Page 44 - Security Today, June 2017

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Installation occurred over three months, and now the video solution has empowered police to better protect both the port and city more effectively. According to Smith, the surveillance is primarily used for forensic investigations following suspicious activi- ties or emergencies, as well as for real-time containment of suspects and monitoring of certain areas.
“In terms of versatility and access, it’s a great tool that we didn’t have before,” Smith said. “Now, we have a system we can add to. It meets our needs and allows us to have more information for patrol, response and investigation. When you’re installing a sys- tem like this, you have to be able to show that you’re not adding to the financial burden— that you’re increasing your efficiency without creating a cost that’s beyond what you can sustain. We think this system meets that.”
Video data is recorded at seven fps and stored at the command center for 30 days for investigative purposes and to meet Washing- ton public record laws. To simplify cabling requirements, reduce installation cost, and increase reliability, video is transmitted to a central command center via a robust fiber backbone ring network and utilizes the wire- less mesh network to reach edge locations, which would otherwise be cost prohibitive to employ. The camera feeds are then captured and managed by FLIR Latitude NVMS, which tracks incoming activity, provides a streamlined video interface and alerts offi- cers to key events.
Streaming Live Video
Port Angeles officials were particularly im- pressed by the FLIR VMS innovative mobile video push app, TruWitness, which extends video surveillance beyond the point of fixed cameras and allows real time mobile device video to be viewed and recorded as addition- al cameras in the Latitude NVMS system.
“At the time, not a single company in the VMS sector was doing that,” said Keith Young, senior sales engineer at Last Mile. “The TruWitness app is what pushed Port Angeles over the top where they said, ‘we to have to have that.’”
FLIR’s mobile client software additional- ly enables police officers to stream live video to their squad cars. Police patrols are able to able to use their smart devices to stream, record, analyze, review and export live video from any location, enhancing rapid response and mission critical decision-making.
“We are now able to better monitor and track suspicious vehicles and passengers un- loading from the ferries,” Smith said. We are also monitoring the coastline, and can dis- patch police officers to send live video from any remote location.”
The video streaming is done through ei- ther the cellular network or private wireless mesh network, and the system allows officers to move seamlessly between the two.
“We have a very unique system here that usesIn-Motionrouterboxes,whichareinour patrol cars,” Smith said. “It decides what is the best signal—Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G—and toggles back and forth [as police move throughout the city]. Most of the time, we’re streaming the mobile application through Wi-Fi.”
One of the advantages of using the pri- vate Wi-Fi is that it ensures reliable and ef- ficient communication between law enforce- ment at all times. In the real world when natural disasters, riots, sport games or other large events take place, the public are on their phones, streaming video, updating so- cial media, making emergency phone calls, overloading the cellular networks. In those instances, police officers’ cell phones become useless and they have to rely solely on lim- ited two-way radios. Private Wi-Fi networks eliminate this issue.
“If you have your own private wireless, you can still utilize team coordination and case management apps, photo sharing, Wi-Fi calling, and the TruWitness capability,” Young said. “When everything else goes down, law enforcement and first responders are still able to communicate at the same level.”
Additionally, the data plans required to run cameras over cell phone carrier connec- tions can be extremely expensive. The private Wi-Fi network presents a significant cost- savings for the city.
Looking Forward
Video surveillance initiatives are a top prior- ity for Port Angeles. The current system has proven useful on several occasions to help police solve crimes and gain insight into the city’s security posture. Additional grants will fund projects to enhance security at lo- cal parks, transportation networks and cor- rectional facilities. The city plans to increase the number of cameras across key locales throughout the region and add video analyt- ics to further bolster the system’s capabilities.
“We knew the success of the first phase would lead to the deployment of more camer- as, so we chose a solution that could be easily and economically expanded over time,” Smith said. “FLIR delivers the technology that meets our current and future needs, while pro- viding a streamlined user
experience and maximum
flexibility.”
Dwight Dumpert is the di- rector of product manage- ment, Security at FLIR Systems.
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