in Texas’ Jefferson County is the number-one crude oil destination for foreign tankers, as well as the number-one commercial and military out-load port. Hundreds of vessels are processed through the channel each day, making their way from other domestic ports and from all over the globe into the Gulf of Mexico and up the Sabine-Neches Waterway. With oil refineries and other critical infrastructure lining the 55 miles of river bank through Jefferson County, the sheriff’s department required a sophisticated security surveillance system to monitor waterway traffic and incidents. Deputies needed to ensure the safety of those working and traveling through the port, and to keep commercial and military traffic flowing. A vast waterway traffic-monitoring network has been deployed at Sabine-Neches to ensure all vessels can safely navigate the waters. The new surveillance system also monitors the many petroleum refineries that line the channel. Backed by a Verizon Wireless 4G connection, the county cameras alongside the waterway are networked through the use of Milestone XProtect Enterprise surveillance software. “Milestone’s open platform IP software integrates with all of the cameras seamlessly” said Mark Nolan of Knight Security Systems, the designer and integrator of the Sabine-Neches Waterway monitoring and surveillance project. “Milestone XProtect provides the sheriff’s department with more high-definition screen images […]
Source www.c2meworld.com
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
GA Department Of Natural Resources Invests In Cameras
GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Georgia Department of Natural Resources officials say body-mounted cameras for police officers in its law enforcement branch were a good investment. Officers like wearing the devices, called Vidmics, because they assure police an accurate depiction of interactions with citizens, Major Stephen Adams told the Gainesville Times. “It provides a good tool to reduce complaints from the public, to protect the officer and to protect the public,” Adams said. “There’s no recounting what happened — you watch the complaint.” The devices can guard the public from abusive police practices while protecting officers from false accusations, said staff attorney for the Georgia branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, Chad Brock. The ACLU supports the use of the devices with proper safeguards, he said. “There shouldn’t be a policy where the officer can selectively turn off the recording. We would want to get a full picture, in guarding against abusive processes,” Brock said. The department has about 150 Vidmics and officers aren’t required to tell citizens they’re talking to that they’re being recorded, Adams said. In accordance with state guidelines, he added that the Department of Natural Resources keeps the footage on file for five years. The ACLU would like to see the data storage policies tweaked, Brock said. “We would want to see data retention policies that require police to destroy any of the video surveillance within a reasonable time for a routine encounter — three days to two weeks — unless there was a reason for […]
Source www.timesfreepress.com
Forensics Expert Says ?Original Files? Are Missing From Security Cameras At Dead Georgia Teen?s School
By Arturo Garcia Friday, November 22, 2013 17:40 EST Forensic expert tells CNN there’s missing footage from dead Georgia teen’s gym [CNN] At least an hour of footage is missing from each of the four surveillance cameras at Kendrick Johnson’s high school, and the original footage showing how the Georgia teenager died might be gone, CNN reported on Thursday. “Those files are not original files,” forensics video analyst Grant Fredericks told CNN. “They’re not something investigators should rely on for the truth of the video.” CNN enlisted Fredericks in order to analyze more than 290 hours of video it acquired from Lowndes County High School, where the 17-year-old was found dead in the gym in January. Local officials initially determined that he died from asphyxiation after getting trapped inside a gym mat, an argument his family has rejected. An independent autopsy ordered by the victim’s family found the cause of death to be “unexplained, apparent non-accidental, blunt force trauma.” But while the Lowndes Public Schools district told CNN the video it provided was “a raw feed with no edits,” Fredericks disagreed, saying it was “altered in a number of ways, primarily in image quality and likely in dropped information, information loss. There are also a number of files that are corrupted because they’ve not been processed correctly and they’re not playable. I can’t say why they were done that way, but they were not done correctly, and they were not done thoroughly. So we’re missing information.” Specifically, two of […]
Source www.rawstory.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
Steve Duin: Portland Police Re-Dedicate Themselves To Video Surveillance
