Comments Off on The Future: Intelligent CCTV Systems
Video Analytics is set to be the biggest new move forward for the CCTV industry, with ‘intelligent’ CCTV able to make decisions and analyse the video data it recieves.
It is an ill-informed opinion that all CCTV enables is the ability to review an event after it has already taken place or to ‘spy’ on passers by. New technologies are able to analyse the video data captured, alongside the use of triggers, to prompt security actions for certain events or situations.
The ‘intelligent’ analysis of CCTV has been a sought-after solution for many years, yet with the increase of systems offering motion detection and analysis, it is becoming more available and affordable for businesses. Essentially the CCTV system looks for configured triggers and know how to react when they happen. Therefore by knowing how to react to situations, the security system can become proactive rather than reactive, preventing situations rather than dealing with the aftermath.
For more information on how CCTV security systems can be used within your business, and how CCTV Surveillance can enable better usage of your CCTV system contact us for a free security audit.
Comments Off on CCTV for the Public Sector is money well spent
The British Security Industry Association claims public spending on CCTV is worthwhile to secure public safety. That’s its response to an online report highlighting concerns over the rise in the number of CCTV cameras controlled by local councils over the past decade.
In its report, published in December, Big Brother Watch – an offshoot of the Taxpayers’ Alliance – questions the effectiveness of CCTV in deterring or solving crimes, arguing that money currently spent on expanding CCTV networks would be better utilised by employing more police on the beat.
However, according to Pauline Norstrom, BSIA CCTV Section chairman, that is an inaccurate definition of CCTVs role within security and safety. "Time and again the police take advantage of CCTV images to reconstruct events, identify offenders and make high-profile calls for public support in their enquiries" and "images are frequently called upon in the criminal justice system to help secure prosecutions".
Pauline Nordstrom also illustrates that "a more realistic comparison would have taken into account the anticipated operational life of the CCTV system, thereby dramatically reducing the number of police officers that could be employed using the equivalent funds".
CCTV is a valuable weapon in the fight against crime and terrorism and getting the right system for your business is becoming even more imperative. The value of effective CCTV systems is something which is increasingly being recognised by governments and municipal authorities worldwide and CCTV Surveillance can realise your CCTV requirements.
CCTV Surveillance has the knowledge to install the right system for your business, ensuring maximum security and safety. We are able to uniquely customise each cctv system to your requirements.
The argument for CCTV does not go hand-in-hand with advocating a ‘big brother’ culture, yet, CCTV systems do need to be used effectively and responsibly. Contact us today to find out how we can make your business safer and more secure whilst complying with governmental regulations.
Comments Off on Peterborough United FC Install Turnstile Monitoring System
CCTV Surveillance Case Study: Peterborough United Football Club
In July 2008, Peterborough United were exploring the possibilities to improve the turnstile monitoring and CCTV systems at the London Road Stadium. Having compared numerous options, the decision was made by the management team including CEO Bob Symns, to install a bespoke turnstile monitoring system and for CCTV Surveillance to maintain their existing CCTV system.
The Posh chose the custom designed Tensor turnstile monitoring system as it was the only solution that fully fitted the brief and they “already knew the staff and they offered us a good working relationship.”
Office Manager, Mary Faxton said the main advantages of Tensor over its competitors were “service and price.” Mary was particularly impressed that the turnstile monitoring system “offered much more information than our old system.”
The turnstile system monitors the flow rate of fans around London Road Stadium, providing accurate and up to date reports on stadium activity and capacity. The CCTV Surveillance reporter asked Mary what she liked most about the turnstile system “the new turnstile computer system is very accurate and easy to use,” she said.
The CCTV system monitors both internal and external crowd activity reporting directly to the police/safety control centre. This enables the football club to accurately manage the safety and security of both the fans and the ground.
After the system was installed, the safety officer and general managers were trained on how to use the CCTV and turnstile systems and the associated PC software. “Informative and exceptional” was how Peterborough United staff evaluated the quality of the training.
