Page 58 - Security Today, July/August 2020

Supporting
Security Services
Supporting security services with wireless mesh networks BDy Angela Quinn
emonstrations, celebra- tions, festivals, and ma- jor sporting events - any large gathering of people - presents police and se-
curity services with a range of issues relat- ing to public safety. Increasing the police presence on the ground is a natural and highly visual way of increasing the num- ber of eyes looking out for potential prob- lems. But modern technology enables pub- lic protectors to cover far more ground far more efficiently. No large scale, planned public event would take place now with- out enhanced surveillance in the form of secure and high-definition CCTV.
Owing to their temporary nature, these kinds of gatherings pose many challenges for the police, with additional coverage needing to be set up quickly, securely, and reliably in locations where existing infra- structure may be inadequate or simply non-existent. Rajant Corporation works alongside blue light and security services around the globe to provide support for forces who are dealing with tens or even hundreds of thousands of visitors by de- ploying the wireless infrastructure that supports secure and stable connectivity.
BUILDING
CRUCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Without having the right wireless in- frastructure in place, public safety orga- nizations can be presented with limited or fragmented connectivity between on-the- ground personnel, vehicles, and command centers, creating serious and possibly life- threatening gaps in situational awareness.
Building a new but temporary infra- structure is not easy, and the network must overcome many complex challenges, including potentially incompatible equip- ment, which can lead to public safety or- ganizations being unable to receive real- time data. Also, inadequate bandwidth can affect the ability to access files such as on-scene video, aerial imagery, maps, and images in real-time. Significantly,
“Increasing the police presence on the ground is
a natural and highly visual way of increasing the number of eyes looking out for potential problems.”
58
JULY/AUGUST 2020 | SECURITY TODAY
many existing public safety networks lack adequate bandwidth for streaming video from remote cameras to first responders, especially while response teams are racing to an incident.
On-the-move visibility is critical to pro- viding first responders with a clear picture of the situation they are about to encoun- ter. This can be essential to protecting people and saving lives. It is also critical when it comes to monitoring large public events, enabling officers to effectively con- trol crowds, manage traffic, and supply more “event eyes” for greater safety.
A ROYAL PROBLEM
In recent years, there have not been many more high-profile and large-scale public events than the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Six hundred guests were invited to attend the church, 2,640 members of the public were invited to watch from the Windsor Castle grounds,andthelocalThamesValleyPo-
lice prepared for 100,000 people to line the two-mile journey the couple would make to their reception. In that crowd could have been any of the 160 royal ‘stalkers’ identi- fied and monitored by a special police unit.
Thames Valley Police needed to pro- vide extra CCTV coverage of the crowds as part of the security arrangements being put into place in the small English village where the wedding was taking place. This was especially important given the route for the post-wedding processions of the royal couple as this was through the winding streets of Windsor and up through Wind- sor Castle’s Long Walk. Rajant was chosen to install the wireless infrastructure. In just under three days, Rajant was able to rap- idly deploy eleven cameras with thirteen of its BreadCrumb® nodes, providing a high-speed, robust CTTV network. This ensured the whole area would be securely monitored with footage made available at multiple surveillance points and delivered inreal-timeinhighdefinition.
EVENT SECURITY