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Tampa to create “perimeter” of security cameras downtown

  By securitycameradirectory | February 20, 2012 - 5:06 pm | security cameras
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TAMPA –Ahead of the 2012 Republican National Convention, Tampa officials plan to festoon downtown with security cameras to keep a watchful eye on protesters.This week, the city began soliciting bids from private security companies to install a yet-to-be-determined number of cameras at yet-to-be-disclosed locations in the downtown.Greg Spearman, the city’s purchasing director, said the plan is to “set up a perimeter” of cameras around the downtown and venues for the event, including the St. Pete Times Forum and Tampa Convention Center, but said exact locations might not be disclosed.

“The anarchists could use that information to disable cameras or plan actions in other areas,” he said. “We know they’re watching and we don’t want to put the city at risk.”

Spearman said he didn’t know who would be monitoring the cameras, saying that was likely to be decided by U.S. Secret Service, which is overseeing security preparations.

He said the city likely will have to cover some upfront costs for installing the camera system but pointed out that the Republican National Committee ultimately will be picking up the tab.

“The RNC has assured us that they will have adequate funding,” Spearman said.


Next August, Tampa hosts the 2012 GOP Convention, when the party’s delegates will nominate their party’s presidential candidate. The event is expected to draw more than 50,000 delegates, politicians and news reporters to the Bay area.

As with national political conventions in previous years, however, the weeklong event is also expected to draw tens of thousands of protestors from throughout the country.

At the 2008 GOP Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul, more than 800 protestors and bystanders, including journalists covering the clashes with police, were arrested during street demonstrations. Mass arrests also were made at the 2008 DNC Convention in Denver, when Barack Obama was nominated as the party’s presidential candidate.

Officials in both cities used surveillance cameras to capture images of protests, in some cases for use as evidence against demonstrators accused of committing violent acts.

Spearman said the city wants to have the cameras up and operating by May 2012.

security cameras in Tampa Bay

Original author, cwade@tampatrib.com (813) 259-7679 for Tampa Bay Online

Security Surveillance Cameras Everywhere

  By securitycameradirectory | February 20, 2012 - 5:05 pm | security cameras
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In a society that has seen privacy devalued by social networking and reality television, it’s still unsettling to think that everywhere you go in downtown Detroit, a camera will be watching.

Detroit Police hope to bolster safety in the central business district by connecting a network of 350 security cameras to a central viewing post to track activity on the streets, search out wanted criminal suspects, check parking lots and monitor crowds.

Police Chief Ralph Godbee says he is responding to increased incidents of crime downtown. The department is also establishing “safe houses” throughout the central city — buildings with open doors where visitors can take refuge if they feel threatened.

On one hand, Godbee is to be commended for a rapid response to a problem that could devastate downtown’s comeback.


Reports have been coming in of fights, shootings and traffic issues around downtown nightspots. The key to attracting visitors to businesses, restaurants and events is to guarantee a safe environment.

Godbee is also freeing up to 50 additional police officers per shift from desk jobs, replacing them with civilians so the cops can be out on the streets where they belong.

Crime remains a major obstacle to the city’s revival. Detroit posted 180 homicides by July 10, on a pace to 350 for the year, which would be the most in a decade.

So credit Godbee for being proactive.

On the other hand, the surveillance of an entire region of the city raises civil liberties questions that ought to be diligently explored.

It’s not clear whether all of the tapes from the security cameras will be kept and archived, or erased in a continuous loop.

Godbee says officers monitoring the cameras will be looking for wanted suspects. Trying to pick them out from a security camera image of a downtown street raises the real possibility of innocent citizens being abused in cases of mistaken identity.

The images captured by the cameras would be admissible in court if subpoenaed.

At the very least, the city should post signs throughout the surveillance area alerting visitors that they are being watched.

In addition, policies aimed at protecting privacy rights should be put in place, including requirements that tapes be erased if they show no evidence of criminal activity.

There should also be no broad data base of innocent citizens kept for future use by a facial recognition system.

Safeguards also must be taken to make sure officers don’t use the monitors as an excuse to harass law abiding citizens.

Surrendering so much privacy to the state requires a deep trust in government.

Detroit’s government, particularly the Police Department, has not fully regained the trust lost during the Kilpatrick years.

