August 24, 2008

New cameras have eye on unruly pupils Full Article - Amisha Padnani, Staten Island Advance
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The watchful eyes of hundreds of surveillance cameras will be showing up in more school corridors, cafeterias and auditoriums in the coming months.

Four Staten Island schools will have the systems installed by September and another seven will get them next year, according to the Department of Education. An additional six schools are boosting security through extra lighting and fencing.

The state-of-the-art digital surveillance systems will record 24 hours a day and can be viewed from any school administrator's computer, officials said. The cameras themselves are small and, in most cases, will be hidden in domes in the ceiling, similar to department stores or casinos.

At New Dorp High School, principal Deirdre DeAngelis said she can't wait to test the new system. She said the school has had surveillance cameras since the 1980s, but only received an upgrade to the high-tech cameras this summer.

"When you're walking down the hallway, you don't even know they're there," Ms. DeAngelis said. "The others were antiquated. These will be Internet-based. I can just go on the Internet now -- it's all taped -- and I can switch from place to place."

Community and school leaders said they appreciate the new systems because school buildings can be vast, with hardly enough security officers to patrol every hallway. Out of New York City's 5,000 school safety agents, 260 are assigned to Staten Island, authorities said. There are no plans to assign more officers to Island schools.

"Not only are cameras a very strong deterrent for crime-related issues, they also help school safety officers who cannot monitor every little nook and crevice of the building," said Peter Calendrella, a member of the school safety committee for the Community Education Council District 31.

"I know it's a little bit of a 'Big Brother' type issue. But I think it also gives a sense of comfort to parents that their children are being monitored," he said.

Calendrella said he helped kick off a safety initiative at the Michael J. Petrides Educational Complex, Sunnyside, where exterior lighting was installed this summer. A surveillance system is slated to be installed next year.

He said a recent evaluation of the campus showed there are 237 entrances and exits to the various buildings, which not only serve students in kindergarten through 12th grade, but also house administrative offices.

"It's such a massive campus," he said. "How do you patrol such a big place?"

The new cameras will be funded by a citywide $120 million initiative that the DOE started about five years ago, with an additional $8 million to be designated by the City Council. Officials said they are planning to get the systems up and running in about 300 buildings by the end of next year. The cameras would be installed in 300 buildings but would serve 540 schools because many of those buildings house more than one school.

Principals said they jumped on the bandwagon once they heard about the initiative.

"Thankfully it wasn't because of any situation that resulted in us having to get them," said Gary Giordano, the principal of Susan E. Wagner High School, where dozens of cameras were installed over the summer.

"It really was a matter of our school being proactive and saying we want them in the building to improve the work that we do and make sure we have a safe environment."

In addition to security cameras, extra lighting and fencing are also being installed at some schools.

At PS 48, Concord, four light fixtures shine from the top of the building, casting bright rays onto the rear of the building and the neighboring park every night.

They were installed about a year ago, after Principal Jacqueline Mammolito noticed how dark it could get after meetings and other events and wanted to make sure parents and teachers felt safe. She said the lights have been a successful deterrent so far and that the community seems to appreciate them.



August 23, 2008

Surveillance made easy Full Article - Laura Margottini, NewScientistTech.com
"THIS data allows investigators to identify suspects, examine their contacts, establish relationships between conspirators and place them in a specific location at a certain time."

So said the UK Home Office last week as it announced plans to give law-enforcement agencies, local councils and other public bodies access to the details of people's text messages, emails and internet activity. The move followed its announcement in May that it was considering creating a massive central database to store all this data, as a tool to help the security services tackle crime and terrorism.

Meanwhile in the US the FISA Amendments Act, which became law in July, allows the security services to intercept anyone's international phone calls and emails without a warrant for up to seven days. Governments around the world are developing increasingly sophisticated electronic surveillance methods in a bid to identify terrorist cells or spot criminal activity.

However, technology companies, in particular telecommunications firms and internet service providers, have often been criticised for assisting governments in what many see as unwarranted intrusion, most notably in China.

Now German electronics company Siemens has gone a step further, developing a complete "surveillance in a box" system called the Intelligence Platform, designed for security services in Europe andAsia. It has already sold the system to 60 countries.

According to a document obtained by New Scientist, the system integrates tasks typically done by separate surveillance teams or machines, pooling data from sources such as telephone calls, email and internet activity, bank transactions and insurance records. It then sorts through this mountain of information using software that Siemens dubs "intelligence modules".

This software is trained on a large number of sample documents to pick out items such as names, phone numbers and places from generic text. This means it can spot names or numbers that crop up alongside anyone already of interest to the authorities, and then catalogue any documents that contain such associates.

Once a person is being monitored, pattern-recognition software first identifies their typical behaviour, such as repeated calls to certain numbers over a period of a few months. The software can then identify any deviations from the norm and flag up unusual activities, such as transactions with a foreign bank, or contact with someone who is also under surveillance, so that analysts can take a closer look.

Included within the package is a phone call "monitoring centre", developed by the joint-venture company Nokia Siemens Networks.

However, it is far from clear whether the technology will prove accurate. Security experts warn that data-fusion technologies tend to produce a huge number of false positives, flagging up perfectly innocent people as suspicious.

"Combining two different sources of data has the tendency to increase your false-positive rate or your false-negative rate," says Ross Anderson, a computer security engineer at the University of Cambridge. "If you're looking for burglars in a run-down district where 50 per cent of men have a criminal conviction, you may find plenty. But if you're trying to find terrorists among airline passengers - where they are extremely rare - then almost all your hits will be false."

Computer security expert Bruce Schneier agrees. "Currently there are no good patterns available to recognise terrorists," he says, and questions whether Siemens has got around this.

Whatever the level of accuracy, human rights advocates are concerned that the system could give surveillance-hungry repressive regimes a ready-made means of monitoring their citizens. Carole Samdup of the organisation Rights and Democracy in Montreal, Canada, says the system bears a strong resemblance to the Chinese government's "Golden Shield" concept, a massive surveillance network encompassing internet and email monitoring as well as speech and facial-recognition technologies and closed-circuit TV cameras.

In 2001, Rights and Democracy raised concerns about the potential for governments to integrate huge information databases with real-time analysis to track the activities of individuals. "Now in 2008 these very characteristics are presented as value-added selling points in the company advertisement of its product," Samdup says.

In June, the PRISE consortium of security technology and human-rights experts, funded by the European Union (EU), submitted a report to the European Commission asking for a moratorium on the development of data-fusion technologies, referring explicitly to the Siemens Intelligence Platform.

"The efficiency and reliability of such tools is as yet unknown," says the report. "More surveillance does not necessarily lead to a higher level of societal security. Hence there must be a thorough examination of whether the resulting massive constraints on human rights are proportionate and justified."

