Police cameras becoming standard

Officials say footage helps collect evidence, train officers and deal with complaints
BY SCOTT J. CROTEAU, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE (Massachusetts)
Updated: 08-4-2011 1:44 pm

Across the country, law enforcement agencies have been equipping officers on the streets with video cameras, whether on an officer's body or in the cruiser.

Area police officials say the equipment and footage help collect evidence, train officers and deal with complaints of police misbehavior.

"The big thing here is it really saves the police from false claims or potential liability," said A. Wayne Sampson, a retired police chief and the executive director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association.

While many New England communities seem to be behind the curve in the use of body cameras, that type of equipment is flourishing in California. Newer technology usually comes from the West Coast, so it is not out of the ordinary to see the use of newer police gear start there and move across the country, Mr. Sampson said.

Companies such as TASER and VIEVU sell body cameras, in which a camera is worn over an officer's ear, and a device allows the officer to turn on the camera.

Some departments in Central Massachusetts have cruiser cameras, which are mounted in the vehicles and are able to record traffic stops or be used in motor vehicle investigations.
"There are so many people out there using cellphone cameras or video cameras, and this enables law enforcement to produce documentary evidence from the perspective they are seeing it," Mr. Sampson said.

Heidi Traverso, a Seattle police officer for 15 years who is now the director of business development for Seattle-based VIEVU, said bystanders usually only gather a snippet of what is happening in an incident involving police. Body cameras show the whole incident as it unfolds and what the officer may have reacted to, she said.

The use of mounted surveillance cameras placed in communities makes members of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts uneasy. People have always felt a right to walk in public with some anonymity.

Sarah R. Wunsch, staff lawyer for the ACLU of Massachusetts, also has concerns about the use of body cameras by law enforcement. She said she is concerned about a policy regarding when the officer turns the device on and off as well as the visibility of the device to the public.

While makers of the body cameras say the videos taken cannot be manipulated, Ms. Wunsch believes they can be. If the officer determines when to turn on and off the device, the officer controls which events are recorded, she said.

It is also illegal to secretly record audio in a conversation. Ms. Wunsch said that is why she is concerned about whether an officer's body camera would be visible to the public.

Cruiser cameras are good for highway patrols or officers who handle traffic stops, but urban and suburban officers interact with suspects on the streets, Ms. Traverso said.
"It will be part of the uniform in five to 10 years," she said. "It will be a rare moment when you don't see a camera on an officer's equipment."

Using video evidence can help officers reduce time spent on reports but also review statements made to them more quickly, she said. This would allow more time for officers to be on the streets.

Better evidence for court cases is another plus, Ms. Traverso said. Video evidence makes it hard for someone to pull back a statement made to police, she added.

Newer technology, such as body cameras, typically is adopted more slowly in New England, where police unions are more active, Ms. Traverso said. Unions are usually involved in the introduction of new equipment.

Cruiser cameras are something the ACLU is fond of. The cameras usually tape a traffic incident once a cruiser's lights are turned on. The cruiser cameras help deal with the issue of racial profiling and help with civil rights issues, Ms. Wunsch said.

West Brookfield police use camera cruisers, but if officers wanted to buy a body camera out of their training equipment allotment, Chief C. Thomas O'Donnell wouldn't object.

"As the technology gets better and the devices get smaller and less expensive, I think you are going to see more use," the chief said of the body cameras.
He was an officer in Connecticut in the 1980s when cruiser cameras started to be used. At first, Chief O'Donnell wasn't sure the cameras were a good idea; however, he said they soon became a valuable tool.

"I really can't think of any downside even if you are catching misconduct," he said. "The vast majority of times, it shows the officers are in the right."

A 2005 report by the International Association of Chiefs of Police on cruiser cameras showed that 93 percent of the time when a complaint was filed regarding police conduct, the officers were exonerated when video evidence was available.

Lawsuits claiming officer brutality or other misdeeds cost departments cash as well. High-profile or big-payout cases make headlines, but several "he said, she said" cases - in which $2,000 to $10,000 are paid out in settlements - fly under the radar, yet can be costly. VIEVU's officer cameras cost about $900.

"A lot of communities would say the cost of cameras could save money in lawsuits," Mr. Sampson said.

Fewer thieves in UK now travel by car to avoid numberplate recognition

Burglars taking trains to avoid detection by police
BY PIERS MEYLER
Brentwood Gazette
Updated: 08-4-2011 2:14 pm

BURGLARS targeting wealthy parts of Brentwood are taking the train in an effort to remain undetected.

Operation Rampton aimed to deter the number of crooks entering Brentwood on trains. Police say criminals are increasingly shunning cars as a means of transport and using alternative methods of transport thanks to the success of ANPR - numberplate technology which is proving effective in picking up known offenders.

Despite that, the rate of burglaries has rocketed recently, especially in Warley, according to police crime figures.

The number of household burglaries shot up from just one in April to seven in March and another seven in May.

The figures for July, although not available yet, are expected to show an even sharper spike.

Jewellery Sgt Jamie Shelton, in charge of Operation Rampton, said small electricals and jewellery items are being favoured ahead of televisions and large items, which suggests thieves are arriving without a vehicle in which to drive away their loot.
The operation, conducted on Thursday and Friday last week, saw 56 people stopped and searched at Brentwood railway station - five of whom were known to police.

Commuters were greeted by police officers manning a metal detector arch, similar to ones found at airports, on leaving the trains.

