Extra Eyes Patrol City’s Streets

Using a Bosch Allegiant control system and an IntuiKey keyboard that controls the p/t/z cameras, employees can switch between video streams from each of the cameras and hone in on suspicious activities or crimes in progress up to three or four blocks away.

“The Bosch cameras are extremely reliable and deliver excellent image quality,” says Joe Morales, executive director, LCSC. “They are built with a durable exterior dome that withstands any weather condition as well as vandalism in the rare case it occurs.”

Video is recorded on Bosch DVRs with attached disk arrays for storage. Recorded video of crimes committed can be used as evidence against suspects, which has eliminated the need for court trials in some cases.

Live monitoring is considered by coalition executives to be an important strength compared to systems in other cities around the world. The private operation has resulted in significant savings for taxpayers as well. Donations account for about a third of the coalition’s $600,000 annual budget, along with covering most of the solution’s $3 million start-up and installation costs, Morales says.

To date about 120 of the 165 cameras have been installed in Lancaster, said to be the most highly surveilled city per capita in the state, and possibly the nation. The solution is scheduled to be completed by the end of the summer; however, a recently formed group is calling on the city to stop the expansion of the camera system until laws are in place to govern it.

Morales, who also serves as a city councilman, steadfastly maintains the LCSC is operated with the utmost responsibility. Its employees are required to take drug tests and undergo a criminal-records check. And because no state or federal law governs the use of public cameras, Morales says he is drafting ethical guidelines for the coalition’s team of staffers and about a dozen volunteers.

Video is monitored during peak times of police and criminal activity, and the coalition will increase the hours monitored when extra vigilance is required, such as during large or high-profile events scheduled in the city.

The LCSC’s monitoring facility has a direct line to the city’s center for 911 calls for times when police need to be immediately dispatched to an area. Staffers can even send live video to flat-screen monitors in the 911 center to help dispatchers communicate more effectively with officers patrolling the streets or arriving on a scene.

Camera Solution at Work
If a camera records a crime in progress, the video is given to police and prosecutors, and may be subpoenaed by defense lawyers in a criminal case. More than 300 tapes were handed over last year, records show.

Video also helps police conduct criminal investigation
s — often saving valuable police hours. In a 2007 incident, coalition employees alerted police to video of an imminent fight on a city street. Twenty seconds before police officers arrived on the scene, a man was shot and killed. The shooter fled to a nearby house and attempted to change his appearance.

However, officers guided by video from the surveillance cameras were able to find and arrest the shooter. In a previous case, similar in nature, but where the incident was not captured on video, the investigation took city police 1,600 hours to learn the identity of and apprehend the suspect.

“This video surveillance system is extremely progressive for a city the size of Lancaster,” says Morales. “Lancaster is showing the world that citywide surveillance is not just for major metropolitan areas.”

Rodney Bosch is Managing Editor for SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION. He can be reached at (310) 533-2426 or [email protected].

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About the Author

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Although Bosch’s name is quite familiar to those in the security industry, his previous experience has been in daily newspaper journalism. Prior to joining SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION in 2006, he spent 15 years with the Los Angeles Times, where he performed a wide assortment of editorial responsibilities, including feature and metro department assignments as well as content producing for latimes.com. Bosch is a graduate of California State University, Fresno with a degree in Mass Communication & Journalism. In 2007, he successfully completed the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association’s National Training School coursework to become a Certified Level I Alarm Technician.

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