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Dotworkz release first online Training Video on Wireless Sidekick

Dotworkz has just release their first training video.  It is a tutorial on how to configure their wireless sidekick 2.4GHz card that is integrated into their D2 Camera Enclosures.  The video goes through basic configuration of the wireless card to connect to an existing access point utilizing 802.11b/g.  The video is available on Google video and a high resolution download is available at the www.Dotworkz.com website.

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Increased Dependence of Physical Security Devices on IP Presents Significant Growth...

LONDON--(Business Wire)--Across Europe, the heightened need for higher levels of security is pushing organisations to opt for multi-layered security that incorporates access control, video surveillance and other security devices into the security infrastructure. Market participants are addressing shortcomings related to network-based solutions even as they move to educate end users and promote the uptake of integrated solutions.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users and other industry participants with an overview of the investment analysis and growth opportunities in the Convergence of Physical Security with IP in the European Market, then send an e-mail to Joanna Lewandowska, Corporate Communications, at joanna.lewandowska@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, fax number and e-mail address. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.    

"Open communications protocols, networks and faster computers have led to the diversification of IP networks to newer areas of the organisation," says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Archana Umesh Rao. "As a result, interoperability is being extended to other applications such as security."    As technology advances in the security industry from analog to digital to IP, vendors and customers are reviewing opportunities to secure facilities more comprehensively through multi-layered technology instead of isolated security products. Corporate security services such as video surveillance, access control and fraud detection are increasingly database-driven and network-delivered, leading to IP becoming ever-more tightly tied in with physical security.    

However, implementation has been sluggish due to low end-user awareness about the benefits of integrating disparate security solutions. Also, the use of integrated systems has been restricted to high-end applications due to the high cost of network infrastructure and integration software.    "The convergence of physical security with IP involves a complex amalgamation of security and networking technology," comments Rao. "In this context, superior customer service and technical support will be crucial to gaining a competitive advantage in the market."    

Educating end users and distribution partners and making them aware about the considerable benefits and return on investment to be accrued from integrated solutions should be the key focus for industry participants.

IP Hits the Middle East

North London-based IP consultant UBIQZ has assisted a local installer with a £250,000 Internet-addressable camera surveillance project in Tripoli, Libya.

Forty Sony cameras have been installed over 11 floors of a finance tower block in a project that is one of the first instances of a Middle East building adopting IP on a significant scale.

The location is the Dat el-Emad complex in the heart of Tripoli's financial district and near the site of the old city.  As with other installations, UBIQZ worked with the existing security installer, seamlessly helping them with an IP solution and allowing them to take the lead in terms of client communication.

Since the tower was brand new, suitable structured cabling was already laid out for IT.  Libyan engineers installed the units while UBIQX oversaw the operation and offered advice as necessary.

The cameras are monitoring both workers and customers as they enter and leave the building as well as ATM areas, foreign exchange desks and an underground treasury section.

Staff at a manned control room look for clear-cut incidents or unusual patterns of behaviour. Using the cameras' embedded intelligence, abnormal scenes can be searched for retrospectively.  Sony's RealShot Manager software handles aspects including mapping, scheduling and layout, with the client benefiting from schematic diagrams of camera layouts on each floor.

The Libyan project underlines that UBIQZ is able to help users configure and understand the subtleties of the cameras on their networks as well as providing system architecture.

UBIQZ's other recent projects include two UK health care sites, a faith school in Bromley, Kent, and a network of central London car parks.  Almost alone among security consultants, UBIQZ specialises in pure IP-addressable solutions and systems where analogue and IP components are integrated

Tucson, AZ:Security cameras coming downtown?

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City leaders will start the year discussing downtown security, which may include surveillance cameras. Target Corp.'s Safe City program to fund 14 video cameras for downtown was first brought to the Police Department in 2006. Media reports a year later claimed the $100,000 Target offer was killed, but City Manager Mike Hein and

Target officials deny that. "That's an urban legend," Hein said. "I have not formulated a recommendation. It's nonsense to think that this (overall downtown security program) is a train that is not coming."

Nevertheless, the Dec. 14-15 overnight graffiti assault on Fourth Avenue businesses refreshed a question: Should downtown have police video surveillance? Two days later, City Councilwoman Nina Trasoff sent an e-mail asking Hein to hasten delivery of a security proposal for downtown.

Tucson was among the first five cities mentioned for Safe City funding. "Target does remain committed to a partnership of making Tucson safer," Target spokesman Mike Krueger said. "It's the partnership we're interested in. We're open to what local law enforcement and community leaders think is the best solution. Cameras are not essential in a Safe City program."