Officers took details of those stopped, some of whom were frisked for items that could be used for break-ins, like jimmies - flat, metal J-shaped devices that can be used to break into cars.

Sgt Shelton said significant and useful intelligence was gleaned from the operation that ran between 11am and 6pm on both days. Sgt Shelton added: "There were no burglary and theft offences committed during the period of the operation.

"We would have expected to see some offences. It shows that the operation worked."

Police intelligence has suggested that a large number of the crimes are being perpetrated by individuals travelling into Brentwood railway station from London, including Havering. One car seized for having no insurance was tracked using the ANPR system surrounding Brentwood. Ridley Nutman, 73, a railway user at Brentwood station at the time of the operation, said: "Cameras and security arches don't worry me. If you have nothing to hide why should they? "What I don't understand is why the police have to advertise."

Speaking about the thieves, Sgt James Shelton added: "We want to put the message out that we are not afraid to deal with these people who are taking advantage of residents in our community."

Warning about home security POLICE are urging residents to be more vigilant and take more care with property.
The warning comes after a number of the burglaries across Western division, some of which could have been prevented if the properties had been properly secured.

Some of the items stolen include jewellery, portable electronic equipment, handbags, wallets, purses and cash. Keys have also been taken, including vehicle keys which, in some cases, have been used to steal vehicles parked outside the premises.

Crime reduction officer Graham Anthony said: "Residents are urged to take greater care in securing their out or retiring to bed.

"Front and other external access doors must always be properly locked with the key.

"If you have UPVC doors with multi-locking systems, where you push the handle up to engage the bolts, make sure that you also lock the door with the key.

"Otherwise the door is not secure. Windows, particularly ground floor windows, should be shut fully and locked.

Place vehicle keys in a safe but not obvious place."

Although the number of burglaries increased, the rate of overall crimes has remained virtually steady over the past three months in Warley.

Steelbox hits the ground running

With a VMS adapted from Telindus and its own network savvy switches, firm takes on IP video
BY GEOFF KOHL, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
SecurityInfoWatch.com
Updated: 07-26-2011 1:43 pm
The video management system (VMS) seems to be the touch point that video surveillance product suite manufacturers want to have in their portfolio. In recent years, there has been a strong growth in the number of IP video supported VMS products. Even with a wide variety of VMS solutions on the market today, Steelbox president Nik Moissiadis says that most VMS focus simply on features but don’t consider the impact to the network.

“Digital video creates issues for all users on the network,” admits Moissiadis, whose firm launched its own VMS (SteelVision) this past week as it also introduced a rebranding across its product line.

The company was founded eight years ago, and its first product was what is now known as the SteelSwitch. It’s a media switch designed specifically to route video over the network in an efficient manner. Thus, when it was time for the company to roll out a VMS, Moissiadis said they took the same approach as they had with their video switch.

“If you’re not designing a VMS that takes into account networking, you’re nothing but an edge device that plays no role in the overall scope of the network. The network doesn’t take care of itself, and if you don’t take care of it, it won’t support you when you need it.”

The problem, he said, is being driven by four factors. First, users are increasing camera resolutions and frame rates. The user of today, he said, expects an approximation of the video quality they have from their home system, and that means increased interest and adoption of HD and megapixel cameras.

A second factor, says Moissiadis, is that end-users are coming from the analog world where there really wasn’t any latency. “The reality is that we have latency in most IP video systems.” Standard switches and poor network designs introduce that latency.

Third, he said that the industry often sees sub-standard network designs that don’t take into account worst-case-scenario planning for bandwidth. It’s not the normal days that you have to plan for, said Moissiadis. Instead, it’s the critical incidents that you have to plan for – the times when there are multiple demands of streams from your video Those increased demands are the fourth factor. Moissiadis points toward a trend of deploying distributed systems which encourage remote access to video feeds. No longer is the only point of access for the “CCTV” system solely at the security office, and that means a system has to push its video out to more points than ever. The side effect of those multiple streams, he said, is that it will create fatigue on a system not designed for such volume of requests.

That’s the problem that Steelbox has been working on for the last year or so. Adtech Corporation acquired Steelbox in 2009 after the company faced financial difficulties. Then, just last year, Adtech purchased Telindus, which had a VMS solution, and began integrating the technology of Telindus into Steelbox.

Now, about one year after Telindus was acquired, Steelbox’s entire product portfolio is out with a rebranding and support for the company’s own SteelVision video management system. The switch is now known as SteelSwitch, and the company offers a network-attached storage (NAS) solution known as SteelVault. Also in the company’s product mix are the encoder/decoder devices now branded as SteelEdge.

Even with the roll-out of their own VMS, Steelbox’s Moissiadis says that the company doesn’t become a closed architecture. Steelbox was known in the industry for having their products (primarily the switches) used as part of total IP video systems being driven by other vendors’ video management systems.

“We were asked to deliver a VMS solution by customers,” Moissiadis said. “Still at end of day, a good chunk of our deployments will be using other VMS’s.”

The same holds true for the firm’s other products, which don’t have to be exclusively used in the system. The Steelbox model doesn’t preclude the user from selecting other manufacturer’s encoders or storage offerings.

With luck, the network focused approach to video management will pay off for Steelbox, as it takes the best of Telindus (the VMS) and the best of the former Steelbox entity (its network savvy switches) and applies them to the video requirements of today.
surveillance system.