Peterborough United have used the Tensor operations department a couple of times, both in installation and maintenance, describing their work as “excellent.”
When Mary was asked if she would recommend Tensor and CCTV Surveillance to other companies, “yes” was the reply. She then summed up by saying “the CCTV system, turnstile monitoring system and services provided by CCTV Surveillance and Tensor are all excellent.“
Homes and businesses left empty at Christmas make easy pickings for burglars. Securing your property not only gives you peace of mind, but can also cut your insurance premiums. So how can you protect your premises, even when you aren’t there?
Electronic Deterrents
A recent survey of convicted burglars showed that of the 35 interviewed, two-thirds rated alarms highly for deterring a break-in, 63% said that they would probably or definitely not burgle a property which had digital CCTV and 86% believed security lighting could be an effective deterrent.
Security on the Cheap
Have a noisy property. A front drive or roadway with deep gravel creates a loud crunching noise to deter trespassers. For those who live or work in the country and have a bit of land, geese make for excellent security and a gaggle can be bought for less than £100. They make an ear-splitting racket when disturbed at night, are cheap to feed and can live to at least 20.
Thorny shrubs beside windows and property boundaries are great for ripping tell-tale bits of clothing and impaling uninvited guests. But beware growing a hedge that provides cover. Potential muggers and burglars may also use the undergrowth to spy on your property and launch an unexpected attack.
Digital CCTV Surveillance
If you are looking to install a digital CCTV security system on your premises then why not consider a system from CCTV Surveillance. We are experts in providing CCTV systems for industrial, commercial and domestic premises.
All of our systems provide the evidence quality footage needed for the pictures to be used by the Police for investigative purposes. Whether you require a covert CCTV system or just a regular CCTV solution, contact us for the best deals.
The future of many outdated CCTV systems is coming into clearer focus as many councils, organisations and companies are taking the decision to upgrade to digital. Suprisingly, cost is no longer the primary factor taken into consideration when thinking about moving to this new technology – the benefits of installing a digital CCTV system over analogue speak for themselves.
Crime-monitoring systems across the UK have inherently suffered from years of under-investment and complaints about picture quality. Many outdated CCTV systems can only rely on providing a visual deterrent as the footage generated is often not good enough to be used as evidence in a court of law.
With digital CCTV systems coming down in price, an increasing number of organisations are opting to replace the outdated parts of their CCTV network. Not only do upgrades to older systems produce a system that is much more reliable with far clearer footage, it will also invariably mean conformation to the UK Police Requirements.
The most common upgrade for a CCTV system is the replacement of ailing analogue video recorders. A hard disc solution provided by a DVR allows a huge amount of footage to be stored from multiple cameras across your network.
By upgrading certain parts of your network, you can infintely improve the way your security system operates. Often there is no need to replace CCTV cameras already on your network if they provide good enough footage of your site.
Obviously, it is wise to seek professional advice from an approved CCTV installation company if you are looking to upgrade your system as opposed to installing a brand new network.
CCTV Surveillance Ltd are experienced CCTV suppliers who are able to provide you with all the assistance you need to implement a system tailored to your requirements. Please don’t hesitate to contact us to arrange for an engineer to visit your site.
The working group tasked with drawing up the UK police requirements code relating to the use of cctv footage as evidence in a court of law has consulted widely with bodies including the Association of British Insurers, Law Society and Home Office Scientific Development Branch.
Input has also been gained from officers on the front line such as police forensic experts to help shape and strengthen the draft document.
This is a fast moving technology sector and the group was firm in its decision not to focus on the digital technology itself, but instead concentrate on what DVRs should deliver in terms of providing credible images to use as evidence in court.
Particular emphasis has been placed on areas including image quality and authenticity, storage and playback of these images, as well as audit trail procedures.
Looking at some of these in more detail, the code recognises that there are two key elements involved in ensuring image authenticity from DVRs, namely the areas of image protection / authentication techniques and the integrity of the DVR unit itself. In the past, the police gained reassurance when handling VHS tapes from being able to physically touch the original recording medium.