Nokia Siemens says 90 of the systems are already being used around the world, although it hasn't specified which countries are using it. A spokesman for the company said, "We implement stringent safeguards to prevent misuse of such systems for unauthorised purposes. In all countries where we operate we do business strictly according to the Nokia Siemens Networks standard code of conduct and UN and EU export regulations."

Samdup argues that such systems should fall under government controls that are imposed on "dual-use" goods - systems that could be used both for civil and military purposes. Security technologies usually escape these controls. For example, the EU regulation on the export and transfer of dual-use technology does not include surveillance and intelligence technologies on the list of items that must be checked and authorised before they are exported to certain countries.

The problem is that surveillance technologies have developed so rapidly that they have outpaced developments in export controls, says Samdup. "In many cases politicians, policy-makers and human-rights organisations lack the technical expertise to adequately assess the impact that such technology could have when it is exported to repressive regimes."



August 18, 2008

Video cameras move beyond loss prevention Full Article - Jean Thilmany, retailcustomerexperience.com
During the past two years, video surveillance systems have moved beyond loss prevention and have found a place as an intelligence gathering tool to help retailers learn more about what really takes place in all corners of their stores.

Today’s digital video technology is more than an alternative to older analog video surveillance systems. It is of greater strategic important to retailers than past analog incarnations because the data captured can be analyzed to understand how the physical design of the store, the merchandise space plan, and promotional campaigns improve upon or detract from the customer experience. That’s the finding of a study conducted late last year by Retail Systems Research, or RSR, a retail industry analysis firm in Miami.

An ABI Research report released in May predicts a fourfold increase in video surveillance software revenue over the next five years, says Stan Schatt, ABI Research vice president and research director.

Savvy retailers are viewing the visual images captured by video system feedback with an eye to analyzing shopping behavior. They’re also tying the video to analysis software that further scrutinizes and breaks out shopping and purchasing patterns. Retailers use this information in a number of ways, primarily to identify customer connections with products and to determine how to best plan and merchandise the store to align with shopper behavior, according to Steve Rowen, RSR partner.

For its report, RSR interviewed several retailers to determine how each called upon video surveillance — beyond loss prevention — for marketing and merchandising.

"There’s reason for us to believe the evolution of video technology and the software capability of what you can do with that data has moved quite quickly in the last two years," Rowen says. "We wanted to find out how much progress has been made into identifying hotspots in store and redesigning the merchandise mix."

The retailers originally relied upon video for what Rowen termed relatively simple ideas like using determining customer conversion rates.

But many have plans to ramp up those uses in the near future. Some spoke for example of identifying what they called store hotspots — areas that see a great deal of foot traffic or shopper interest in particular items. They then place the items they wish to attract attention to at those hotspots.

Also, newer, managed-service delivery models for the systems and attendant software mean retailers need not actually purchase video systems or install and maintain software. These video cameras continually stream content to a password protected Web site that can be accessed be retail executives or managers from any location.

Think of the service as analogous to a cable television subscription, said Matt Steinfort, chief executive officer and president of EnVysion, a video surveillance managed service provider in Louisville, Colo. You provide the vide cameras in the same way you provide your existing TV to be wired to cable. The managed-care provider arrives at the small business to establish the Internet connection and the Web site. Should they go down, the provider repairs the connection.

At EnVysion, a four-camera set up runs $150 per month. Installation fee is $1,000 and the vendor maintains the Web site and software.

By viewing video via a Web site, retailers can instantly check the effectiveness of a marketing program they’ve launched, Steinfort says.

"Maybe they put new promotional materials near a cash register," he says. "You can watch the video to ensure those materials are doing what they’re supposed to be doing."

Steinfort cites a chain of dollar stores that has placed a video camera at the end of each aisle within one particular store.

Executives review footage on the Web site at regular intervals.

"They use that store as a test environment for them," he says. "They track layout and see what works and make sure shelf positioning is correct. They want video on each aisle to take a look at traffic flow in those locations. That way, when someone buys a particular product it gives managers the ability to see what’s happening within the stores to adjust the layout accordingly."

Retailers also use Steinfort’s system to determine whether a product is attracting its intended demographic and to measure how it performs against its original market objectives.

"Today you’d send people to stores to watch what’s going on or you’d ask the manager to write down who bought the product," Steinfort says. "With a video system, you can look up the POS information from the sale of every one of those products across 600 stores and look at the video associated with every transaction and then get exact demographics."

The video systems can be tied to a store’s point-of-sale systems to synch consumer behavior with eventual sale. The POS returns are automatically synchronized with video to achieve this type of product-purchase information.

"You tie the POS system to an overlay of text of the POS transactions so you can see what people buy on the video," Steinfort says.

For instance, executives reviewing video will see consumers selecting an item and note the demographic into which the consumer falls. They can then review video located near the POS system to ascertain when the customer bought his or her items. POS information returned from that particular time will demonstrate that the customer did buy the item he originally selected.

The video systems can also be integrated with video analytic software that analyzes the video up-close to count people through the aisles and compile a formal report that includes how many times shoppers touched, moved or lingered before a particular item, Rowen says.

Examples of video analytics applications include counting the number of pedestrians entering a door or geographic region, determining the location, speed and direction of travel, identifying suspicious movement of people or assets, license plate identification or evaluating how long a package has been left in an area.

"We can integrate with them so every time there is movement in this area we can show you the video or show you what the people they counted looked like, for demographic purposes," Steinfort says. "This is an affordable way of giving people insight into what’s going on in their stores."



August 18, 2008

New Rules for Stores Selling Liquor Full Article - Andres Araiza, ABC 30 News
Fresno, CA, USA (KFSN) -- On Tuesday, Fresno City Council Members will take their first vote on a new ordinance requiring all stores selling beer, wine and liquor to install video cameras. Fresno police say video surveillance in those stores will make all business owners and customers safer.

Many business owners including Harry Gill feel the cameras city wide will in fact deter crime. Gill feels safe and secure. His convenience store is surrounded by eight cameras both inside and outside-recording everyone's move. Gill said, "You never know what kind of person is going to come in. What they have whether they have a gun in their hand or a knife in their hand." Gill supports the police department's efforts to mandate a surveillance system for all stores selling beer, wine and liquor.

The ordinance is very specific about the quality of camera. The surveillance system must be high tech enough that police can determine someone's height and clothing.

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said, "The better the resolution- the more likely we are to achieve a successful prosecution on a suspect." Dyer said store owners will have up to 24-months to install the required system. Cameras rolled recently as two men stole thousands of dollars from a USA Liquor Store on North Shields. Dyer said in the future all the new surveillance capabilities could be tied to the city's entire video policing system as long as business owner cooperate, "We could but we don't want to get too ahead of ourselves in terms of video policing. But if we did do that, it would be at their request."

