Law Enforcement Archives
February 19, 2007
How to Stop a Shoplifter
In what could be seen as a brash example of exhibitionism, a YouTube user has been posting videos of a "professional shoplifter at work." Shot in Australia, these videos show a brazen man entering various stores in malls and other shopping areas, armed with a shopping bag or a stroller and grabbing as much loot as he can. While we're not sure why this man would voluntarily have his face and incriminating actions recording, this video reveals a lot about what can be done by retail stores to help prevent this fearless type of shoplifting.
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Posted By Jennifer on February 19, 2007 4:06 PM | Comments (0)
February 23, 2007
Officials Say Cameras will Deter Crime
Video surveillance cameras have endless uses and have served many wide-ranging purposes since they appeared in the mid-20th century. Arguably the most popular use for security cameras is theft and crime prevention - if a store has video surveillance cameras installed, any attempt at robbery or crime could be documented on tape and used as evidence. Many security experts also argue that visible security cameras also may serve as a psychological deterrent, and that warnings or prominently displayed cameras prevent potential criminals from acting out.
Continue Reading Officials Say Cameras will Deter Crime »
Posted By Jennifer on February 23, 2007 4:11 PM | Comments (0)
February 26, 2007
UK Cameras Talk Back
Municipal security cameras are everywhere in the UK; CCTV cameras have been used for years to protect streets, sidewalks, and bus and subway stations from crimes like theft, vandalism and violence. Now, officials in Plymouth have announced that surveillance cameras will have an unusual new feature - they'll talk back.
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Posted By Jennifer on February 26, 2007 4:14 PM | Comments (0)
March 1, 2007
CCTV System Catches Grocery Store Thief
Preston, UK-A disabled woman has been charged with purse theft after a grocery store's CCTV system recorded her snatching the purse of an elderly woman off the floor. When confronted about the theft, Dierdre McCue, 47, admitted to the theft right away and pleaded guilty to her charges - one count of theft. This story seems commonplace, and it is for the UK where surveillance cameras are everywhere, but it's worthy to note how easily this crime was solved. Can Ms. McCue's penitence be traced to the presence of surveillance cameras, and the recording of the crime on tape, or to her guilt?
Continue Reading CCTV System Catches Grocery Store Thief »
Posted By Jennifer on March 1, 2007 4:18 PM | Comments (0)
March 6, 2007
Intelligent Video - Will it Fill the Surveillance Gap?
Security cameras have long been heralded as the ultimate security solution for businesses and retail stores. While it's true that cameras can help identify criminals, and their presence has a psychological effect that prevents some crimes, the major shortfall with video surveillance cameras has been their inability to detect crimes as they occur.
Continue Reading Intelligent Video - Will it Fill the Surveillance Gap? »
Posted By Jennifer on March 6, 2007 4:19 PM | Comments (0)
March 12, 2007
Surveillance video helps to uncover a career's worth of theft
Video surveillance has often proved to be an effective tool in both preventing and uncovering acts of employee theft, but what about retiree theft? Look no further than a recent case involving one Robert Gibson, a retired transit electrician for the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority).
Continue Reading Surveillance video helps to uncover a career's worth of theft »
Posted By Dan on March 12, 2007 10:06 PM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2007
Surveillance catches thieves by listening in
Retailers, especially in high-risk areas like convenience stores and banks, have long relied on video surveillance for investigation into the crimes that occur. Clear footage of a bank robber or convenience store vandal can help law enforcement identify and prosecute a criminal, but it's often a difficult process to seek out the criminal after the crime has occurred. Not so at a pawn shop in Broward County, Florida - where an alarm company monitor was able to hear two bystanders in the store talk about escape plans - plans for after they robbed the store!
Continue Reading Surveillance catches thieves by listening in »
Posted By Jennifer on April 16, 2007 4:51 PM | Comments (0)
May 7, 2007
Surveillance video used in exploding backpack investigation
One man was killed and another injured this morning at a Las Vegas hotel after a backpack exploded in a parking garage. The Luxor Hotel, known for its distinctive pyramid-shaped hotel and casino, suffered little to no damage after the explosion, which happened at around 4 AM Monday.
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Posted By Jennifer on May 7, 2007 5:00 PM | Comments (0)
June 14, 2007
Tips for securing wireless video
Wireless technology may be one of the greatest innovations for security cameras. IP cameras with wireless capabilities are much more flexible than their wired counterparts, having the ability to shift to changing security needs or building layout. New developments in wireless standards, such as MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) allow wireless cameras to transmit at further ranges than before.