Godbee insists that the intent is not to invade anyone’s privacy, and we believe that’s the case.

But he should be on guard against unintentional invasions, and mindful of the great potential for abuse presented by this network of cameras.


The debate between price and quality for security cameras

  By securitycameradirectory | February 20, 2012 - 4:52 pm | security cameras
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We have all seen it, every day. When was the last time you were in a store and noticed on the overhead TV that they had you on camera? And on that TV you noticed that the resolution and clarity was so poor that you they could not possibly recognize anyone in the store. So you start staking the place out, looking at what you could get. Or you’re watching the local news and some gas station has caught a robbery on video but the video was so bad you wouldn’t even know if that was your mom robbing the place.

Being in the CCTV industry, we see this all the time. The customer wants the cheapest most affordable camera deal out there. The normal sales person does not want to belittle the customer’s decision, speak poorly about your low end products, or lose the sale, so they make sly comments like: “yeah, that’s a great camera” knowing that they are not going to see much with THAT thing.

Security cameras are not cheap, who thinks that they are? This devise captures video, converts that into a signal, transfers that signal to a “box” that can convert that signal back into video and displays it on a television. But its more than that, in most cases that “box” can convert that video back into a signal, sends that signal to a satellite in outer space, that signal comes back from outer space and down into your cell phone so you can watch your cameras while eating your lunch 100 miles away from the office. Does that sound like something you should be spending $99.95 on?


Let’s be very realistic, what are you trying to watch? Your home? Your business? Your Family? Your employees? These are all things that are very important to you and if something happens, you are going to want to know who, what, where, and how. The average camera installed is about $1,200, so a 4 camera system could cost you almost $5,000.00. Is your family, your business, your home worth that. The fact is you will save 10x’s that by avoiding your first robbery. Last year retail theft was estimated at around $33 billion, that’s a 33 with 9 zeros behind it! After Home Depot added security cameras to their stores, they saved an estimated of $170 thousand PER STORE in products that would have otherwise been stolen. That called a great ROI, Return On Investment. But………. They don’t have $99 camera system.


Bust a drug dealer, buy some security cameras in downtown Mt. Clemens

  By securitycameradirectory | February 20, 2012 - 4:51 pm | security cameras
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I couldn’t help but repost this blog I read. I love the fact that a drug dealer’s money went to something useful.  Also, it helps that I’m from Missouri and can probably guess what drug it was that was making this money. You never here about where the money from a $2M drug bust actually goes…

Convicted drug dealers in Macomb County are indirectly paying for new security cameras that have been installed in downtown Mount Clemens to help police patrolling the city and provide for a safer community.

The $70,000 cost of purchasing and installing three new surveillance cameras is coming from the Macomb County Sheriff’s drug forfeiture account, which is at $1 million county officials said at a news briefing on Wednesday.

“It’s their way of giving back to the community,” Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said, half jokingly.


Dispatchers in the sheriff’s office are able to monitor downtown activity on one large monitor that contains four panels of camera footage. A zoom lens function allows them to zero in on the action and provides a clear enough image to read a license plate.

The cameras were erected in strategic locations including the Roskopp parking lot behind the Emerald Theatre, at Main Street and Macomb Place, and the parking lot behind Buffalo Wild Wings. Four more are planned by November.

Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said the cameras film 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That way, if something breaks out that escapes a dispatcher’s view, the footage can be reviewed at a later time.

“From a law enforcement perspective, we’re pretty much watching the downtown area from the dispatch center,” Wickersham said.

Macomb County officials speak on surveillance cameras paid for with drug moneyMount Clemens Mayor Barb Dempsey said downtown business owners welcomed the additional layer of security because people coming into town will feel better knowing someone is watching out for them. The move will also free up deputies to work the city’s neighborhoods, she added.

“We are the entertainment capital of the east side,” Dempsey said. “We want people to come down at all hours of the day or evening and enjoy what we have to offer. We want them to feel comfortable and with this technology, they will feel comfortable.”

The surveillance cameras have the ability to rotate 360 degrees and can provide high resolution images, said Russell Kudela, operations center director for the Macomb County Roads Department.

Hackel, the former county sheriff, said he saw the potential for additional video surveillance after becoming the county executive at the start of the year when he visited the roads department and observed the department’s traffic signal camera system.