So far no organized group is opposing the new ordinance. On Tuesday, city council members will have their first chance to discuss the proposed rules. Councilmember Blong Xiong has some questions regarding the department's enforcement. Fresno Chamber of Commerce supports the proposal.



August 14, 2008

The case for keeping S.F. video surveillance Full Article - C.W. Nevius, SFGate.com
It's getting harder to make the argument that San Francisco's video surveillance system should be dismantled.

Critics have complained that the overzealous police would use the 76 cameras scattered around the city to unfairly peer into people's lives. But city law forbids that and so far it hasn't been a problem.

And now, instead of only being used to throw people in jail, the footage is also helping public defenders clear their clients of criminal charges. In those cases the cameras aren't violating civil liberties, they're protecting them.

Public Defender Kwixuan Maloof, who represented a man charged with murder in a Tenderloin street brawl July 16, was delighted to have the video evidence available for his case. This week, murder charges against his client were dropped after tape of the incident was reviewed.

"If not for the cameras my client is definitely facing life in prison," Maloof said. "For whatever reason in this case we had several witnesses say that my client kept hitting the victim after he was down, stomping on his face."

Maloof said the video instead showed that Michael Cooper had pulled the victim, Richard Weiland, away from a woman with disabilities after Weiland assaulted her, and that another man punched Weiland, causing him to fall, hit his head, and die. Officials haven't let the media see the footage, citing the ongoing investigation.

Now, are there a ton of problems with the videos that come from the city cameras? You bet. The footage is grainy, the time lapse is way too slow, and the cameras are immobile. Not to mention the fact that no one is monitoring the live action.

However, even with all those limitations, the cameras have had their successes. Police Lt. Ernie Ferrando, a member of the gang task force, said he has testified before the Police Commission and the Board of Supervisors that the cameras have led to arrests.

"I can think of seven or eight off the top of my head," Ferrando said. "I am talking about identification (of suspects) as a direct result of the cameras."

Of course, seven arrests in nearly three years isn't incredibly impressive. And whether or not those arrests have led to convictions based on video evidence is another matter. Erica Derryck of the district attorney's office said attorneys can recall at least two homicide cases that reached trial where surveillance camera evidence was used.

However, it is also interesting to see that the evidence works both ways. The public defender's office said that this week's announcement marks the third time that charges have been dropped as a result of the cameras.

TAPES SAVED ONLY 7 DAYS
Maloof said his only complaint is that the tapes are saved for only seven days. At that point the system begins to erase and record over the videotape. Laura Adleman, spokeswoman for the Department of Emergency Management, said there have been 58 requests for video this year, all by authorized officials - police, prosecution and public defenders.

That does not include a number of requests that were denied because the video had been erased.

"If this is evidence," Maloof said, "it should be retained for a longer period of time. It may take three or four days for them to catch somebody and then to process it. And by then, boom, it's deleted."

Maloof scoffed at the idea that storing video for more than a week would be prohibitively expensive.

"Oh c'mon," he said. "These days you can store the encyclopedia on the head of a pin."

Still, you have to admit that not many people thought that the crime cameras were going to be used to exonerate suspects. Those in law enforcement say they have no problem with the public defender using the cameras to get charges dropped.

'BEST POSSIBLE EVIDENCE'
"First, it is not an unintended consequence," said Makail Ali, acting director of the mayor's office of criminal justice. "It is a matter of providing the best possible evidence. In this case you have a situation where the cameras captured in greater detail the crime itself."

So both the police and the public defender's office feel the cameras can produce useful evidence. They'd probably both agree that keeping the tapes longer would be a good idea.

Another suggestion, which might not engender so much agreement, is that the cameras should be monitored in real time. Right now the only time anyone looks at the tape is after a crime has been committed in the area.

Officially, Ali supports the company line on live monitoring.

"This is a mayoral initiative," he said, "and he has made it clear that the surveillance cameras are not to be monitored."

However, Ali thinks the cameras could have saved a life if they had been monitored and officials had seen the Tenderloin brawl unfolding.

"One of our claims to fame in the Police Department," Ali said, "is our response to A-priority calls. Our standard is three minutes. It is possible, if we'd had the potential to divert police to the scene, the consequences could have been reduced."

Which is another way of saying someone might not have died. Seems like an idea worth trying.





August 11, 2008

Digital Detectives: Video Surveillance Systems Reduce Losses, Boost Security Full Article - Kerry Pipes, Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine
There's a loud ruckus, a crowd gathers 'round, and a customer is sprawled on the floor next to the soft drink dispenser. The area is covered in soda and ice and the customer laments she slipped, fell, and is injured because of your negligence.

It's a franchisee's worst nightmare... but it never really happened. It wasn't a bad dream, it was a customer scam. And thanks to sophisticated video surveillance technology, it was all captured on camera and could be proven a fraud before any claims even began.

That's the movement in loss prevention strategies and techniques today, according to Rollie Trayte, vice president of strategic development for Westec Interactive, a Dallas-based company that supplies technology and security tools to more than 400 franchise clients in the U.S.

"That kind of scenario happens all the time," says Trayte. "Believe it or not, there are actually organized groups of people who go around the country staging slips and falls to elicit quick settlements from store operators." We live in litigious times.

YOU'RE ON CANDID CAMERA
Digital video surveillance is one of the key weapons in the loss prevention battle that has emerged over the past decade, says Trayte. "There's been a real evolution in this area that's gone from bulky videotapes that would sometimes not get loaded or changed, to 24/7 digital surveillance that is captured on a computer hard drive." And that's not all: the footage can be accessed remotely on a laptop or any other computer at any time by the franchisee or a designated viewer.

That's just what Vimal Kolappa does. Based in North Carolina, this multiunit, multi-brand operator has two Bojangles' restaurants (out of state) and a dozen hotels including the Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn, and Comfort Inn brands. And he has cameras strategically installed in every location.

"The whole place is surrounded by cameras," he says. "It's been a great investment for us and we can document everything that's going on." His Bojangles' stores have been robbed before, and Kolappa says he simply turned over the footage (which can be easily burned to a DVD or CD) and the police were able to quickly identify and apprehend the offenders. Since installing the cameras, Kolappa has had far fewer problems with outside crime.

Scott Waters knows a little something about being a victim of crime. He operates KFCs and Taco Bells in New York, three on Long Island and two in Brooklyn. "We had an armed robbery not long after I purchased the KFCs," he says. "It became, for me, not only an issue of security, but employee safety."