Read the Entire Article Here

China Finds Eager Allies for Olympic Security

BEIJING — In preparation for the Beijing Olympics and a series of other international events, some American companies are helping the Chinese government design and install one of the most comprehensive high-tech public surveillance systems in the world.

When told of the companies’ transactions, critics of China’s human rights record said the work violated the spirit of a sanctions law Congress passed after the Tiananmen Square killings.

The Commerce Department, however, says the sophisticated systems being installed, by companies like Honeywell, General Electric, United Technologies and I.B.M., do not run afoul of the ban on providing China with “crime control or detection instruments or equipment.” But the department has just opened a 45-day review of its policies on the sale of crime-control gear to China.

With athletes and spectators coming from around the world, every Olympic host nation works to build the best security system it can. In an era of heightened terrorism concerns, it could be argued, high-tech surveillance will be an indispensable part of China’s security preparations for the Olympics, which runs Aug. 8 to 24. And given China’s enormous economic potential, corporations are always eager to get a foothold here; the Olympics provides a prime opportunity.

But China’s regime, the most authoritarian to hold an Olympics since the Soviet Union’s in 1980, also presents particular challenges. Long after the visitors leave, security industry experts say, the surveillance equipment that Western companies leave behind will provide the authorities here with new tools to track not only criminals, but dissidents too.

“I don’t know of an intelligence-gathering operation in the world that, when given a new toy, doesn’t use it,” said Steve Vickers, a former head of criminal intelligence for the Hong Kong police who now leads a consulting firm.

Indeed, the autumn issue of the magazine of China’s public security ministry prominently listed places of religious worship and Internet cafes as locations to install new cameras.

A Commerce Department official who insisted on anonymity said that the agency was reviewing its entire list of banned exports, including military equipment, although the sale of crime control gear to China is on a special, fast-track review. Asked whether equipment identified as commercial by Western manufacturers could have crime control applications, the official replied, “There may be users in China who figure out law enforcement uses for it.”

Multinationals are reluctant to discuss their sales to China’s security forces, but they say they have done everything necessary to comply with relevant laws.

Information is not easy to come by, but an outline of China’s mammoth effort can be found in interviews with engineers at the public security ministry’s biennial convention, in visits to Chinese surveillance camera factories and police stations, and in reports on China prepared for member companies of the Security Industry Association, a trade group based in Alexandria, Va.

Read the Entire Article Here.

New Eyes In The Sky Watch Liberty Avenue

Walking and shopping along Liberty Avenue in South Ozone Park may have been a little safer this holiday season. In September, the NYPD installed digital video surveillance cameras at 14 points along the avenue between Lefferts Boulevard and the Van Wyck Expressway.Capt. Joseph Courtesis, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct, requested the surveillance cameras along the stretch because of the high crime there and because the area met the requirements necessary for their installations.
   
Two cameras pan the areas around each of the light posts to which they are affixed. After three days of recording, tapes are recorded over if they are not needed for evidence. The cameras’ pan-tilt-zoom capabilities give police the ability to retrieve license plate numbers at distances of two blocks. The cameras can also go live and feed information to the borough’s command center.

The effects of the cameras have not been assessed yet. The precinct has not compiled crime statistics for the area since September. In addition, Courtesis noted that the deterrent value of the cameras cannot be measured since many in the community are not aware of them. But those who do know of their installation appear pleased. “It’s about time,” said Angela Antonino of South Ozone Park. “I think that it’s a good idea.” She suggested that cameras be placed at high-traffic areas along Rockaway Boulevard. “An extra eye for the police is always helpful,”said Joy Patron, also of South Ozone Park. “If this is going to be at the cost of less police officers, then it’s not a good thing.”
   
Courtesis has gotten similar feedback from others. “People like it, they want it in their area.” he said. “My answer to that is I’ll put it everywhere I possibly can. ... I want the shoppers to feel safe.” Rockaway Boulevard, which has seen periods of high crime, will get cameras soon, Courtesis said, but he could not give a date for their installation. Courtesis anticipates that once officers begin making more arrests using evidence from surveillance tapes, criminals will be wary of committing crime in the area.
After one such arrest, two robbery suspects who allegedly struck near one of the cameras, originally maintained their innocence. Borrowing the line of sportscaster Warner Wolf, Courtesis suggested: “Let’s go to the videotape.”
 
