Newest Members of the Police Force

Well it is not RoboCop, at least not yet. Today’s police forces are getting the edge on illicit activity in major cities across the nation using none other than wireless security cameras. Police and federal law enforcement have long used unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with cameras and special sensors to patrol borders and national forests, but these new tools are helping reduce crime and increase public safety among the most crime ridden inner cities.

California’s Los Angeles County Police Department is one of the first to incorporate wireless networked cameras to fight crime. These high quality digital camera networks produce clear crisp evidence grade recordings 24 hours a day and rely on Wi-Fi signals instead of a video server. Dispatchers monitoring cameras in high crime regions are able to deliver critical information about situations to responding deputies while en route. Response times have been significantly reduced as much as ten times enabling police to interrupt crimes in progress, such as gang fights and drug deals. Other departments who have adopted the system, such as Santa Monica PD and Redlands PD, are having similar success. Wireless networks are much less expensive to implement and can be easily reconfigured or expanded

Eventually departments would like to connect their wireless systems with the ALPR, automatic license plate recognition database. This would allow immediate and automatic checks against stolen or marked vehicles. Once a vehicle is located wireless security cameras in the area would track activity around the vehicle recording any criminal activity for police to use in investigations. Future uses might also include facial recognition tied in to government and law enforcement databases.

Another tool law enforcement officials are testing out are tiny unmanned drones. These units are outfitted with wireless security cameras and would provide an extra set of eyes for SWAT teams during tactical operations. These small drones weigh 14lbs and can be easily carried in a backpack and deployed covertly to observe target sites. This spy-in-the-sky technology functions during the day or night using infrared sensors and would be deployed during hostage situations or against barricaded forces. This technology is currently in testing phases and awaiting FAA approval.

Despite the successes, privacy advocates fear abuses of these networks and are calling for increased rules and regulations for how these new technologies can be implemented. Once guidelines are laid out it is likely police departments across the nation will follow suit.


About the Author: Mike Ward is the owner and operator of Protection Depot, a leading online provider of security cameras and wireless security cameras. For more information about security cameras, please visit Protection Depot.

Security Cameras Catch Criminals

Many advocates claim security cameras are ineffective weapons against crime. Despite the multitude of research studies that show reduced crime rates in regions under surveillance these few people are still not convinced. One study of car parking garages showed a 51% reduction of criminal acts. Security cameras are an integral part of police investigation and special police units are dedicated to their use. Often officers with special training are monitoring 50-60 cameras at a time in a single room, which can be a monotonous ordeal, as camera feeds rotate through monitors every 5 – 10 seconds. However, anti surveillance activists frequently point to situations and circumstances where these units failed to respond when a crime was being committed.

In one such example a woman was assaulted at knife point while inside her apartment building monitored by approximately 200 security cameras. She was forced into a stairwell where there were no cameras and raped. To use the horrendous nature of events like these to lobby against security cameras is unfounded. Cameras did not record the crime itself, but did observe the struggle in the hallways.

What are the alternatives? What would be fool proof? Greater physical presence of police and security guards? What are the chances security personel patrolling the grounds would have stumbled upon the crime in progress, especially since none of the residents heard or reported anything? If guards had missed the crime what options would police have to follow up with other than slowly taking the victims description of the suspect and developing a sketch.

While these are terribly unfortunate events, just because a crime is committed under surveillance does not mean there is a problem with cameras themselves. The presence of cameras and readily accessible digital footage frequently leads to a speedy arrest of the perpetrator. Since there are so many cameras on the streets and in buildings, many times police can retrace a criminal’s steps providing them with an excellent profile of the suspect or his identity. In the example above police were able to locate footage of the criminal approaching the building from a gas station across the street. Other cameras in the gas station spotted the assailant purchasing cigarettes with his credit card and obtained his identity. He was apprehended immediately. Video footage is excellent evidence of the crime and will likely lend for a speedy trial and conviction.

People are people and sadly they make mistakes. Improvements in security technology are vastly closing the human error gap with image recognition. These high tech surveillance cameras can recognize items such as a gun or knife, as well as suspicious behaviors and criminal acts such as vandalism and assault. Absolutely nothing should replace personal common sense. One should always be aware of their surroundings and never take personal safety for granted.

Advances in technology have brought about much higher quality cameras at reduced prices making it a viable option for almost any homeowner to have indoor and outdoor video surveillance. Wireless surveillance cameras are quickly becoming the popular choice since they are so easy to install. These cameras can be quickly installed since there are no holes to drill and wires to run. Monitored security systems will dispatch security agents and notify police immediately.



About the Author: Mike Ward is the owner and operator of Protection Depot, a leading online provider of security cameras and wireless security cameras. For more information about security cameras, please visit Protection Depot.