Continue Reading Tips for securing wireless video »
Posted By Jennifer on June 14, 2007 5:08 PM | Comments (0)
June 21, 2007
Extreme CCTV surveillance cameras to protect critical Vancouver, BC infrastructure
When was the last time you thought about where your power came from? What about your gas? The water that comes out of your shower every morning? Maybe it was yesterday, or this morning, or maybe you've never thought about it before. We take infrastructure - the network of vital services like electricity, power, water and gas - for granted. Paradoxically, however, power plants and water treatment facilities, as well as other infrastructure elements like train stations, highways and ports, are susceptible for the same reason.
Posted By Jennifer on June 21, 2007 5:15 PM | Comments (0)
July 6, 2007
Kids and cops synch up in integrated surveillance system
Students at Bishop Brossart High School in Alexandria, KY can look forward to an improved security system this fall - one that includes the 14-member Alexandria Police Department. Under a new test system, security cameras in Bishop Brossart's hallways and cafeterias will be accessible to police surveillance monitors. It's a test drive of a preventative program that is focused on student safety. Officers will be able to view surveillance footage from public areas at the school at any time, allowing them to respond quickly to any potential issues. Although the possibility of a serious problem is rare in this small town, this program, which will expand to neighboring elementary and middle schools if successful, could be a landmark model for other, larger schools, around the country in the future.
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Posted By Jennifer on July 6, 2007 5:30 PM | Comments (0)
July 9, 2007
El Cerrito businesses to go for IP video
Businesses located in the East Bay town of El Cerrito will be installing IP video cameras under a new police initiative, in an attempt to strengthen crime fighting and encourage safety in local commerce. The initiative, spearheaded by El Cerrito police chief Scott Kirkland, will require nearly every business in the town to install a system of digital security cameras. El Cerrito's high crime and murder rate have made this new law appealing to law enforcement, and new developments in IP video technology have made crime fighting, crime deterrence and criminal investigations easier.
Continue Reading El Cerrito businesses to go for IP video »
Posted By Jennifer on July 9, 2007 5:31 PM | Comments (0)
July 10, 2007
Surveillance catches dim-witted Googlin' burglars
Surveillance cameras at an indoor amusement park in Colorado Springs, CO captured footage of a long and drawn out robbery, in what is possibly the oddest security-cum-surveillance story of the year. After getting all the passcodes, passwords and door codes to get into the back office at Bigg City, the two masked men, hoping to obscure the lens of the security camera, doused it with a healthy spray of the lubricant WD-40. This backfired after they realized that the continued sprays only made the camera cleaner. For good measure, they made sure to spray the fire alarm - just in case it might be a camera.
Continue Reading Surveillance catches dim-witted Googlin' burglars »
Posted By Jennifer on July 10, 2007 5:32 PM | Comments (0)
August 28, 2007
Guangdong - the next world leader in surveillance?
Guangdong province, located in southern China, has been called the "world's factory" for almost 30 years. Indeed, Guangdong and its 90 million citizens are responsible for producing a majority of the world's personal electronics and other goods, earning the title as the wealthiest area in all of China. Now Guangdong is looking to add another statistic to its list, and this one has to do with security cameras.
Continue Reading Guangdong - the next world leader in surveillance? »
Posted By Jennifer on August 28, 2007 5:40 PM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2007
Isle of Man prison introduces integrated surveillance system
After over 100 years of service, the outdated and overcrowded Isle of Man has been replaced with a new complex - called Jurby. Prison officials and administrators contracted AMG Systems to install an integrated CCTV system in the new prison complex.
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Posted By Jennifer on October 13, 2007 12:09 AM | Comments (0)
November 19, 2007
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania tests out its law enforcement surveillance camera system
At the beginning, video surveillance systems for public law enforcement were limited to large cities like New York and Chicago. But things are changing. In medium-sized cities and towns across America, surveillance systems are helping law enforcement officials to capture criminals, monitor weather conditions and more. Now Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, once the location of Babe Ruth’s record-breaking home run, has introduced its own video surveillance system. It may not be a big city, but approximately 42,500 people call it home, and according to local law enforcement, that’s big enough to warrant an advanced surveillance system like Chicago’s.
