Southlake, Texas uses Wi-Fi for video surveillance
May 31, 2008 at 3:47 PM by Esme Vos
Southlake, a suburb of Dallas, Texas, is also using Wi-Fi for video surveillance in its downtown area. They are using equipment from Bridgwave Communications; the systems integrator is Redmoon, a wireless ISP based in Plano, Texas. Wireless video surveillance is one of the most sought-after applications among cities. However, as many UK cities have discovered, it’s not enough to put up cameras. You need people to monitor the images and do something about them to make it effective in fighting crime and arresting suspects.
Read my interview with Lt. Tony Crawford of the Dallas Police Department:
Dallas police wireless cameras tackle crime: an interview with Lt. Tony Crawford
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There are good options for video surveillance like video analytics, that don’t require officers. This alleviates monotonous monitoring tasks and provides a force multiplication effect.
To reiterate Rory’s point — having people monitor the cameras is not a necessity. And in fact it can be a potential liability, for example in the case of cameras that can be controlled by the monitoring person. Video analytics can help, or simply have the camera system fill a particular role, e.g., after-the-fact evidence gathering and deterrence, rather than real-time crime fighting.
We have 2 systems set up with wireless infrastructure that have been running for almost a year and we are expanding them constantly. It’s a proven technology but it’s hard to get people that haven’t see it work understand it. For example, what if you could have 6 stakeouts simultaneously without ever being on-site or tying up an officer. Add the ability to protect witnesses homes and property not using one hour of labor. We have dispatchers in the police department handling 16 cameras. These systems are protecting airports, city facilities, and parking lots. They are being expanded into traffic cameras and city parks next. The dispatcher is notified when there is an issue, they glance over and determine how to proceed based on the additional information provided by the analytics system. It’s the right technology for long term cost savings and exceptional security.
Security cameras make areas safer and reduce crime. Here is some raw footage from a demonstration of a 24 camera system in Auckland, NZ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcdlsUYXWy8