Page 10 - Security Today, October 2017

Multiply and Conquer
Virtual fence of fixed camera technology serves as a force multiplier for law enforcement agencies
By Tom Joyce
“Good fences make good neighbors.”
Although that line from a Robert Frost poem
was intended ironically, to persuade us not to cre-
ate boundaries that alienate each other, in the right context, it should also be taken literally—for instance, when it comes to ways to aid law enforcement agencies and safeguard communities. Technology is increasingly being used as a force multiplier to help law enforcement agencies protect and serve. One way agencies are turning technology into a crime-fighting tool is by creating what’s called a “virtual fence” around a perimeter, such as city limits or a parking lot, by installing a network of license plate reader (LPR)
cameras to monitor an area.
These virtual fences are installed in municipalities across the
country and serve not as a way to surveil the average citizen, but in- stead to give law enforcement officials a way to multiply their effec- tiveness and keep neighborhoods safer, including from what’s called “outside-in crime,” when criminal elements cross city or county lines to commit crimes outside of where they reside.
Case in Point: La Verne, Calif.
La Verne, Calif., is a small community spanning slightly more than eight square miles, with a population of approximately 30,000 citizens. “La Verne is not a big city by any stretch of the imagination, but because it is in Los Angeles County, the city does see its fair share of criminals either passing through our community, or specifically coming into our community to perpetrate crimes,” said Sgt. Chris Fenner of the La Verne Police Department. “We’ve seen otherwise peaceful communities turned upside-down by crime; when that hap- pens, it impacts everything—property values, quality of life, busi- ness and much more. We wanted to take a very proactive measure to reduce the crime that is taking place and prevent future crimes
from ever occurring.”
The police department looked at its options and learned about the
concept of a virtual fence.
“We saw other neighboring communities create a virtual fence
using LPR cameras, and heard about the results they were generat- ing,” Fenner said.
The La Verne Police Department installed a network of 21 fixed cameras, including hardware (cameras, communication boxes, brack- ets and cabling), services (site survey, commissioning and training) and storage of all plate detections and analytics for investigative use. Fixed LPR cameras were installed at key entries and exits, called choke points. The cameras detect all vehicles entering and exiting through the choke points, capturing the plate number and image, as well as the time, date and location of every detection. A robust back- end allows for investigative analytics and real-time alerting—no IT integration required.
Fenner said the virtual fence in La Verne has had a significant impact: The police department has identified and stopped dozens of occupied stolen vehicles entering La Verne, compared with one or two stolen recoveries annually prior to having the fixed cameras.
“Stolen vehicles are often used to perpetrate other crimes, and I can say without a doubt that we prevented crimes from taking place by stopping these vehicles,” Fenner said. “Some of these vehicles were entering residential areas at one or two in the morning with loaded firearms and burglary tools. As a result of these stops, we have also apprehended individuals wanted for more serious crimes, such as kid- napping and assault with a deadly weapon.”
In addition to a noticeable impact on the department’s ability to protect neighborhoods from known vehicles of interest, the solution has also helped to investigate and close cases more rapidly.
“We have solved numerous residential and commercial burglary cases using vehicle descriptions such as year, make and model, or a partial plate, coupled with the location,” Fenner said. “We have lo- cated at least three domestic violence suspects using historical data to understand where the suspects’ vehicles have previously been seen.”
La Verne’s installation shows how a fixed camera solution ef- fectively wraps a virtual fence around a geographic area of respon- sibility to detect when suspicious vehicles enter the area, and boost a law enforcement agency’s investigative strategies to develop leads and solve cases.
“The system has been a tremendous force multiplier for our de- partment, and is helping us not only reduce, but also prevent crime,” Fenner said.
Vulnerable Targets
Every day, law enforcement agencies are being asked to do more with less, to be prepared and to readily produce investigative leads. Yet threats to community safety continue to grow from the potential for lone-wolf gunmen to crime pouring in from neighboring cities. Areas like universities, schools, business campuses, airports or arenas, to name a few, are self-contained communities that are increasingly tar- geted by criminals and terrorists.
It’s up to agencies to protect their areas of geographic responsibil- ity with any force multipliers they have access to. The law enforce- ment agencies that will win the battle are the ones that will know when a wanted vehicle enters the community—a vehicle that may be carrying a person considered dangerous.
These agencies will be able to expand their reach and fight crime without stretching their workforces, and have
the tools at hand to develop investigative leads
and close cases faster. Sometimes good fences
do make good neighbors—and a virtual fence helps safeguard neighborhoods and communities across the country.
Tom Joyce is a retired member of the NYPD and is the vice president at Vigilant Solutions.
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