Page 20 - Security Today, May/June 2022

“Some studies show that when officers wear body worn cameras, the conduct from both parties tends to improve.”
are beginning to include features to leverage metadata from cam- eras in a more intuitive way, as well as deeper integrations to more traditional server-based analytic offerings.
An advantage of using edge computing in the camera is that the analyzation process sits as close to the source as possible. Edge analytics tend to have greater accuracy because the analysis is performed on the raw video data prior to processing for a com- pression for codecs such as H.265.
Furthermore, leveraging edge processing as a foundation for video analytics positively impacts the overall solution architec- ture by reducing latency, reducing points of potential failure, improving scalability, lowering total cost of ownership, and, in use cases that require connecting the device via an LTE router or gateway, significantly reduced data plan costs.
POOL RESOURCES TO BENEFIT ALL DEPARTMENTS
In today’s challenging economic and pandemic-impacted land- scape, we often hear that cities and law enforcement agencies sim- ply “don’t have money.” This is only a half-truth.
There is money to fund prioritized projects in local govern- ment. The real challenge is that there are a lot of competing pri- orities seeking access to these funds. This is another area where advancements specifically related to DL/AI as it pertains to video technology can help law enforcement agencies act on their mission.
There are many other stakeholders and departments within local government that are seeking to use cameras, machine vi- sion and analytics to improve the efficiency and safety of their services: parks and recreation, public works, traffic, parking and even the offices of sustainability and resilience.
A city’s parking agency may seek to improve services by moni- toring parking spots, conveying availability, and even catching scofflaws parking illegally. If they use video technology as a force multiplier to achieve these goals–and if there is a spirit of col- laboration between law enforcement and parking services (and more broadly across all departments making up the municipal government)–then the initiative of parking services could provide police access to more video assets to benefit their public safety and emergency response initiatives.
Because the latest video technologies can potentially deliver data insights that are beneficial to multiple use cases and mul- tiple stakeholders, it makes sense that deployment of video tech- nologies are not looked at as a “solutions” initiative with one department carrying the burden of cost, but rather that video technologies are considered an expansion of infrastructure where the deployment and resulting assets serve a broader purpose of helping the community operate. For this to be realized, it will be important that video technologies are supported by appropriate policy and governance, and that included in this is a hierarchy of user rights of access.
For example, traffic management should be the user of pri- ority during a vehicular accident scenario and law enforcement should be the user of priority during a civil unrest event–but what about when a civil unrest event caused a traffic accident resulting in congested corridors? If the closest video asset is a PTZ camera, both agencies will want control of the camera for their agency’s mission. These user access prioritization collisions cannot be re-
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solved when the collision occurs, they must be forecasted, pre- dicted and planned for in advance.
Video and its related metadata that is sent to a real-time law enforcement crime center can be sent to a variety of departments like these to help them analyze and improve operations.
BUILDING SMART COMMUNITIES:
PROJECT GREEN LIGHT DETROIT
Law enforcement can also partner with businesses directly to use ad- vanced video technology to deliver a smarter–and safer–community.
In 2016, 911 call data indicated there was a preponderance of crime in a concentrated area of Detroit. The Detroit Police De- partment (DPD) and community leaders were concerned and es- tablished Project Green Light Detroit (PGLD) to improve safety and response time. Businesses in this area–primarily gas stations, liquor stores, and quick service restaurants–installed Axis Com- munications cameras that provided video access directly to DPD.
The partnership includes video management from Genetec as well as internet from local service providers. Now, when there is a crime, a participating business operator can simply hit a panic button, which immediately pushes video to DPD. If a 911 call is placed within a certain geofenced area, video from that location is sent directly to law enforcement.
The independent businesses own the cameras and the relat- ed data, which is archived in a cloud repository. Businesses that enroll into PGLD sign a memorandum of understanding that grants access to the video streams from their cameras to the city under these specific conditions. This protects privacy and saves time for law enforcement.
It saves time because, with a standing MOU in place, law en- forcement doesn’t have to wait for access to video during an event. They are immediately involved. They also have video access for the subsequent investigation. PGLD has been credited with im- proving safety in the Detroit community as measured across mul- tiple metrics. Since inception, PGLD has added hundreds of local businesses, the city of Detroit, and community organizations to the program.
Advanced technology in devices like body-worn cameras or in video analytics can dramatically improve law enforcement opera- tions. These solutions can seem cost prohibitive,
but by working with other internal departments–
or even across communities–law enforcement can
share the expense. The result is a force multiplier
that delivers a smarter and safer community.
Kevin Taylor is the segment development man- ager, Smart Cities at Axis Communications.
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