HD Wireless Surveillance Video with Analytics

PROBLEM

1) Increased crime in specific areas within the municipality
2) Need to set-up temporary surveillance video during investigations

SOLUTION

TuWay Communications was engaged initially to perform a strategic assessment in order to recommend potential solutions, including budgetary costs and project phasing, so that council members and business leaders could decide on a course of action. Another benefit of developing this strategic plan is that it allows the stakeholders to quickly respond to funding and grant opportunities while ensuring that equipment purchases and deployments meet agreed upon objectives. It also eliminates issues of system incompatibly, a common problem in the world of Public Safety deployments in which the sporadic nature of funding and short turnaround cycles necessitate phased build-outs. Having a plan which includes technical specifications and a defined migration plan allows for successful deployments and integration of new equipment into the system most cost effectively.

Phase 1
1.3 Megapixel HD Cameras were installed on a main street in the commercial business district. Analytic software on the cameras is utilized to detect store intrusions after hours, as well as other suspicious activities. The cameras are deployed on a 100% wireless network to eliminate monthly recurring Telco fees, afford total control by local authorities, provide system flexibility and scalability, and minimize network security risks. The wireless network uses a combination of 802.11x Access Points deployed in a self-healing mesh architecture, and licensed microwave for high speed backhaul. Video storage is built into the cameras themselves allowing for improved video analytics on the raw video, reduced bandwidth needs and lower costs by eliminating the need for both the extra backhaul bandwidth and centralized video recorder servers. Since the system uses open standards based viewing software, interoperability with other law enforcement officials (e.g. District Attorney) is simple and cost effective.

Phase 2
Because of the flexibility afforded by the wireless infrastructure, deployment of mobile wireless cameras that can be used for temporary, covert surveillance during police investigations is now possible.

Phase 3 (pending)
TuWay is currently designing this phase, which entails the deployment of cameras with Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) software. The ALPR systems will be deployed at strategic locations throughout the area, and will interface with local, state and federal databases, alerting local police and dispatch center when suspect vehicles are identified. Notification can be made via a variety of methods (911 dispatch console alerts, e-mail or text messaging to mobile devices, smart phones, tablets or in-vehicle laptops), and will include an image of the suspect vehicle. This will provide an extremely valuable tool to assist local law enforcement and help maximize officer productivity in an era of decreasing budgets while the public simultaneously calls for increased crime prevention.