Force Multiplier
Surveillance systems works as agency staff always on watch
- By Dwight Dumpert
- Jun 01, 2017
Port Angeles, located on the U.S.-Canada border, is
host to a thriving maritime port and a significant
customs entry point into the United States. This picturesque
city is located on the Olympic Peninsula in
Washington, opposite Canada’s stunning Vancouver
Island and Victoria, British Columbia. Port Angeles is the gateway
to beautiful Olympic National Park, attracting approximately three
million visitors during the spring, summer and autumn months.
Ferryboats travel the 90-minute route between Port Angeles and Victoria
several times a day for most of the year, making the small town
a popular tourist destination. The city’s harbor is deep enough to
provide anchorage for large vessels, such as tankers and cruise ships,
making the port a busy location itself.
Security Upgrade
Video surveillance is a powerful tool to enhance border security and
public safety. However, outdated video equipment can create critical
security vulnerabilities. To ensure the security of the city of Port Angeles,
officials wanted to upgrade its aging analog video surveillance
system to a solution that provided higher resolution images and remote
video access, while remaining easily scalable over time. As the city’s
analog system reached end-of-life, officials also desired to improve surveillance
in high-traffic areas within the city and along the coastline.
“The analog system was obviously obsolete the day they put it online,”
said Brian S. Smith, deputy chief of police, Port Angeles. “We
could only view video from one spot—in our control room.”
Another goal of the upgrade was to allow police officers to stream
video from any of the city’s cameras to their patrol cars. This would enable
faster, more effective incident response and serve as a force-multiplier
and situational awareness improvement for the small department.
“We needed a new approach to leverage our existing law enforcement
resources to address current and emerging challenges,” Smith
said. “We knew that advanced video surveillance technologies could
provide a quick return on investment.”
City officials dedicated a significant amount of time, money and
manpower to acquire the technology to meet the city’s new security
plan. After a three-year process, Port Angeles secured a $400,000
Homeland Security grant. Officials then asked for a security system
recommendation from Last Mile Inc., who had previously designed
and installed a successful security solution for the city of Seattle.
Based in Longview, Wash., Last Mile Inc. manufactures Cyclone
wireless network gear, resells high quality wireless network and security
equipment, and provides microwave wireless and CCTV system
consulting, design, and integration services. The company has
been servicing cities, public entities and private industries for more
than 17 years.
Last Mile later met with Port Angeles staff to learn their security
system specifications. Officials sought a scalable, open platform
solution that uses IP for monitoring and control, and supports surveillance
products from many manufacturers. They also wanted to
integrate a wireless mesh network, optimized for video applications
in outdoor municipal and public safety deployments, to stream live
video to police vehicles.
Scalable IP Video Surveillance System
Soon after, Last Mile designed, configured and programmed a comprehensive
IP video surveillance solution consisting of the FLIR
Latitude Network Video Management System (NVMS), cameras,
and a private citywide HPE/Aruba Networks wireless mesh network
for public safety personnel.
Installation occurred over three months,
and now the video solution has empowered
police to better protect both the port and
city more effectively. According to Smith,
the surveillance is primarily used for forensic
investigations following suspicious activities
or emergencies, as well as for real-time
containment of suspects and monitoring of
certain areas.
“In terms of versatility and access, it’s a
great tool that we didn’t have before,” Smith
said. “Now, we have a system we can add
to. It meets our needs and allows us to have
more information for patrol, response and
investigation. When you’re installing a system
like this, you have to be able to show that
you’re not adding to the financial burden—
that you’re increasing your efficiency without
creating a cost that’s beyond what you can
sustain. We think this system meets that.”
Video data is recorded at seven fps and
stored at the command center for 30 days for
investigative purposes and to meet Washington
public record laws. To simplify cabling
requirements, reduce installation cost, and
increase reliability, video is transmitted to
a central command center via a robust fiber
backbone ring network and utilizes the wireless
mesh network to reach edge locations,
which would otherwise be cost prohibitive to
employ. The camera feeds are then captured
and managed by FLIR Latitude NVMS,
which tracks incoming activity, provides a
streamlined video interface and alerts officers
to key events.
Streaming Live Video
Port Angeles officials were particularly impressed
by the FLIR VMS innovative mobile
video push app, TruWitness, which extends
video surveillance beyond the point of fixed
cameras and allows real time mobile device
video to be viewed and recorded as additional
cameras in the Latitude NVMS system.
“At the time, not a single company in
the VMS sector was doing that,” said Keith
Young, senior sales engineer at Last Mile.
“The TruWitness app is what pushed Port
Angeles over the top where they said, ‘we to
have to have that.’”
FLIR’s mobile client software additionally
enables police officers to stream live video
to their squad cars. Police patrols are able
to able to use their smart devices to stream,
record, analyze, review and export live video
from any location, enhancing rapid response
and mission critical decision-making.
“We are now able to better monitor and
track suspicious vehicles and passengers unloading
from the ferries,” Smith said. We are
also monitoring the coastline, and can dispatch
police officers to send live video from
any remote location.”
The video streaming is done through either
the cellular network or private wireless
mesh network, and the system allows officers
to move seamlessly between the two.
“We have a very unique system here that
uses In-Motion router boxes, which are in our
patrol cars,” Smith said. “It decides what is the
best signal—Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G—and toggles
back and forth [as police move throughout
the city]. Most of the time, we’re streaming
the mobile application through Wi-Fi.”
One of the advantages of using the private
Wi-Fi is that it ensures reliable and efficient
communication between law enforcement
at all times. In the real world when
natural disasters, riots, sport games or other
large events take place, the public are on
their phones, streaming video, updating social
media, making emergency phone calls,
overloading the cellular networks. In those
instances, police officers’ cell phones become
useless and they have to rely solely on limited
two-way radios. Private Wi-Fi networks
eliminate this issue.
“If you have your own private wireless,
you can still utilize team coordination and
case management apps, photo sharing, Wi-Fi
calling, and the TruWitness capability,” Young
said. “When everything else goes down, law
enforcement and first responders are still able
to communicate at the same level.”
Additionally, the data plans required to
run cameras over cell phone carrier connections
can be extremely expensive. The private
Wi-Fi network presents a significant costsavings
for the city.
Looking Forward
Video surveillance initiatives are a top priority
for Port Angeles. The current system has
proven useful on several occasions to help
police solve crimes and gain insight into the
city’s security posture. Additional grants
will fund projects to enhance security at local
parks, transportation networks and correctional
facilities. The city plans to increase
the number of cameras across key locales
throughout the region and add video analytics
to further bolster the system’s capabilities.
“We knew the success of the first phase
would lead to the deployment of more cameras,
so we chose a solution that could be easily
and economically expanded over time,” Smith
said. “FLIR delivers the technology that
meets our current and future needs, while providing
a streamlined user
experience and maximum
flexibility.”
This article originally appeared in the June 2017 issue of Security Today.