He installed a video surveillance system about three years ago. Cameras are located in strategic places such as the drive-thru, front counter and cash register, and inside the dining area. "I can see everybody who comes and goes from my stores." And he watches. Waters says he carries a laptop with him and views the restaurants several times each week. His security company also monitors randomly for him. One of his cameras is at the rear of the store, and that's come in handy. "I've logged in before and found the back door not closed," he says. "I just phoned up the store and told them to get the door closed."

Waters wisely advises, "If your store becomes a victim once, word gets out on the street and you're going to be hit again."

Greg Cutchall is president and CEO of Cutchall Management, which oversees seven Sonic Drive-Ins, seven Famous Dave's, three Tin Stars, three Paradise Bakeries, and one Burger Star. His company is based in Omaha, but his franchises are spread across four states.

"Years ago, security cameras were a luxury," he says. "But today they are a necessity. We have them in all of our stores." He says it's part of his store managers' jobs to keep an eye on what's being captured by the cameras.

The cameras are great tools for multiunit operators like Volappa and Cutchall who have units in other states. Just a couple of keystrokes on a computer can put them instantly "inside" any of their stores.

INSIDE JOBS, TOO
Of course, catching external theft on camera is just one of the functions of this emerging security technology. The cameras also can alert franchise operators and managers to what's happening on the inside.

"Employee theft is certainly a part of what business owners want to keep an eye on," says Trayte. "Employees of all ages—not just teens—have been known to give their friends extra food or food that's not been paid for when they come by the restaurant." He says between 40 and 70 percent of losses can be attributable to employees.

"Think about it: a manager who is only earning $40,000 per year is going to be awfully tempted by a store that's generating thousands per day, much of it in cash," says Trayte.

"The cameras have been a great deterrent for us," says Kolappa. "Our employees know they're being monitored—and they know that we are watching." He says the system is fully explained as part of the new employee training process, and that it makes a great management tool.

Waters concurs. "Our cost controls definitely improved after we added the cameras. The employees know that we could be watching, which makes internal theft or pilfering more difficult." Interestingly, Waters says that after a while the cameras become part of everyday business, and employees sometimes forget they can be watched from afar. "But if someone makes a mistake, we capture it," he says.

In most cases, if dollars come up missing from the register, it's easy to backtrack the video to the shift and employees in question. Some systems go even further.

Cutchall recently sold 12 Popeyes restaurants that had been part of his operation. Inside each of those locations was a POS system linked to the video surveillance system. "We could capture on camera exactly what was going on with each transaction at the register," he says. "In the bottom left part of the screen the video showed the amounts of the transactions."

This is a great way to use the technology, says Trayte. Kolappa also uses his cameras to keep an eye on the cleanliness of his restaurants, the condition of the external landscaping, and the quality of customer service his employees provide.

There is a positive side to all this "Big Brother" style monitoring. This involves giving employees recognition and accolades for a job well done. "Absolutely," says Cutchall. "We use our cameras to recognize good behavior. And again, it's reinforcing the fact that 'Hey, the owner is watching.'"

Trayte says franchisees should think of video surveillance technology as a tool for auditing their operations and other customer service-related metrics to ensure the operation is at its best. "When you can conduct operational audits of the store—using the same equipment to audit whether the employees are in uniform, the drawer is closed between transactions, whether there's trash blowing in the parking lot, or if customers are being issued receipts—then you're able to multitask capital, and the technology has use beyond just security."

I'LL SUE! WAIT, MAYBE NOT
As Trayte has described, fraudulent claims of slips, falls, and injuries are out there and have been on the rise (see sidebar). Video surveillance can, literally, save a business.

"Yes, we've had staged accidents in our parking lots," says Kolappa. "We've had people claim damage to their cars, or that someone broke in and stole a computer from the car. But we have footage to the contrary."

Waters says he's had at least two circumstances in which customers claimed they slipped and fell inside the store. "But when we told them we had 24/7 video surveillance of the entire place, they quickly disappeared, not to be heard from again."

Adds Cutchall, "We even have a case now with a disgruntled employee who claims she was injured on the job. But we have the footage to prove that's not the case."

Trayte says it's not uncommon for employees to claim a lower back strain or sprain from lifting in the cooler, for example, either to simply get time off work or to get paid to stay at home. In some cases, he says, they've injured themselves in an incident not related to work (baseball, working in the garage, etc.) and are unable to do their job. They also may not have health insurance. Trayte says if employees can make it look like a work-related injury, they will get medical coverage for free, maybe even paid time off.

It's easy to see why video cameras can reduce insurance premiums for franchise owners. "I've experienced this," says Kolappa. "When losses are minimized, premiums are lower."

Video surveillance systems vary in cost depending on the individual setup, size and scope of the store, type of equipment, number of cameras, and other factors. Generally, five to six cameras can be installed in a store for anywhere from $4,000 to as much as $12,000. Additional and ongoing maintenance issues can cost more. Most systems will store the captured footage from a couple of weeks to a month or longer.

"Your risk should dictate your investment level in this technology," says Trayte, who firmly believes that "planning for loss prevention should be a core part of your business strategy."

In the end, Waters says, "Security measures are critically important. You just can't put a price tag on the safety of the people who work for you."

KEEP UP THE BASICS
Although video surveillance is a great security tool, multiunit franchise operators should still continue to adhere to tried-and-true methods.

Written and enforced security policies should be in place at all times: things as simple as keeping back doors locked, or keeping areas clean and uncluttered with lines of view open throughout the store. Employees should never be left alone in the stores; nor should they walk to their cars alone at night. Most franchises have these kinds of policies in place. The key is to review them, use them, and make sure employees are following them.

"We meet with our store managers regularly and review security policies," says KFC and Taco Bell franchisee Scott Waters. "Especially around holidays or other busy times when we all need to keep a sharp eye out."

Alarm systems may be "old school," but they still have value. "They're just a few hundred dollars to install and very little in expense to monitor each month," says multi-brand franchisee Greg Cutchall. Alarms are not only good for the security of employees, they also can monitor who enters and leaves the unit. "Alarm systems are a comfort to the manager who goes into the store early in the morning and can be sure he is alone."

If there is a lot of cash in the store, arrange to remove it regularly. Waters has his managers make at least two daily bank runs and keeps onsite cash in time-delayed safes. He's even installed some bulletproof glass at some of his locations. Trayte encourages franchisees to not only invest in a good onsite safe, but to consider an armored car service to remove cash on a regular basis.

START SMART
Although there is no foolproof way to know if you're hiring a problem, there are several key steps to follow and indicators to watch for at the hiring and training stages.

Begin with more extensive background checks and hiring policies. Says Cutchall, "We're doing more background checks then ever before. We use a third-party company to screen for us." He says employees understand up front that for any on-the-job injuries to be covered by insurance, employees must be drug-tested. "And we reserve the right to drug-test any of our employees," he says.