About 100 major intersections in Macomb County have cameras tied into the department’s dispatch center that help dictate the timing of the traffic lights. Those cameras can also be accessed by the sheriff’s office.

“You’ll be absolutely amazed at the technology,” Hackel said. “We’re trying to light up the city to make people feel safe. If you’re planning on committing a crime, now is not the time in Mount Clemens.”


Between security cameras, social networking and word of mouth…

  By securitycameradirectory | February 20, 2012 - 4:48 pm | security cameras
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Story Created: Sep 4, 2011 at 9:38 AM AKDT

Story Updated: Sep 4, 2011 at 9:38 AM AKDT

Thursday morning didn’t start out so well for Anchorage School District Superintendent Carol Comeau.

“I was coming from a meeting downtown and I was told that West High had been broken into and there was substantial damage,” Comeau said Sunday, walking through the back yard of her South Anchorage home.

“It’s just stupid to begin with, that they think they’re going to get away with it.”

Students had overturned desks, destroyed supplies and sprayed a fire extinguisher throughout several classrooms, but the five teeneagers responsible were caught red-handed by school security cameras.

“Before the day was very far gone, the students had been arrested and identified and we’re moving to recommend to the school board that they be expelled,” Comeau said.

The district draws a hard line on property destruction, and Comeau said it’s much more than an innocent prank.


“We don’t just say one size fits all, but there are some crimes that rise to a very high level very quickly,” she said.

Vandalism is one of those crimes.

Several weeks ago, arsonists at Fairview Elementary School caused more than $200,000 worth of damage when they set fire to the playground, and Comeau said the district has already far surpassed its $300,000 annual budget for repairing and cleaning up vandalism.

Just like the West High students arrested Thursday, the Fairview firebug was caught when the arson was recorded on school surveillance cameras, and it points to a growing trend.

“The cameras caught the action,” Comeau said. “We had students already talking about it.”

Between security cameras, social networking and word of mouth, it’s becoming easier than ever to identify exactly who’s behind the crimes.

While the high school vandals wore clown masks to cover their identity from security cameras, they were found out when they bragged about their costumes the next day on Facebook.

In 2003, three girls were arrested for vandalism at Dimond High School after they also bragged about their crimes on Facebook.

“it’s amazing to me,” Comeau said, laughing.

So while crime never paid in the first place, today’s digital world is making sure it never will.

 

I thought this story painted a pretty interesting picture about today’s landscape for crime fighting. It seems like social media may be a huge benefactor for the court systems. I wonder how long it takes before someone  is convicted solely from evidence on social media… something like a facebook post or tweet. It seems incredibly scary to me to think that those channels could hold such power. They seem easily abused to me.

Till next time…


all cities under 24 hour surveillance… required by state in India

  By securitycameradirectory | February 20, 2012 - 4:39 pm | security cameras
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Even though I feel like I enable “big brother” here in the U.S., stories like this make me feel a bit better that we haven’t gotten this far.

 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy here on Friday said that all the cities and towns would be gradually brought under the 24-hour camera surveillance system in a bid to check crimes and ensure the safety of the people.

He was speaking after commissioning the new surveillance cameras installed in the city by the State Police as part of the Traffic and Security Surveillance Programme.

Chandy said that the camera surveillance system would be very effective in checking crimes, especially acts of violation of traffic rules, a major problem faced by the authorities.

The abundance of high speed vehicles on the roads has also resulted in a major increase in the number of accidents. Thesurveillance system, once installed, would erase the mentality of the people that they can get away easily after violating rules if a policeman is not around.


He also said that the State Government would provide full support to the State Police to expand the existing security systems and maintain their efficacy. Through the programme, the Police intend to bring the entire city under their constant surveillance by installing 190 camera units at all vital locations. The programme is simultaneously being implemented in Ernakulam and Kozhikode cities too.

The police aim to install a total of over 300 cameras at 103 different locations in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode under the programme. Minister for Transport V S Sivakumar, Thiruvananthapuram City Corporation Mayor K Chandrika, Director General of Police Jacob Punnoose and City Police Commissioner Manoj Abraham also attended the commissioning of new surveillance cameras.