After seeing themselves on the surveillance footage, the two confessed. “That is one success story already that aided in our investigation,” Courtesis said. The NYPD currently operates 120 surveillance cameras in places across the city and, despite the concerns some have raised about their privacy being invaded, plans to install hundreds more. Additionally, the NYPD monitors more than 3,000 cameras installed by the city Housing Authority in 15 public housing developments. The department also reviews tape from 1,000 cameras in subways, with 2,100 scheduled to be in place by 2008. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has pushed for greater use of cameras, arguing that they have been effective as deterrents to crime and investigative tools.

Cisco to network whole cities

Cisco Systems, the world's biggest maker of data networking equipment, plans to launch a business group, based in Bangalore, India, that will wire new buildings and even entirely new cities with state-of-the-art networking technology.

The group would be Cisco's first business unit to have its headquarters based outside the US.

The move comes as a construction boom is sweeping the Middle East, India and China, where dozens of cities are planned to accommodate an expected rise in urban populations during the next decade.

"There are millions of people in these countries that will be urbanised over the next 10 years," said Marthin De Beer, head of Cisco's emerging technologies group, which will run the business. "This is clearly a multi-billion dollar opportunity. We expect it to be worth at least $10bn over the next 10 years."

China estimates it will need to build 40 cities over the next 10 years to accommodate migration of workers from the countryside. In Saudi Arabia, authorities plan to build several cities in a bid to compete with Dubai and Abu Dhabi as a business hub.

Cisco hopes to convince the developers and governments in charge of these projects to leapfrog older telecommunications systems that are common in more advanced economies, by installing internet protocol, or IP, networks instead. Such networks are gradually replacing older systems, as the internet emerges as the preferred medium for data, video and telephone traffic.

A city wired top-to-bottom with IP technology would be able to use it to manage infrastructure, such as traffic signals or surveillance cameras, while residents would be able to use it to access media content or control energy use in homes or office buildings, Cisco said.

Cisco, which makes everything from the switches and routers that direct data along the internet backbone to IP-enabled telephones and television boxes, could be in a unique position to take advantage of opportunities presented by the expected construction boom, according to Inder Singh, an analyst at Lehman Brothers.

Cisco stressed the project was at an early stage. It is part of a broader push into developing countries by the group.

Wim Elfrink, Cisco's chief globalisation officer, recently became the first of several top executives to be based permanently in Bangalore.

More School Districts Considering Cameras

DONNA — The idea of installing surveillance camera systems in schools to deter unsafe activity is picking up steam in at least three area school districts.

South Texas, Donna and Sharyland school districts are among the districts that are considering implementation of the monitoring systems.

“We just want to improve the security of the schools,” said South Texas spokeswoman Andi Atkinson said. “Basically we just want to take any preventive measure we can for the safety of our students.”

The Texas Education Agency does not track how many campuses have surveillance cameras and does not make recommendations on how to implement surveillance programs. But the Center for Safe Communities & Schools at Texas State University offers a guide to school districts considering surveillance cameras.

According to the center, surveillance cameras can deter outsiders who don’t belong on campus as well as deter students from engaging in malicious activity.

Donna will likely consider next month whether to contract with a company called LenSec to install cameras at its five secondary school campuses. Superintendent Robert Loredo said the district’s W.A. Todd Ninth Grade Campus would likely be the first school to get the surveillance systems.

Under the plan, each of Donna’s secondary school campuses would have six cameras, both inside and outside the schools, said Alan Morris, regional sales director for LenSec. Each campus would also have at least one camera that can pan, tilt, zoom and pick up images in the dark, Morris said.

“Cameras are important and document activity,” Morris said. “How individuals use it is really up to them.”

“This is for the safety of our kids,” Loredo said. Last year, TEA labeled Donna High School and W.A. Todd as “persistently dangerous.”

The LenSec system would cost more than $500,000 and be funded with a federal grant.

Under LenSec’s system — which is also the one that South Texas is considering and PSJA already has — video images can be viewed from almost any computer, PDA or cell phone with computer access. Morris said that is particularly important during an emergency.

In a report on surveillance cameras, the Department of Justice explains that administrators and security personnel should understand that, for the most part, cameras are more effective identifying crime after the fact as opposed to stopping an ongoing incident.

Donna school board member Gilbert Guerrero said he intends to vote against the cameras because the district should have sought bids on the system, though he supports surveillance cameras themselves. The district is considering buying the cameras through a municipal cooperative known as the BuyBoard.

“It’s good to have students … know if you do something wrong, you’re going to get caught on camera, just to keep them on their toes,” Guerrero said. “It’s a deterrent to any illegal activity. But we need to go out for bids.”

Next month, South Texas will also decide whether to install 32 cameras across its three magnet schools. If approved, the cameras will be operational early in the spring semester, Atkinson said.
Atkinson said the decision to consider cameras was not due to any particular incident or uptick in student violence, but the district conducted a security audit last year where it was determined cameras could deter misbehavior.