Waters says his operation doesn't conduct drug tests or use a third-party screener. Instead, he relies on creating "a culture of trust" that quickly weeds out bad employees. Further, all cash handling policies and procedures, as well as all other security-related issues, are reviewed with every employee during initial hiring. "All new employees must sign off on this," he says. Don't Fall for It!

Statistics from the National Restaurant Association on the costs of employee and customer malfeasance show what franchisees are up against every day:
• Slips, trips, and falls by patrons are the most common general liability insurance claims filed by restaurants.
• Slips, trips, and falls represent about 27 percent of workers' compensation claims.
• Employees are responsible for 75 percent of inventory shortages; they steal what amounts to 4 percent of sales in restaurants and 1.6 percent of retail sales.
• Internal theft costs the foodservice industry an estimated $3 billion to $6 billion each year.
• The U.S. Department of Commerce says 75 percent of employees steal from the workplace at least once—and that half of that group steal repeatedly.

RETAIL LOSSES TRACKED
According to a National Retail Federation annual study conducted by the University of Florida, retail losses hit $41.6 billion, 1.6 percent of all retail sales in 2006. The losses break down as follows:
• Employee theft: $19.5 billion (47%)
• Shoplifting: $13.3 billion (32%)
• Administrative errors: $5.8 billion (14%)
• Vendor theft: $1.7 billion (4%)

GROWTH SEEN FOR VIDEO SURVEILLANCE
The video surveillance market is poised for astronomical growth, according to ABI Research, which studies technology's effects on business. The company forecasts revenue in this sector to expand from $13.5 billion in 2006 to more than $46 billion by 2013.

"We're at a key inflection point in the diverse video surveillance market, because we're moving from an analog-based industry to a digital one," says Stan Schatt, the company's vice president and research director. "A rising tide lifts all boats: the result is a multitude of opportunities for vendors." And for franchisees, an increasingly valuable tool for security, employee management, and more (see main story).

Video surveillance is finding a home across markets as diverse as retail, education, banking, transportation, and corporate business. And new technology continually improves its capabilities. For instance, new systems can use facial recognition software that analyzes shoppers' behavior inside the store, such as tracking eyeball movements as shoppers look over product displays.

At its core, digital video surveillance is coming on strong because it offers higher resolution, easier searching and retrieval, and more efficient storage than the analog technology of the past, says Schatt.



July 28, 2008

New Video Surveillance Technology 'Recognizes' Abnormal Activity Full Article - Tim Wilson, Dark Reading
The problem with video surveillance cameras is that, usually, there are too many of them for one security staffer to monitor. In a typical large enterprise setup, a single officer might be monitoring dozens -- even hundreds -- of cameras simultaneously, making it impossible to immediately recognize suspicious activity.

"To be honest, it's sheer luck if a security officer spots something in an environment like that," says John Frazzini, a former U.S. Secret Service agent and IT security consultant. "If you get a security manager alone behind closed doors, a lot of them laugh about what a waste of money it is."

Frazzini recently signed on to serve as president of a new company -- Behavioral Recognition Systems, or BRS Labs for short -- that aims to stop that waste. BRS Labs, which is launching both its business and its technology today, has received 16 patents on a new video surveillance application that can convert video images into machine-readable language, and then analyze them for anomalies that suggest suspicious behavior in the camera's field of view.

Unlike current video surveillance gear -- which requires a human to monitor it or complex programming that can't adapt to new images -- BRS Labs's software can "learn" the behavior of objects and images in a camera's field of view, Frazzini says. It can establish "norms" of activity for each camera, then alert security officers when the camera registers something abnormal in its field of view.

"It works a lot like the behavioral software that many IT people use on their networks," Frazzini says. "It establishes a baseline of activity, and then sends alerts when there are anomalies. The big difference is that, until now, there was no way to do this kind of analysis on video images, because the data collected by the cameras wasn't machine readable. We had to invent a way to do that."

The BRS Labs software can establish a baseline in anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours, depending on how much activity the camera recognizes and how regular the patterns of behavior are. "If you're monitoring a busy highway, where traffic comes and goes frequently on a regular basis, [the software] learns very quickly," Frazzini says. "If you're monitoring an outdoor fence line when the camera sees only three or four actions all day, it will take longer."

Once the software is operational, it can "recognize" up to 300 objects and establish a baseline of activity. If the camera is in a wooded area where few humans ever go, it will alert officers when it registers a human on the screen. If it is monitoring a high fence line, it will send an alert when someone jumps the fence.

"The great thing about it is that you don't need a human to monitor the camera at all," Frazzini says. "The system can recognize the behavior on its own."

Because there are so many possible images that might cross in front of the camera, the BRS Labs technology will likely create a fair number of false positives, Frazzini concedes. "We think a three-to-one ratio of alerts to actual events is what the market will accept," he says. "We could be wrong."

Overall, however, the new technology should save enterprises money, because security officers can spend their time diagnosing alerts and less time watching their screens for anomalies. And the system is more accurate than human monitoring, he says.

"What we've seen so far is enterprises spending billions on video surveillance equipment, but having a lot of trouble proving a [return on investment]," Frazzini says. "What we're doing is helping them to get more out of that equipment."

The BRS Labs technology will be generally available in September. Pricing hasn't been finalized -- early implementations have ranged anywhere from $1,500 to $4,500 per camera.



July 8, 2008

Americans Mostly in Support of More Surveillance Cameras Full Article - Geoff Kohl, SecurityInfoWatch.com
Apologies to George Orwell, but according to a recent news poll from ABC News and the Washington Post, Americans are largely OK with being watched by video surveillance.

The two news organizations jointly conducted a small telephone poll of Americans July 18-21, 2007, to assess current opinions on public surveillance. Perhaps not surprisingly, considering that city surveillance projects seem to be coming out of the woodwork all the time, some 71 percent of Americans said they were in support of increasing use of surveillance cameras. The support was stronger in women than men, and among those with a college degree as opposed to those who had a high school education or less. Strongest support was found among seniors over the age of 80, while younger counterparts from Generation Y are not quite as warm to the idea of more cameras.

However, before we put cameras everywhere, says Fredrik Nilsson, general manager of Axis Communications, we have to take into account where they're going, because the public is indeed paying attention to these projects.

"In the governmental market it [public opinion] definitely affects the rate of adoption, since politicians are careful about pushing city center surveillance and cameras in subways, buses, etc., unless it is accepted by the public," said Nilsson. "In other vertical markets -- such as retail -- they are also sensitive to the view of the pubic. In airports and casinos, the view of the pubic is less important, which could also be an effect of the fact that surveillance has been used for a long time, and is expected, in those environments."

Others, however, aren't so sure that public opinion -- for or against -- will necessarily slow the rate of adoption for public surveillance.

"I don't believe that public opinion alone can really slow or speed the rate of adoption for municipal security systems," said Mariann McDonagh, senior vice president of corporate marketing for video surveillance and analytics firm Verint. "Although we have seen evidence that the American people are recognizing the need for better security and seem more willing to accept the required balance between safety, security and privacy -- especially in public places."

Panasonic Security's Group Manager of Marketing Julianna Benedick says that government leaders have to be an advocate for such projects and need to explain the reasoning behind these projects.

"It is the city and/or state or federal government's responsibility to help educate the population about the positive impact this technology has on their safety and security," said Benedick. "The emphasis has to be 'safety and security', not 'big brother'."

And while sentinel events like the Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11 attacks may have helped sway public opinion to be more supportive of wide surveillance camera networks, this spread of cameras isn't limited solely to the U.S.

According to Benedick, it's an international phenomenon that limits to police and security manpower are forcing municipalities to turn to the use of surveillance cameras. She also credits today's latest camera technologies, from image stabilization to camera intelligence and greater image range, as being central to increases in adoption.

While the UK has consistently been recognized as the international leader in surveillance cameras per capita, there are many other countries which are expanding their use of cameras.

"Even in a small city like Stockholm, a system with over 10,000 cameras is now being installed in the bus and subway system," noted Nilsson. McDonagh added that her firm has been seeing strong usage in Central and Latin America, where she says governments "have been pioneers in deploying video surveillance technology due to its dramatic impact on violent crime."



June 25, 2008

AI could power next-gen CCTV cameras Full Article - Stuart Turtin, PCPro.co.uk
UK researchers are working on fitting CCTV cameras with artificial intelligence, allowing them to more quickly respond to crimes.

The technology, being developed by University of Portsmouth scientists, would allow cameras to "hear" violent sounds and react, swiveling quickly in the direction of a broken window or somebody shouting abusively for example, before alerting an operator.

The artificial intelligence powering the camera would also be able to respond to visual cues such as fights, or violent behaviour.

Scientists say the aim is to allow the camera to react just as a human might, hearing a scream and then swinging around to find the source with the same speed as a person, which is about 300 milliseconds.

Over time, the scientists claim the AI algorithms would learn, picking up key words and phrases it associates with criminal activity.

"The longer artificial intelligence is in the software the more it learns. Later versions will get cleverer as time goes on," says Dr David Brown, director of the project.

FUZZY THINKING
Brown says the foundation of the technology is a new type of fuzzy logic: "In identifying sound we are looking for the shapes of sound. In the same way, if you close your eyes, you can trace the shape of a physical object and 'read' its profile with your hand we are developing shapes of sound so the software recognises them.

"The software will use an artificial intelligence template for the waveform of sound shapes and if the shape isn't an exact fit, use fuzzy logic to determine what the sound is. For example, different types of glass will all have slightly different waveforms of sound when they smash but they will have the same generic shape which can be read using fuzzy logic.

"It's a very fast, real-time method of identifying sounds."

While there are clearly privacy implications inherent in the technology, Brown claims the AI will be trained "to only listen for specific words associated with violence, not full conversations."

However, is this hardly likely to calm privacy advocates already concerned with the growing number of CCTV camera in the UK, and their potential uses.

At the moment the AI is in research stage, though scientists have been given a three-year grant by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to further develop it.



June 11, 2008

Thief uses CCTV camera as mirror Full Article - BBC News
A thief stole a chain from a teenager on a tram in south-east London and then tried it on - checking his reflection in the CCTV camera lens, police said.

Officers said the suspect snatched the chain and a bracelet from a 16-year-old boy in Bromley on 23 March.

The thief threatened to stab the boy, who got on the tram at Elmers End, when he tried to retrieve his jewelry.

The images were issued on Wednesday by British Transport Police (BTP) in an effort to track down the thief.

Det Con Dan Arundell said: "They were approached by a black male who demanded the victim show him the bracelet he was wearing.

"The suspect grabbed the bracelet and then grabbed the chain from his wrist. He then asked if the necklace matched and grabbed that from the victim.

"The suspect is then captured on CCTV trying on the necklace and checking himself out in the reflection of the camera."

The suspect fled the tram at Woodside tram stop.



May 8, 2008

Smart Video Cameras to be used at Olympics in Beijing Full Article - Andrew D. Smith, Dallas Morning News
The Olympics can showcase athletes – or lunatics.

To keep the spotlight where it belongs this summer, security firms are blanketing Beijing with smart video systems. Computers will "watch" live video from hundreds of thousands of cameras and flag suspicious people and objects.

Such technology already protects monuments such as the Statue of Liberty and adds profit for manufacturers such as Texas Instruments Inc., which makes chips used in the systems. But the real benefits, for both security and earnings, will come over the next few years as smart video spreads from monuments to malls.

System makers realize that surveillance cameras raise privacy concerns. Still, they believe the technology offers so many advantages that people will ultimately embrace its use throughout public places where there's no expectation of privacy.

"These systems will reduce crime by several orders of magnitude," said Dr. Bruce Flinchbaugh, director of TI's Video & Image Processing Laboratory.

All security footage shows one of three things: no activity, trivial activity or security problems. The trick is teaching computers to distinguish among them.

Researchers started by adding motion detectors, which let computers weed out static images.

Web cams with motion detectors now power many top residential security systems. Movement inside your home sends a text message and live video to your phone. If something's amiss, you dial 911 and, with some systems, patch the police in on the video.

But researchers didn't stop with motion detectors. Smart video systems can now tell people and vehicles from everything else.

"That's huge because pretty much all security problems start with people or cars. If a stray cat crawls under the fence to the Olympic Village, that's OK. If a person does, that's an issue," said Marque Teegardin, vice president of sales for Nice Security, an Israeli firm that ranks among the world's largest smart video sellers.

The Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau said last year that it expects to spend $300 million to $400 million on Olympic security. Of that, $30 million will go to video security, according to a study by the Security Industry Association.

But official Olympic spending is a tiny fraction of actual spending. The association estimates that China has spent $6.5 billion over the last seven years to build the Grand Beijing Safeguard Sphere, and most of that money has been spent on video.

Neither Olympic officials nor security companies will say much about what that money has purchased.

"Hikvison does not want to discuss its role in the Olympics at this moment, due to an agreement we have with the Beijing Olympic Committee," said Polo Cai, vice president of China's largest security technology company, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co.

Still, it's easy to see how Hikvision's smart video systems, which use TI chips, will help the Chinese guard athletes and spectators.

Today's best systems can spot potential problems by analyzing how people move. The French government buys such technology from Nice to distinguish nocturnal sightseers from the 40 to 50 people who try to climb the Eiffel Tower each year.

"The way a tourist circles the base and gazes up at the tower is different than the way a would-be climber does. The tourist is relaxed. The climber is tense," said Mr. Teegardin, whose company works closely with TI. "We have taught the program what to look for."

Smart systems also let users "teach" computers what they should see where. Jewelry stores want them to spot missing objects. Airports and train stations want them to see unexpected additions, which could be lost bags or ticking bombs.

And that's not all security systems can learn.

Construction crews that store equipment in a different place every night can set their cameras to guard each new perimeter. Police who review tape can tell smart video systems to find certain events, such as a car pulling into a particular parking spot.

British police used this search feature last year to bust a gang of eight suspected terrorists in less than 72 hours after the discovery of two car bombs in London. Indeed, with more than 4 million cameras constantly churning out footage across Britain, police there would struggle to mine all that data without such a search feature.

Looking back at Olympics past, smart security systems could have prevented two attacks that killed 19 people, injured more than 100 others and set the world on edge. Half the police in Munich, Germany, could have reached the Olympic Village in the time it took eight terrorists to scale the surrounding fence in 1972. All of Olympic Centennial Park in Atlanta could have been evacuated long before the pipe bomb exploded in 1996.

As China completes its security preparations in Beijing, many big U.S. agencies continue to deploy smart video systems here.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security uses it to guard parts of the border. The Transportation Security Administration uses it to secure airports. Transportation authorities around New York use it to secure public transit.

New York's subway system will get an additional $212 million worth of smart cameras in the next few years.

Those and other big projects have kept smart video sales growing about 25 percent a year, analysts say. TI's security and surveillance business has grown even faster. Sales of digital signal processors in that unit jumped 63 percent over the last year.

Looking ahead, growth may accelerate as systems become more capable and costs plummet.

"The other key to increasing sales will be changing mindsets," said Ed Troha, director of global marketing at ObjectVideo, a smart video firm that makes software for TI and Intel chips.

"Local police departments have always investigated crime after the fact. The power of this technology is that it can help them stop crimes from happening or stop them as they are happening."

Some security vendors say a triumph at a high-profile showcase could spur interest in smart video – a showcase such as the Olympics.

SEPARATING FACT FROM (SCIENCE) FICTION
Smart security systems require fast chips (largely from TI) and clever software. System smarts can reside in individual cameras, central hubs or both. Here's a look at what current systems can and can't do. Better cameras, which take better video, naturally produce better results.

Old hat
•Distinguishing people and cars from other objects
•Noticing intruders or escapees
•Detecting the theft of large items

Mostly reliable
•Identifying cars by license plate
•Detecting abandoned baggage
•Matching people who enter with those who leave

In the labs
•Identifying drawn guns or knives
•Identifying violent motion, like punching or stabbing
•Detecting vandalism

Years away
•Recognizing individuals in public places
•Predicting crime before it occurs
•Using in-camera lasers to zap bad guys



April 2, 2008

Panasonic Demonstrates Comprehensive Video Surveillance Solutions For Every Platform At ISC West 2008 Full Article - Sara Greenberg, Panasonic Security Systems
Panasonic Security Systems is showcasing their growing array of video surveillance solutions for every platform here at ISC West. With analog, hybrid, and i-Pro network offerings built around the company’s core competency in image capture, recording and processing technologies, Panasonic is uniquely positioned to deliver full system solutions for any application with comprehensive functionality and low total cost of ownership.

"Our objective is to deliver the very best in performance on the network, and everywhere else," said Frank DeFina, President, Panasonic System Solutions Company (PSSA). "This total system solution product development strategy allows us to provide continued support to legacy system customers – while providing new and more efficient means of migrating to the latest infrastructure technologies like network and wireless."

Panasonic’s comprehensive system solutions for best-in-breed analog, network and hybrid applications are built on the company’s core competencies in video image capture, recording and processing technologies. All of the systems products offered are designed to work together with optimum functionality and efficiency. This unique product development strategy offers cohesive solutions with outstanding performance and lends itself to virtually unlimited scalability for numerous configurations and applications.

Leading the lineup of new products are Panasonic's megapixel cameras, delivering HD quality images plus volumes of video data for advanced analytics. These cameras also incorporate features and capabilities typically available in best-in-breed analog cameras, bringing a new level of performance and application versatility to a networked platform.

The new i-Pro WV-NF302 Ruggedized Megapixel Day/Night Fixed Dome Network Camera features a 1280 x 960 megapixel image sensor with dual streaming capabilities. With a rugged heavy duty metal body, the WV-NF302’s superior image capturing features include Adaptive Black Stretch to enhance dark areas, progressive output to provide clear images of moving objects, Day/Night capabilities for 24-hour surveillance, and focus assist which automatically achieves the best focus. Additional features include automatically adjustable image compression to conserve bandwidth and deliver higher quality images in alarm mode, a built-in network interface, and Power over Ethernet (PoE).

Panasonic’s new i-Pro WV-NP304 Megapixel Day/Night Network Camera is a box camera that delivers the same levels of performance and connectivity as the WV-NF302.

Several new analog cameras from Panasonic will also be introduced at ISC West.

The new WV-CF324 Ruggedized Day/Night Fixed Dome Camera offers 540 lines of horizontal resolution, simple Day/Night function for 24-hour surveillance, Auto Back Focus to reduce post-installation intervention, and Adaptive Black Stretch to enhance visibility of dark areas without compromising bright areas.

Panasonic's new WV-CW384 Super Dynamic III Weather Proof Day/Night Camera features Panasonic's SDIII technology for exceptional images in virtually any lighting condition. This shielded bullet-style camera offers Auto Back Focus, Day/Night function and 540 lines color horizontal resolution.

The new Panasonic WV-CL930 Series ½" CCD Day/Night Cameras provide Adaptive Digital Noise Reduction, Auto Back Focus and 540 lines color horizontal resolution. Video Motion Detection and Scene Change Detection deliver enhanced functionality and help maintain the highest levels of security.

Also on display at ISC West will be Panasonic's new WJ-GXD400 Multi-Channel High-Definition Video Decoder. Registering up to 256 cameras, this decoder offers a high-speed network interface, browser GUI and embedded real-time operating system for optimum reliability.

The new WJ-ND400 Network Video Recorder from Panasonic provides MPEG-4 and JPEG recording, connection and recording of up to 64 cameras simultaneously, installation of up to 9 hot-plug hard disk drives, Panasonic camera control, flexible playback controls for audio and video, motion detection search, digital zoom and quick IP setup for Panasonic i-Pro cameras, plus much more.