Posted By Jennifer on November 19, 2007 11:44 PM | Comments (0)
January 22, 2008
LAPD sets up video surveillance to stop piracy
You may think of piracy as a problem that's mainly relegated to the internet. True, the Cosmo Kramers of the world are sneaking into movies and leaking them to the internet in record numbers, but there still exists a large problem with the more traditional form of piracy. Not rum and pillaging, but counterfeit goods.
Continue Reading LAPD sets up video surveillance to stop piracy »
Posted By Jennifer on January 22, 2008 11:52 PM | Comments (0)
February 4, 2008
France employs increased video surveillance to fight terrorists and gang violence
The French government plans to triple the number of video surveillance cameras by 2009 in a renewed effort to prevent terrorist attacks and street violence in urban areas. Right now, there are approximately 340,000 video cameras to keep watch in all of France, which will increase to 100,000 if everything goes according to plan. According to Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, the current number is not enough. She attributes the prevention of a recent attempt at a London terrorist attack to their video surveillance system, which, she told Le Monde, is "ten times more developed than ours."
Continue Reading France employs increased video surveillance to fight terrorists and gang violence »
Posted By Jennifer on February 4, 2008 10:50 PM | Comments (0)
February 7, 2008
Idaho man's good citizenship marred by incriminating video surveillance footage
Who ever thought that holiday cheer could turn on someone so quickly? Michael Millhouse of Lewiston, Idaho is learning the chilling effects of publicity this week as he begins his 30-day sentence of house arrest for stealing a woman's purse.
Continue Reading Idaho man's good citizenship marred by incriminating video surveillance footage »
Posted By Jennifer on February 7, 2008 12:04 AM | Comments (0)
February 8, 2008
Gulfport police eye surveillance cameras with gunfire recognition
The police department in Gulfport Mississippi is asking the city council to approve the purchase of a high-tech surveillance system that can automatically detect and react to the sound of gunfire. The surveillance solution combines digital security cameras with an acoustical sound recognition system that uses a chain of microphones. The cameras are designed to quickly zero in on anyone who has shot a gun. The aim of the system is to serve as a proactive crime-fighting tool.
Continue Reading Gulfport police eye surveillance cameras with gunfire recognition »
Posted By Dan on February 8, 2008 10:36 PM | Comments (0)
March 5, 2008
Neighborhood surveillance cameras could finger Street of Dreams arsonists
Three homes were destroyed last weekend in a large fire in Woodinville, WA (outsie Seattle). With damages estimated to be near $7 million and a good portion of the neighborhood in ruins, the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) are working hard to hunt down the perpetrators of the arson. It's believed that the ELF (Earth Liberation Front), a "domestic terror" group of environmental activists, are responsible for this incident, based on a signature left at the scene, but the results aren't yet conclusive. The recent discovery of a home surveillance camera in the development may provide some more concrete evidence, however.
A home in the same development of eco-friendly houses has a working security camera system installed, and the footage may reveal more information about the arsonists and any other suspicious activity in the neighborhood. Three fires were successfully set, but investigators also found rudimentary firestarting materials around other homes - and thanks to the home surveillance system, there might be more information about exactly who is responsible for this disaster.
Read more at KIROTV.com...
Posted By Jennifer on March 5, 2008 11:37 PM | Comments (0)
March 11, 2008
New school surveillance systems in Chicago link cameras to 911 center
Chicago-area public schools are already equipped with surveillance cameras - and these surveillance systems help keep students, teachers and staff safe and buildings secure. Now, the city is using a $418,000 grant from the Department of Homeland Security to further enhance the school's security by linking 4,500 school surveillance cameras to 911 control centers.
Cameras from the schools - including 200 high schools - will be configured to stream footage directly to police headquarters and emergency centers like 911 depots. Public safety officials and emergency response workers will be able to see live footage from multiple locations. In the event of an emergency, first responders like police officers will be able to stream footage from their vehicles as they approach the school.
Cameras in Chicago area public transit already use this system - cameras in "El" trains and buses already route footage directly to police stations and 911 response centers. Mayor Richard Daley hopes that the system will provide a more comprehensive form of school security than the one that exists. Currently, schools use a variety of different systems that will be integrated to support the streaming technology.
Read more at The Chicago Tribune...
Posted By Jennifer on March 11, 2008 6:22 PM | Comments (0)
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