Page 70 - Security Today, May 2018

tribution of information to guide forces in the field. The greater goal is to maintain security and safety for areas residents and visitors.
Inter-Agency Collaboration
When information is combined into one interface, video and other data sources can easily be shared with other agencies as needed to or- chestrate an effective response. Additionally, built-in workflows help ensure standard procedures are followed.
Various agencies can use data from some sources in both the pub- lic and private sector—that is, individual citizen cameras—leaving these public/private partnerships strengthened. This approach allows city officials to share data with private businesses and vice versa to coordinate security efforts appropriately and cost-effectively.
Debrief Events Effectively
Authorized personnel can monitor multiple radio channels or calls from their desktops in real-time and playback contents in a matter of seconds, helping to quickly confirm details and review conversations that were difficult to understand.
By implementing replay of audio, video, text, screen data, telemat- ics, and related data on a single screen, security personnel can facilitate effective debriefing and improve performance for future incidents.
Citizen Engagement
Today’s cities are now using an integrated network of publicly and privately owned surveillance networks to monitor events. But another solution is critical: citizen engagement. The driving force behind ev- ery Safe City initiative is its citizens. Each person is a walking sensor that can report on threats, watch the public domain for shared risks, and contribute valuable input via a multitude of “smart” devices.
With the rise of smartphone users across the globe, mobile phone users can capture high-definition photos and videos to feed to security officers. In an emergency situation, data from citizens can prove to be valuable in helping mitigate risks and ensure a time- ly and efficient response. A centralized solution can be used to cap- ture reports, photos, videos, and other data, to then combine with existing security information, to help enhance evidence collection and accelerate investigations.
Ultimately, situational awareness is about receiving incoming data, analyzing it and turning it into actionable intelligence. Recent terrorist attacks and active shooter incidents demonstrate the need for advanced solutions and big data analysis to improve prepared- ness. By building situational awareness into the overall security strat- egy of a city, leaders are better able to manage incidents and identify potential threats before they happen. Situational awareness solutions allow cities to stay one step ahead and help security officials protect their cities and its citizens. Here is a look at how one city is leverag- ing technology to assure a safe environment for residents and visitors while ensuring businesses can thrive.
A Safer City Through Collaboration
London’s Bond Street area is known throughout the world for its wealth of elegant stores, exclusive brands, designer fashion, luxury goods, and exquisite jewels. In recent years, the area was plagued by “smash-and-grabs,” in which bike-mounted assailants ram into glass windows and doors to steal high-value items before making a quick exit. One attack on a London jeweler seized £20,000 of goods while one on-foot robbery on a premium watch retailer amounted to a loss of £400,000 of assets.
London’s Metropolitan Police wanted to ensure a safer environ- ment and made significant efforts to increase patrols and arrests in the area. This effort led to a decline in the number of attacks but at the same time, the value of stolen goods continued to rise. Leaders were determined to increase security and allow for the safest environ- ment for visitors, businesses, and residents.
The Metropolitan Police developed the Police and Security (PAS) project, a nationwide effort designed to bring police and private se- curity teams together to work collaboratively. It was also designed to streamline communication between the two groups and ensured private security contacts the right individuals within the police when an incident occurs.
London officials also partnered with private companies to help increase safety and reduce risk in this area. London-area security so- lution provider, The Keyholding Co., developed the Safer Support Team, a proactive patrol team and intelligence network dedicated to helping prevent violent crimes on Bond Street and the surrounding area. The idea was to help build stronger private-public partnerships to better protect staff, property, and goods in target geographic ar- eas. The team worked closely with area law enforcement and first re- sponders to augment existing efforts and share intelligence with these groups to enhance response.
The Safer Support Team brings additional personnel to moni- tor the area, acting as a visual deterrent, gathering and sharing in- telligence to report incidents and respond rapidly. The patrol team is highly trained and familiar with police procedures to aid in the reduction of these security events while ensuring the safety of retail employees, customers, and area guests.
To facilitate the exchange of information among multiple agen- cies, The Keyholding Co. deployed intelligent communication and emergency response technology from Verint. Dispatch Manager and Mobile Reporter, part of the Situational Awareness Platform solu- tions portfolio, are used to mitigate risk, ensure more intelligence response, and enhance situational awareness. Dispatch Manager in- corporates emergency dispatch, helping reduce emergency response time while improving end-to-end communications throughout an incident. Mobile Reporter allows businesses, agencies, and local citi- zens share information directly from their smart devices, enabling multi-dimensional response.
Dispatch Manager unifies disparate command center technolo- gies and security staff by fusing critical data input from emergency calls and responder activity to drive pinpoint response. Dispatch- ers and responders combine live and historical event data with GIS maps, responder positions, reporter inputs, and new sources, such as weather, social media, cybersecurity, public safety databases, and much more. This complete picture builds stronger insights that help make responses more effective and efficient.
It also can coordinate directly with field responders and empow- ered citizens with the deployment of Mobile Reporter. With Mobile Reporter, a patrol officer’s location and status are correlated with other situational data inputs. Dispatchers receive updates to a guard’s geographic area, which is regularly updated on a map to keep dis- patchers informed of whereabouts and response actions.
With the use of these technologies and a robust video surveillance network that incorporates standard IP and 360-degree cameras, the Safer Support Team project has demonstrated significant success since its inception. Police have used evidence captured by the team to make arrests and the increase in patrols have served as a deterrent. Overall, the initiative has helped reduce crime and make the Bond Street area a safer place to visit.
As you can see, Safe City initiatives are one of the best ways to build an efficient, executable security strategy. These projects incor- porate a broad network of sensors, processes, and systems that help cities achieve new levels of situational awareness.
By aggregating large amounts of data and turning
it into valuable information, city officials are bet-
ter positioned to identify threats, manage emer-
gency situations and investigate incidents.
Alan Stoddard is the vice president and general manager at Verint.
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