They were walking, Bill Merritt and Peggy McClure, in the damp shadow of the communication tower atop Council Crest when they bumped into a crew laboring over a manhole and the underground fiber-optic cable that rolls down the hillside. What’s going on? they asked. “A dedicated line,” one of the ditch-diggers said, “running from the tower down to the Portland police station.” “Great,” McClure said. “So, that means we’ll have quicker response time on 9-1-1 calls?” Not at all, she was told. This line was dedicated to something else altogether. “Police surveillance. It will pick up signals from police-operated aircraft. Which are sorta like manned drones.” Merritt and McClure have been together for 20 years and married for the last seven, most of which they spent abroad while McClure was managing Peace Corps operations in Botswana and Morocco. For all they knew, this broadband operation had already been vetted in council sessions, neighborhood meetings and newspaper columns. “We’ve been out of the loop,” Merritt conceded. “But what are we surveilling?” Whatever strikes the fancy of Portland police, it turns out. And once those fiber-optic connections are completed at the Portland Building, the bureau will be able to stream the video to anyone who wants it. “We do not have drones. We are not getting drones. Period,” Sgt. Pete Simpson insisted Thursday. The bureau’s Cessnas, on the other hand, have been around for years: “We use them for tactical situations. Block searches. Missing persons. If we’re doing a gang cool-down […]
Source www.oregonlive.com
Facial Recognition Software Changes The Face Of British Retail And Advertising
Tesco’s have revealed that it will be installing facial recognition software in 450 of its petrol station forecourts. This software, displayed as a digital screen, will be located by the checkouts and aims to identify whether individuals in the queue are male or female, takes a rough estimate of how old they are and how long they have been looking at the displayed advertisements. The information gathered is thought to be around 97% correct. The overall aim of this is to process the details in real time and send the information to advertisers so they can tailor the adverts to appropriate times of day. For instance, coffee could be advertised in the morning and then the ads can switch to other relevant products throughout the day. This software is also advanced enough to monitor who is in the queue and who isn’t. If it detects that the majority is female then the adverts being shown will switch to adverts tailored to women. The same goes if there were mostly men detected. This technology is being provided by Amscreen, Lord Sugar’s company. The system is called ‘Optimeyes’ which is from a French company known as Quividi. Tesco aims to install this software in their stores as soon as possible. This can seem quite alarming, however according to an article in the Telegraph no video footage is actually recorded. Once your face has been scanned for its information you as an individual are erased. So no facial database is stored, only […]
Source sla-sales.blogspot.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
University Of Minnesota Pushing Back Against Recent Robberies
Updated: 11/12/2013 10:48 PM Created: 11/12/2013 10:45 PM KSTP.com By: Tim Sherno Following an attempted robbery at gunpoint on the University of Minnesota campus, University President Eric Kahler promised additional measures to ensure the safety of students and faculty. In the letter, Kaler says the University will allocate additional resources to put more police foot and bicycle patrols on or near campus, continue working with Minneapolis police and the Gopher Chauffeur escort program. Kaler says the University is safe, the campus is open to the public and is therefore vulnerable. He said the University will also add to 1700 security cameras already installed on campus. On Monday, a man approached a woman in Anderson Hall, a classroom building on the West Bank campus in Minneapolis, and showed her a gun before demanding her backpack and then fleeing. He remained at large on Tuesday.
Source kstp.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
42 New Cameras Added At Clawson MI School Facilities
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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 [email protected] 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
Thermal Video Captures 17 Crossing Border In California
General Dynamics to supply thermal imaging cameras to Border Patrol to spot ultra-light aircraft Tue, 2013-11-05 03:15 PM By: Jacob Goodwin CBP has awarded a contract worth more than $67,000 to General Dynamics Global Imaging Technologies, Inc. to supply its Z-500 long-range thermal imaging cameras for the U.S. Border Patrol to use at its Calexico Station in California to spot criminal organizations crossing the border in ultra-light aircraft.