The cameras will likely cost the district more than $150,000, which it budgeted for last year.
“Even though we don’t have a problem, we felt it can’t hurt,” Atkinson said.

Meanwhile, Sharyland also has several surveillance cameras in non-student areas, such as the exterior of an elementary school, which has had few break-ins, and at its bus fleet.
Superintendent Scott Owings said the district would eventually consider adding cameras to student areas, such as school bus pickup areas where students gather.

McAllen school district has had cameras since 1996 but upgraded them in the middle of last school year. Cameras are in place at its three high schools and Morris Middle School.

PSJA also upgraded its system last year, and now has cameras at all its secondary schools.
“It’s really a precaution for the safety of the kids,” spokeswoman Arianna Vazquez said.

Puerto Rico accepts camera surveillance, Florida approaches it cautiously

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The public-housing project of Jardines de Monte Hatillo is a violent place run by drug gangs in the San Juan metropolitan area, where children learn before they can walk to drop to the floor when they hear gunfire.

Tired of the endless violence, the Puerto Rico Police Department and the Puerto Rico Housing Department are fighting crime with infrared-equipped video cameras that record everything that happens around the clock.

The images are broadcast to a monitoring center where police officers can zoom in so close that they can see the details of a tattoo or read a license plate.

Several Puerto Rican cities already have arrived where many Florida cities are heading: placing cameras in public places to deter criminal activity. Hallandale Beach, in South Florida, plans to install 120 cameras in seven public parks. The city of Sanibel approved 22 surveillance cameras at its Lighthouse Beach.

In Florida, unlike Puerto Rico, surveillance cameras in public places are still controversial. It took Florida almost a decade, the opinions of two attorneys general and many legislative debates about privacy rights for cameras to be allowed on traffic lights.

Yet, in violence-ridden Puerto Rico, electronic surveillance is widely accepted as an effective crime-fighting tool. In just a few years, cameras have proliferated and are found in 20 housing projects, and the streets, train stations, sports venues and public areas of at least 26 municipalities.

"Cameras add a layer of safety to any place and are a deterrent element," said Pedro Toledo, Puerto Rico Police Department superintendent. "So what if you catch someone having a bad hair day when lives can be saved?"

What's prevented

The arrival of visitors to Monte Hatillo stirs the drug gangs' sentries. These are teenagers on scooters with their faces partially covered by helmets or bandannas who quiz newcomers about their business and follow their every move. It is impossible to talk to the residents outside of their earshot.

But the sentries and their bosses are being watched, too. Up on the walls, roofs and light poles is an army of electronic eyes comprising 76 video cameras. Residents, still too afraid of the gangs to give their full names, say the cameras have forced the gangs to re-think their criminal activities.

"Last Monday they killed a man at 10 till 8 [a.m.] back there," said Rosa, 75, pointing to an empty lot outside the complex. "In the past they would've killed him in any of our yards as the children walked to school."

Data from the Puerto Rico Police Department shows only a small drop in the number of violent crimes in Monte Hatillo and other housing projects. But government officials argue that the real success lies in the crimes that have been prevented.

"We have been able to spot situations and stop them before they develop into something serious," said inspector Guillermo Calixto, director of the monitoring center. "Since we began operating the system, we have generated 25 arrests of individuals we have caught in a criminal act. I'm sure that's being a powerful deterrent for others."

Read the entire article here

CNet launches wireless IP Camera

US-based networking and communications company CNet Technology has launched the CIC-920W, a wireless IP camera to cater to the small office/home office and end-user markets.

According to the company, the camera offers a MPEG-4 video compression, 640x480 image resolution, motion detection, alarm notification and Wi-Fi protected access wireless security. The company added that the camera can be used to monitor employee safety or activities of the family at home.

"The surveillance camera market is shifting from closed-circuit TV to IP cameras. In addition, the industry is migrating from motion JPEG to MPEG-4," said Bryan Chan, vice president at CNet. "With both wired and secure wireless interfaces adding to the product's flexibility, this day-and-night camera comes with motion detection that makes it an ideal for security and surveillance needs."

The camera is available for $169 through the company's distributors, including Tech Data, Eastern Data, Amax, MaLabs, Centel, CT International and Intcomex.

The IP camera market has seen a number of new product launches this year. In October 2007, Hong Kong-based Join Link launched the SV-301C, a dual-codec model with built-in web server and full D1 resolution, while in May 2007, TeleEye launched the NF620 IP camera, which supports M-JPEG and MPEG-4 video streams and recording.