The difference when using digital technology is that evidence is extracted from the equipment’s hard drive and then copied onto removable media such as a CD/DVD, raising a number of question marks that the working group has sought to answer.
Image authentication techniques such as data encryption, a process called check summing (involving use of an algorithm base on unique key data) and digital watermarking are also reviewed in the code. Sufficient and demonstrable controls are required to prevent unauthorised access to storage media, while playback of electronic images should conform to a number of parameters including the key area of time and date information integrity.
One way in which DVRs offer advantages over older tape recording and storage technology lies in their ability to digitally enhance images in a variety of different ways, an area the working group has tackled in the code by providing clear guidance relating to original or master images and the export of images for playback on different media.
Watertight evidence
The code additionally addresses the need for robust audit trail procedures to cover the processes that lead from the initial recording of the original images by CCTV camera right through to their subsequent presentation as evidence in court, so as to convincingly demonstrate they have not been tampered with at any point in between.
These procedures overlap with the need for correct operator training that covers the proper way to securely process evidential material.
One serious concern is that, unless these audit trails and operator procedures stand up to scrutiny in court, the Crown Prosecution Service may not be able to use the CCTV images in the first place or defence lawyers will later be able to pull holes in the evidence presented, potentially jeopardising the case and undermining a significant raison d’
Thousands of companies across the UK could find themselves unable to prosecute thieves, vandals and intruders – despite having CCTV footage of break-ins.
This is because UK police requirements for digital CCTV systems published by the Home Office last year are largely being overlooked. And without the high quality footage needed to pursue a criminal investigation, UK businesses could be losing millions of pounds by unwittingly increasing their security risks and even invalidating insurance cover.
The new guidelines were published over a year ago, but many companies seem to be unaware that there has been a change in requirements. Even amongst those that know there have been changes, there is widespread confusion about what’s required.
Effectively, this means that CCTV users are running systems that are inadequate, as footage would often not be sufficient for use by the police in any criminal investigation. These companies need to update their understanding of what’s required and update their equipment before they are left counting the cost.
In the Home Office guidelines, analogue CCTV video is no longer recommended as the preferred choice by police in criminal investigations and, when selecting a digital alternative, users are advised to consider quality, storage, export of images and playback facilities.
Under the revised requirements, users must ensure that their CCTV system is capable of storing at least 31 days worth of recorded footage in a secure environment. It should be capable of exporting both video and stills to a removable storage medium at original quality and the time and date should be accurately available for each picture.
CCTV software should have variable speed control, display single and multiple cameras, permit recordings from each camera to be searched by time and date and allow printing or saving of specific pictures with the time and date of recording.
It’s important that companies consider where their site is vulnerable before they specify a new CCTV system and select a product that will provide a high enough resolution picture from all relevant vantage points.
Recorded pictures and print outs are not as clear as live images on some systems so a full test viewing is essential and, though the police have not set a minimum quality requirement on CCTV evidence, carrying out a test to check how recognisable individuals are on the system is advisable.
The purpose of the guidelines is to make gathering CCTV evidence easier and ensure that it is more reliable in court. All CCTV cameras and recording equipment from CCTV Surveillance are fully compliant with Home Office guidelines, so providing the police with evidence-standard images is within reach of all CCTV users.
Unfortunately, at the moment, it seems to be companies that have found their systems to be inadequate following a break-in that are upgrading to effective digital systems, however, we would urge all companies that rely on their CCTV for security to ask themselves whether what they have in place is really enough.
Baroness Scotland has told the House of Lords that poor quality CCTV footage currently runs the risk of innocent people being wrongly arrested. She also added that "digital CCTV… will enable us, particularly when ID cards* come in, to identify those who are responsible for very serious crimes."
The Home Office have maintained that there will be no direct link between the National Identity Register and CCTV systems, however if CCTV footage of a suspect was available, it may be possible for the police to conduct a check of the image against facial images held on the Register.
For this reason, it is also very important to ensure high-quality, well-maintained footage caught on digital recording equipment is made available to the police in the event of a crime, in order to avoid incorrect arrests.
There are a large number of CCTV systems – both old and new – that do not meet current standards concerning the quality of footage obtained. Old analogue CCTV systems are likely to fall short of the police requirements, however it may not be necessary to replace your entire system in order to become compliant. A simple upgrade of certain components of your CCTV network can be enough.
Good quality footage of intruders, vandals, and thieves have been used in a number of public prosecutions by the police, and have provided invaluable evidence when linking villains to crimes.
If you are looking to upgrade your CCTV system, the engineers at CCTV Surveillance will be happy to advise you on any necessary modifications you will need to make in order to gain complicity.
*The ID cards scheme was passed by Parliament earlier this year after long running resistance from the House of Lords. Everyone over the age of 16 who applies for a passport will have their details added to a National Identity Register from 2008.
In the immediate aftermath of the 7/7 London terrorist explosions, and the attempted bombings a fortnight later, the police embarked on a massive intelligence gathering exercise. Their task was significantly aided by the presence of CCTV cameras covering the streets, Tube stations and buses targeted in the attacks, as well as surveillance systems covering the rest of the transport network in the capital and surrounding counties.
The pictures subsequently produced, such as those taken at Luton rail station, showed clear, identifiable images of the perpetrators and underlined the value of this monitoring method. However, the operating costs and logistics involved in surveying so much activity means that the CCTV operators of these systems cannot be aware of all the potential crime-related activity occurring.
Their skills and training are deployed to best effect in real-time, to address and help prevent a variety of events that may otherwise result in security or safety problems. Nevertheless, finite resources are available to devote to this task, and otherwise normal behaviour such as criminals travelling to the scene of a crime cannot realistically be detected in these circumstances anyway.
This is where a valuable back-up comes into play, in the form of accessible video recordings that can later be evidentially linked to an incident.
Property surveillance
Commercial property owners and managers deal with a similar scenario. Depending on the nature and scale of the business involved, a number of different security arrangements exist. Larger sites often have their own surveillance cameras, monitored by security guards as part of an integrated protection system. Smaller facilities may prefer to employ external security providers to monitor their buildings out-of-hours. Some local authorities, for instance, keep watch on industrial estates and business parks etc using the staff available in their control room.
Whatever the chosen method, the quality of recordings is one of the key operational issues that needs to be safeguarded. To prove this point, we only have to think back to the poor state of original camera pictures showing toddler Jamie Bulger and his abductors at a Merseyside shopping centre in 1993. These had to be subsequently enhanced by police technical experts before they could be effectively used. Since then, of course, analogue VCR tape has been increasingly superseded by the prolific uptake of digital recording and this in turn has led to a pressing need for definitive guidance where digital video images are being used as evidence in the criminal justice system.
Digital Developments
The rapid change towards digital video recording technology first started in the late 1990s and in recent years has accelerated as a result of factors such as falling prices, improved reliability and a range of operational advantages. For example, compared with tape recorders, digital alternatives provide ease of use and the ability to search for specific recorded data quickly.
But the digital age also ushers in a number of important issues facing those specifying, selecting, installing and operating DVR equipment intended to produce CCTV pictures for use as evidence in court. A number of key questions have been raised about the admissibility of digital video evidence and the methods used to review and extract such evidence.
The main problem has been the lack of an independent guide that the police, criminal justice system, end-users, insurers and installers could refer to – a situation addressed by the forthcoming publication from the Home Office of a code of practice covering digital recording systems intended to export images for use as evidence.
The intention behind the code is to provide an independent benchmark for this technology, allowing it to be used to its maximum potential with the same confidence that there is in VHS tape from a traditional VCR.
The argument used to be that the camera never lies, but when it comes to evidence that will stand up in court, even industry experts now say the 4.2 million cameras in the UK do not give the whole picture.
CCTV has come to be seen as a magic bullet, but its effectiveness can be undermined by everything from the age of the equipment, through the positioning of the cameras, to something as simple as the number of times the tapes recording the pictures have been re-used.
Anyone who ever owned a VCR knows how a tape used to record a favourite soap week in, week out, would result in well-known actors becoming increasingly less identifiable as the picture quality declined with each successive recording.
"Fragile" Recordings
It is this problem that seems to be uppermost in the mind of the police as studies are made of CCTV footage in the hope that light can be shed and evidence gained against perpetrators of crime.
CCTV cameras may be far more commonplace in Britain, but many in small businesses such as corner shops and petrol stations still rely on similar analogue tape, according to industry insiders.
Peter Fry, Director of the CCTV User Group, which represents more than 500 organisations using the cameras from hospitals to councils, says: "Everyone expects far too much out of CCTV."
One of the organisation’s members, who works for a major police force in England, gives the figure of 80% of the images he is asked to examine as being "totally useless" when it comes to relying on them as evidence. The problem is that a single tape is often used to record the pictures from multiple cameras – producing an image that is a fraction of the size of the actual TV screen.
Even with digital systems, where the individual feeds can be separated off, some recorders store too little information for the picture to be blown up to a useable size before the image disappears into a mass of dots – a problem all too familiar to anyone who has ever tried to zoom in on a picture on their computer screen.
Poor Quality Images
Much of the equipment being sold was never intended for such commercial use and comes from home entertainment manufacturers looking for new markets. Also the material cannot be downloaded to another format such as DVD and that means the police have to remove the entire hard-drive as evidence.
Digital technology has meant a huge leap in the number of images that can be stored. But that in itself has become a problem. Officers investigating the 7/7 London bombings went to seize material from one local authority to be confronted by a stack of DVDs 16 feet high, according to one insider.
Wrong identification
Even when high quality images exist, and more importantly are located by detectives who have studied hundreds of hours of CCTV, questions remain about how useful they are at actually identifying suspects.
Academic research has shown that when people were given a still picture of somebody and asked to pick them out of a series of CCTV stills, they picked the wrong person or could not find them at all in 30% of cases – and that was when the two pictures were taken in identical lighting conditions with the subject displaying a similar facial expression.
Better quality images from newer digital systems have the potential to make CCTV more useful in court, according to Michael Bromby of the Centre for Forensic Statistics at Glasgow Caledonian University. But he also sounds a warning.
"If you get a DVD and stick it on your telly then it can do all sorts of things to the person’s face before it decodes the signal properly and that’s where you’re working with a limited number of broadcast standards. You have to accept that the camera and computer are doing something to compress and store the image which can alter it. And that matters where somebody is saying this is or isn’t the person, when you look at the ratio of the distance between their eyes or from their nose to the chin," he explains.
Right Place
Before the lawyers and experts can even begin those arguments though, the camera has to capture an image.
The case of Annie Freeman, an 87 year old pensioner ordered to remove her hat when she popped into a pub in Aldershot so as not to hide her face from CCTV cameras, shows how it does not take hi-tech tricks like those used by crooks in the film Ocean’s 11 – to foil the security systems.
More often though, it comes down to the cameras simply not being in the ideal place. Dr Andrew Adams of the University of Reading cites the case of a colleague who is working on cameras designed to spot potential terrorists, who had his car broken into on campus.
"Within 20 minutes he went to security staff with a description of some youths he’d seen hanging around the car park, only to find that despite all the signs warning of CCTV surveillance, not one had been pointing in the right direction to catch the suspects."
Video Analytics is set to be the biggest new move forward for the CCTV industry, with ‘intelligent’ CCTV able to make decisions and analyse the video data it recieves.
The British Security Industry Association claims public spending on CCTV is worthwhile to secure public safety. That’s its response to an online report highlighting concerns over the rise in the number of 