The Beaumont Unified School District Surveillance Network Solution The Beaumont Unified School District (BUSD) is the fastest-growing school district in Southern California, currently serving 11,027 students attending seven elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools. As part of a student safety initiative, BUSD ramped up campus security through an elaborate system of security … Read more
Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) systems are in use today to capture license plate data in all manner of situations: at traffic lights, in parking garages, at hotel gates – anywhere that traffic flow needs to be monitored and regulated. The process is, in theory, simple: A sensor automatically captures an image of a vehicle’s … Read more
The extreme popularity of drones is due in no small part to the incredible aerial photography they’re capable of capturing. A lot of information can be gathered by a skilled drone pilot, and agencies are becoming more aware of the benefits that a new viewing angle can provide, both in surveillance and response scenarios. There … Read more
What am I Looking At? Institutional knowledge is difficult to document. You know something, and don’t think to write it down anywhere. So, what happens when the one person who installed the city cameras—the guy who knows what resources is where, and how it works—decides to retire? If you’re lucky, there is an organizational system … Read more
Every city has a high point – whether it’s a hilltop, a water tower, or a tall building, it’s the best place to install a camera because it offers a panoramic view of the area. And now camera technology has caught up to what defenders have known since the Middle Ages: control the high ground, … Read more
Video surveillance is not just about watching. It’s about seeing, providing awareness, looking ahead and solving problems—sometimes even before they occur. Public areas have always been targets for vandalism, and while often labeled as a “victim-less crime,” the costs of continually repairing and replacing city property add up quickly. Protecting Public Property Parks, public squares, … Read more
A good surveillance system is, at its core, about keeping communities safe: citizens, schools, officers, and buildings and public spaces. These are all important components of a healthy community environment, but it’s crucial to implement a model of proactive response — that means understanding the situation and reacting in the best and quickest way, the … Read more
Cameras, cameras everywhere — but who’s watching? In many cases, sadly, it’s nobody. In a city with hundreds of cameras, they may be managed by dozens of separate agencies, all of whom are understaffed and underfunded, and therefore, the use of video surveillance is marginalized. Why not unite those assets into a powerful, cohesive network? … Read more
In a recent move to protect federal agencies against vulnerabilities in their security networks, the U.S government and Congress has imposed a ban on Chinese-made surveillance cameras. An amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is Defense Department’s annual budget and spending outline, specified that federal agencies cannot purchase cameras made by Chinese … Read more
IT professionals all over the world are looking for ways to cut costs—how can technology be leveraged in new and efficient ways? For many applications, “the cloud” is the answer to reducing hardware requirements and maintenance hours, as well as adding flexibility and scalability to an existing system or embracing a new application. But does … Read more