July 15, 2005
Proactive Video Surveillance for Preventing Terrorism
From Public Eye:
A nice article on the emerging role of smart cameras by transit agencies from the New York Times. It notes that the goal is to use smart cameras to help prevent crime, instead of the traditional use of cameras as an after the fact investigative tool. However:
The National Transit Institute, a federally funded training and research organization at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., has studied the new technologies, but Christopher A. Kozub, the associate director for safety and security programs, cautioned that few have been proved to be fail-safe. "The application of smart technology is only in its embryonic stages," he said. "The potential is there, but variables like temperature conditions, the passenger environment and rush-hour influxes are all very hard to program into these systems."
The article also provides the number of surveillance cameras in use for several transit agencies.
Posted by rshah at 03:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 12, 2005
Schneier on the Foolishness of Surveillance Cameras
From Schneier on Security:
Security guru Bruce Schneier has a posting on the foolishness of adding cameras to public spaces as a response to terrorism threats. He quotes Scott Henson: (Spyblog said something similar right after the bombings)
Homeland Security Ubermeister Michael Chertoff just told NBC's Tim Russert on Meet the Press this morning that the United States should invest in "cameras and dogs" to protect subway, rail and bus transit systems from terrorist attacks.
B.S.
Surveillance cameras didn't deter the terrorist attacks in London. They didn't stop the courthouse killing spree in Atlanta. But they're prone to abuse. And at the end of they day they don't reduce crime.
Posted by rshah at 09:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 07, 2005
Chicago to Monitor Private Cameras
From Sun-Times:
Chicago has agreed to monitor cameras for businesses, for an undisclosed fee. The city would monitor cameras through the 911 center. Its not clear to what extent this surveillance will include. Boeing is the first company to take advantage of this. While this is new to Chicago, this practice of linking public and private cameras has a much longer history in the UK.
Posted by rshah at 09:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Will Technology Thwart Terror?
From Red Herring:
A short article on how effective technology can be to fight terror. It has a few good nuggets:
In 2004, one month before the Madrid rail bombings killed almost 200 people, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s advanced research division requested proposals for devices that can quickly detect explosives in abandoned baggage or on the body of a suicide bomber. However, the $5-million project has not yet resulted in tools in the hands of law enforcement.
While the cameras used in most cities are invaluable forensic tools in the aftermath of a crime, they alone are not very good at preventing crimes. Companies such as ObjectVideo in Reston, Virginia, are working on intelligent surveillance that uses software to detect unusual patterns such as abandoned bags or suspicious driving. Cameras outfitted with such software are already installed in ports and military bases in the United States, Europe and Asia.
If you’re waiting for intelligent surveillance to mesh with face-recognition programs and other software to secure your local subway stop, don’t hold your breath, said Doron Pely, vice president of publications for Homeland Security Research, a homeland security market research company. Such devices can trigger false alarms. The ability of the gizmos to work with acceptable false positive rates in a busy transportation hub is many years away. Even a 1 percent false positive rate in a place like Grand Central Station could bring a mass transport network to its knees.
The best defense may remain low tech. Mr. Pely pointed to Israel as an example of a country that uses “warm bodies” over high tech to defend rail lines. In a country the size of Israel, posting well-trained soldiers at the entrance of every train station to look every passenger in the eye is possible. But it’s unrealistic in huge metropolises like New York or London. Without the human element, says Mr. Pely, bombings like the one in London Thursday will be impossible to prevent no matter what technology is used.
Posted by rshah at 09:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Questions on Chicago's Cameras
Peter over at Public-Eye wants more information on the Chicago camera network. Its not surprising that he is asking this, because while Chicago has received a great deal of publicity about their cameras, the news stories have left many questions unanswered. Here is what Peter is asking:
I would like to see and article and follow-up report on the functionality and effectiveness on these camera... and not a blanket statement in drop in crime rate, because that can be attributed to the pure deterrence factor. Here are my questions:
How many of these cameras are actually "watched"?
How much staff has been added to watch the cameras, maintain the cameras, and respond to the cameras?
How are they responding to things they see on the camera? How often do they fail to respond?
How many crimes have they actually foiled strictly with the cameras?
Who has access to the cameras? Is it only the police? Are they able to deliver live video to federal agencies if necessary?
Do 911 dispatchers have access to this video?
Do the police have access to this video from their vehicles? From other mobile devices?
Posted by rshah at 08:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 06, 2005
Update on Chicago Housing Authority Chicago Tribune news : Local news
From Chicago Tribune:
More cameras at CHA. This was first noted back in May.
24 cameras will be installed in public housing. The cameras will include gunshot detection. 5 of the cameras will replace existing cameras around Cabrini-Green with gunshot sensors. 19 more will be allocated based on crime levels and requests by resident leaders.
The NBC5 has some nice quotes:
Daley said city officials are not concerned that the cameras pose a threat to privacy in high-density residential areas.
"When we first started (Operation Disruption), it was very controversial. Some elected officials said they don't want them in their communities. But I'll be very frank, if you go to any wealthy community, any high-rise in suburban areas, they have guards, they have technology, they have cameras. You can't get in their buildings," Daley said.
"Why is it people living in some of these struggling communities can't have the safety that everyone else has?" Daley added. "It's just using technology, it's only on the streets, the sidewalks and the alleys. We do not shoot into someone's apartment or their backyard or their front yard, it's just in public ways."
Posted by rshah at 08:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Eye in the Sky In Thunder Bay
From the Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal:
Cameras up North. According to the article:
remote-controlled cameras were installed earlier this year at 16 locations at a cost of almost $200,000.Ten of the cameras are in the downtown north and south cores. The other six are set up at the two city bus terminals.
Interestingly, even though the cameras are installed, they can't be used until the Code of Practice is developed. The purpose of the Code is to balance individual and community rights where video surveillance is used.
Posted by rshah at 08:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 02, 2005
Illinois International Port District
The Illinois International Port District will be getting a major security upgrade in the coming years. Fence sensors, automated video, access control and more will be integrated at a pair of sister facilities on the Calument/Lake Michigan watershed, and building systems integrator Siemens Building Technologies has landed the contract, which includes the creation of a perimeter surveillance system.
The system, when the integration is completed, will give a "bird's eye" view of the combined port facility and can position security data onto that "map" of the facility. State-of-the-art video analytics will be part of the project; software will be used with video data to help identify what each type of object is, based on recordable properties such as the object's height, width and speed.
I
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