“Our multi-tiered system products strategy supports the migration to a networked platform and keeps the needs of the market first by offering a diverse selection of migration paths to a networked platform,” said Mr. DeFina. "Panasonic will continue to apply its core competencies across both analog and networked system platforms and work across industry lines to help the industry achieve true seamless interoperability and enterprise level integration."

Panasonic will also be showing ongoing support for their strategic programming initiatives at this year's ISC West. The Panasonic Solution Developer Network (PSDN) has grown to include close to 65 participants and is continuing to open boundaries between manufacturers to develop interoperable and seamless solutions for the benefit of the end-user. Further, the i-Pro Certified Reseller program (IPCR) is successfully bringing dealers and integrators on board for free training and access to Panasonic's leading line of i-Pro network solutions. With 200 dealers already certified, 200 more accepted and awaiting certification and another 100 applications in the pipeline, the IPCR is a key channel strategy for Panasonic, which will result in highly qualified and capable network product installers on which end users can rely.



April 1, 2008

Capturing High Performance Full Article - Jeffrey Steele, SDM
What defines a ‘high-performance’ camera? It could be high resolution, low-light capability, rugged housing, wide-dynamic range, video analytics, or megapixel imaging — but usually not all in one package. What defines a ‘high-performance’ camera? It could be high resolution, low-light capability, rugged housing, wide-dynamic range, video analytics, or megapixel imaging — but usually not all in one package.

In the worlds of professional sports and entertainment, there are no clear definitions of what constitutes high performance. A high-performing baseball player may be a great pitcher or a slugging outfielder. A high-performing recording artist might be one who garners great reviews, packs concert halls or sells boatloads of CDs.

What’s true in sports and entertainment is no less true in the world of cameras designed for security applications. What determines “high performance”? According to experts contacted for this article, it can mean high resolution, low-light capability, rugged housing, wide-dynamic range, video analytics or any number of other qualities.

In this look at high-performance cameras, SDM talks with industry experts about their definitions of the term, how high performance and high definition differ, and how security dealers and integrators can best determine the appropriate high-performance cameras to specify and install.

The first point that experts stress is that high performance is a highly subjective term. In other words, it’s a term meaning different things to different users, with much depending on the environment and application in which the camera will be used.

“There’s no real industry definition I’m aware of for high-performance cameras,” says Don Beeby, vice-president of sales and marketing for the imaging technology division of CBC America Corporation in Commack, N.Y. “High-performance cameras incorporate the latest camera technology for a given application. It could be a standard analog camera. We have analog cameras in our line that are our biggest sellers.”



December 30, 2007

CCTV sees arrests double Full Article - David Ottewell, Manchester Evening News
The number of arrests for crimes caught on CCTV in Manchester has doubled after a huge increase in the use of spy cameras.

Across Manchester, there were 519 extra arrests due to generated by CCTV footage in the six months to September 30 compared to last year – a rise of 97.5 percent.

And a massive 3,525 extra anti-social incidents were caught on camera. The arrests follow more CCTV cameras and operators being put in place to cover some of Manchester's worst crime hotspots.

In Moss Side alone – where cameras were installed for the first time in April – 257 criminal, suspicious and anti-social incidents were videod captured on film in just six months.

Those included 10 cases involving the possession of a real or imitation firearm, as well as thefts, bail breaches and illegal trading.

As well as the high-tech new cameras in Moss Side – which are no bigger than a baked-bean can – Chorlton, Moston and Harpurhey have all been covered for the first time.

The total number of cameras in Manchester has rocketed to 220 since they were first introduced in 1998. An increase in staff in September last year means each operator now concentrates on 40 screens compared to 60 before.

Police and council chiefs claimed the blitz was not only leading to more arrests, but actually cutting crime.

RECORDED OFFENSES FELL
The number of recorded offences in Moss Side fell by 16 per cent in April-September compared to the same period in 2006. In the city centre, overall crime fell by 17 per cent – a total of 1,039 offences – in the year to September.

Jim Battle, deputy leader of Manchester council, said the increasing role of CCTV did not mean the city was moving towards “big brother”-style policing. “The cameras are there to look after people, not to look after them,” he said. “What we have seen in Manchester is a combination of people using cameras effectively. They are now having a real impact on crime and on building community confidence.”

Superintendent Paul Savill, of Greater Manchester Police, said: “These results prove that the cameras are already making a real difference. It's important to recognise that these cameras also play a crucial role in providing community reassurance. Our officers in the control centre look out not only for potential criminals, but also for vulnerable people.”

CCTV has a controversial history as a crime-fighting tool. The Home Office's own research suggested in 2002 that simply improving street lighting could be up to seven times more effective than CCTV in reducing crime.

Critics also claim that the cameras are an infringement of people's rights to privacy, and open to abuse. But the government remains committed to funding CCTV and points out all operators are vetted by industry watchdogs, and controlled by a rigorous code of conduct.

Manchester's commitment to CCTV is set to rise in coming years.

The council is drawing up plans to make “consideration of CCTV provision” a part of all major planning applications. And in future all cameras may be accompanied by “help points”, which allow people to speak directly to a camera operator.



July 29, 2007

Surveillance Cameras Win Broad Support Full Article - Michele Lirtzman, ABC News
Crime-fighting beats privacy in public places: Americans, by nearly a 3-to-1 margin, support the increased use of surveillance cameras - a measure decried by some civil libertarians, but credited in London with helping to catch a variety of perpetrators since the early 1990s.

Given the chief arguments, pro and con - a way to help solve crimes vs. too much of a government intrusion on privacy -it isn't close: 71 percent of Americans favor the increased use of surveillance cameras, while 25 percent oppose it.

London's surveillance network, known as the "Ring of Steel," is said to have aided in the capture of suspects, including those accused of a pair of attempted car bombings in June.

A similar system is coming to New York City, which plans 100 new surveillance cameras in downtown Manhattan by year's end and 3,000 -public and private -by 2010. Chicago and Baltimore plan expanded surveillance systems as well.

Critics, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, have opposed such systems, arguing that they invade privacy, and could be used to track innocent people.

Nonetheless, majority support for surveillance cameras crosses political, ideological and population groups, albeit with differences in degree.

Seniors are most apt to support the increased use of these cameras, with under-30s, least so; Republicans more than Democrats; women more than men; higher educated people more than the less educated; and whites more than African-Americans.

Through a political lens, support for increased use of surveillance systems is lowest, 62 percent, among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents who support Barack Obama for president and highest of all, 86 percent, among Republicans who support Rudy Giuliani, who made his name as New York City's crime-fighting mayor.

METHODOLOGY - This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone July 18-21, 2007, among a random national sample of 1,125 adults.

Additional interviews were conducted with an oversample of randomly selected African-Americans for a total of 210 black respondents.

The results have a three-point error margin. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by TNS of Horsham, Pa.