At the end of any day, retail businesses equipped with IP camera security systems are sitting on a valuable cache of high resolution video. Conventional thinking would hold with its being stored for a set period of time, and if no forensic need arises, being deleted.
However, forward thinking management recognizes its value in optimizing a store’s bottom line performance.
Today’s security professional’s duties bear little resemblance to those of the security guard of the mid-twentieth century. Gone are the days when padlocks and fences were sufficient to keep intruders at bay; back when a guard’s duties consisted of making patrols and authorizing admittance consisted of the wave of a hand.
When the twenty-first century ushered in the adoption of IP camera systems, a new era of security dawned. Anyone hoping to become a security professional today needs, at the very minimum, working knowledge of IP cameras and video management software.
Telephone system, highway system, transit system, heating system, cooling system. We talk about systems all the time, but just what is a system? Merriam-Webster.com defines a system as a group of devices or artificial objects, or an organization, forming a network especially for distributing something or serving a common purpose.
This holds true for IP camera systems too. Their common purpose is to provide situational awareness. But this is possible only if the cameras are working together, and optimally placed.
It’s been nearly two years since militants, armed with grenades and anti-aircraft weapons, stormed the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, killing the US ambassador to Libya and three others. However, the man suspected of orchestrating the attack was finally captured in Benghazi in mid-June. Last week, Ahmed Abu Khattala appeared in federal court in Washington DC court to face formal charges of conspiring to provide material support and resources to terrorists, resulting in a death. It’s not going to be an easy trial, but fortunately, the country has the benefit of IP camera systems fighting the good fight.
Syracuse PD – Home Grown Cameras
You’ve heard of baby booms, well the Syracuse NY police department is in the midst of a camera boom. They began installing surveillance IP camera systems in 2011 and the total number has grown to over 40, and counting. If all goes as planned, Syracuse will add 20 more by summer’s end.
IP surveillance camera systems are here to stay. You know it. We know it. Criminals know it. The Police know it. As we mentioned in our last post, the surveillance video can be supremely valuable to the police— or it can be totally worthless. To summon more of the former, and less of the latter, police department after police department has taken to giving advice and offering assistance to citizens wishing to install cameras. They all cite the same three factors that can make or break a video’s forensic value.
Remember when access control was limited to fitting a key into a lock and turning? You know the drill. You probably used one to lock your door this morning, and you’ll use it again when you go home this evening. Turn it one way you retract the deadbolt that holds the door closed and gains access. Turn it the other way, you fit it back into place, denying access to anyone without a key. Unfortunately, the lock and key system is an ancient innovation that is not up to the challenge of many of today’s security needs; this is where we need to upgrade to IP camera systems, electronic access cards, biometrics, and other modern technology.
How do Wide Area Surveillance systems measure up to IP camera surveillance systems?
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department wanted to determine if Wide Area Surveillance would work for them. According to the Center For Investigative Reporting, they chose Compton, an area long plagued by crime as their “lab”.
Continue reading “An LA Experiment in Surveillance”Are IP Cameras part of Major League Baseball’s expanded replay review? It seems like I was just counting the days until Pitchers and Catchers would be reporting to spring training. It would be a promise that the end of the horrendous winter of 2014, and its polar vortex would be coming to an end. Now, all of a sudden, we’re halfway through the 2014 baseball season!
Continue reading “Expanded Replay Review? An IP Thing?”
Is it just me, or does it seem as if each morning we turn on the news only to find yet another incidence of first responders selflessly putting their lives on the line to remedy a situation? Some days it’s a man-made tragedy like a mass shooting or a hostage-taking, other times it’s an act of nature like a mud slide, sinkhole or a wildfire roaring out of control as it edges ever nearer to hillside homes.
We’re seeing the big picture, the situation from all angles, but have you ever thought about what it’s like for the individual responder, limited to only what his five senses tell him? That’s why situational awareness is of critical importance, and why it is important to make use of IP camera systems and other available technology to facilitate this awareness.
The Bubble