Vision-Box Deploys Biometric eGates At Lisbon International Airport
vision-box November 7, 2013 – Vision-Box has announced that it has set up biometric Automated Border Control eGates at the Lisbon International Airport. In particular, the gates that have been deployed are the company’s vb i-match 5, which can process the Portuguese ePassports as well as the Portuguese National Citizen Card and holders of diplomatic or special passports as part of recently implemented pilot projects for Brazilian and Angolan nationals. To verify the identity of users passing through the gates, vb i-match 5 uses biometrics, including iris, fingerprint and facial recognition. This particular gate design has been in production since 2007. “Today, as in 2007, Portugal continues in the forefront of automated border control and Vision-Box is delighted to continue to support SEF and have a positive impact in keeping Portuguese borders safe while at the same time providing a good passenger experience,” Miguel Leitmann, Senior Vice President of Vision-Box said. Reported previously , Vision-Box also recently deployed eGates at the Hamad International Airport in Qatar. Earlier this year, Vision-Box launched what it was calling a ‘ biometric periscope ,’ for long distance capture of face and iris in self-service eGates. The device is capable of capturing biometrics from a distance of 1 metre. Leave a Comment comments
Source www.biometricupdate.com
Biometric Technology: Curbing Fraud In Banks
biometric Mukosha mulenga By MUKOSHA MULENGA BANKS and other financial institutions hold the key to one of our most treasured assets: our money. Most banks are now looking at using biometrics to protect against identity fraud and comply with government regulations. The use of biometric technology is becoming widely recognised in the banking industry as a viable means to prevent identity fraud, safeguard data, improve ease-of-use, and save money from lost or stolen passwords. When you consider that approximately 84 percent of bank fraud is committed by in-house staff, or that nearly 40 percent of all help desk calls are for forgotten passwords, it is no surprise that many banks are turning to biometric technology for increased security and convenience. Banks therefore now have the challenge of integrating fingerprint functionality into existing in-house applications or their core banking applications. Banks can use solutions such as ) from M2SYS, for safeguarding enterprise data and reducing costs. EBS supports active directory, and can enable banks to secure login to their network and replace user names and passwords with something that you cannot share, lose, or forget: Your Fingerprint! With an ever-increasing number of security breaches, the pressure on banks to implement methods of password management, identity management, data and network security, and two factor authentication has never been stronger. The sharing or theft of user passwords still remains the most popular reason that corporate data is compromised. Biometrics solves this problem by allowing businesses and banks to implement a centralised biometric […]
Source daily-mail.co.zm
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
Casino Management Systems Market Worth $4.53 Billion By 2018
[November 11, 2013] Nov 11, 2013 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) — This report “Casino Management Systems (CMS) Market [Management Systems, Analytics (Predictive, Video),Security and Surveillance (Video Surveillance, Access Control, Alarm Systems)] – Global Advancements, Worldwide Market Forecasts & Analysis (2013-2018)” defines and segments the global Casino Management Systems markets across various sub-segments and regions. In this report, MarketsandMarkets also identifies the drivers and the restrains for this market with insights on the trends, opportunities, and challenges. Browse 60 market data tables and 11 figures spread through 120 pages and in-depth TOC on “Casino Management Systems (CMS) Market [Management Systems, Analytics (Predictive, Video),Security and Surveillance (Video Surveillance, Access Control, Alarm Systems)] – Global Advancements, Worldwide Market Forecasts & Analysis (2013-2018)”. http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/casino-management-system-market-1021.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on reports. Download Sample PDF Today! http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=1021 Post recession casinos are now again observing growth in revenues across the globe. Still some of the casinos are posting lesser revenues but overall casino market has shown significant rise in revenues strived from new developing regions/markets. New geographical markets such as APAC and MEA have shown promising future for casinos. Casinos are getting more attraction as these are not a place only for gambling any more but more like amusement parks. Social acceptance of casinos has been increased in recent years. Growing international tourism is another significant factor which helps other geographic markets other than North America and Europe to generate more revenues. All these factors lead to the establishment of new casinos across the […]
Source www.tmcnet.com