By Jon Marsh

Today?s growing cities are unfortunately considered soft targets, making them challenging to secure as they?re comprised of many different spaces, including sidewalks, parks, office buildings, streets, parking areas and much more.

Additionally, numerous stakeholders, such as private business owners, public entities and law enforcement agencies, are often involved in the decision-making process for investments in technology to keep these areas safe. Though cities can benefit from various types of security technology, video must be a key element of a comprehensive solution to protect the public.

As we?ve seen the growth of video catapult across the globe (IHS Markit predicted that the worldwide market revenue for video surveillance would reach nearly $20 billion last year ? up $2 billion from 2018), so much of this is a result of demand for improvements in security, public safety and intelligence. 

Though each individual component of a city possesses unique characteristics, the key to enhancing safety for citizens and assets starts with a robust video solution at the core of an overall security plan.

Video cameras that leverage wide-angle panoramic surveillance technology coupled with powerful, advanced analytics and video management can allow cities to:

• Minimize risk ? With threats such as vandalism, theft, violent crimes and terrorism plaguing cities, panoramic surveillance cameras can be used to both deter and detect events in all areas, as well as enable security officials to view what took place afterwards and track or locate a suspect.
• Cover more ground ? Between groups of people, clusters of traffic and tightly spaced buildings, any type of surveillance system in a city is naturally put to the test when it comes to obtaining extensive coverage. Unlike PTZ cameras, which only capture parts of a scene, panoramic cameras can pick up activity across expansive areas without blind spots.
• Improve response ? When a security incident presents serious risk and danger to those nearby, officials must be able to quickly access the entire situation. Panoramic technology enables personnel to make fast but informed decisions by allowing users to simultaneously see the entire scene while also focusing in on areas of interest. And when artificial intelligence and machine learning are incorporated, this reaction can become proactive, as these technologies create the opportunity to identify abnormal behavior or suspicious individuals.
• Develop partnerships ? As mentioned above, the assorted agencies that play a role in municipality security and overall success must be able to work together. Video footage from panoramic surveillance cameras can be combined with additional data points in a single interface, creating the basis for a strong and cohesive relationship between all involved.

At the core of safe cities initiatives must be the use of video that delivers ongoing situational awareness and the ability for numerous stakeholders to come together and protect people and property.

Leveraging panoramic technology can allow this to happen through an expanded coverage area and the ability to gain and share increased insight when it?s needed most.