On February 27, the PublicEye team attended the Campus Safety and Law Enforcement Symposium at the British Consulate-General Boston. Hosted by our partner IndigoVision, the event provided an insightful look at today’s state of campus security. Craig Withycombe presented how PublicEye is currently solving the complex issue of inter-departmental data sharing. The Lowell Police in Massachusetts is sharing their 911 calls, hazards, and other real-time information with UMass Lowell Campus security and National Park Service officers.
UMass Lowell, a school with 17,000 students, faces unique challenges due to its spread-out, multi-campus structure. Most university campus crimes and incidents occur when outsiders enter unsecured areas. With campuses being considered a “city within a city”, it’s essential that city police can assist campus calls in a swift and efficient manner.
With PublicEye, the three police forces are now able to see the same information for dispatched calls. Today’s mobile technology moves beyond radio and even digital radio to collaborative picture and video group messaging, live streaming video, and connecting remotely to surveillance systems. Since smartphones and tablets have built in GPS, neighboring municipalities with PublicEye can see each other’s unit locations in real-time. They can see responding vehicles moving towards incidents marked on the map as well as individual responders outside their cruisers, apparatus, ambulances, and beyond.
Beyond implementing sophisticated card-reading technology for perimeter management and security, UMass Lowell also employs IndigoVision cameras, which provide sharp picture and responsive Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) controls. The cameras are sharp enough to easily read license plates leaving a parking lot but also have configurable frames-per-second (FPS) settings to keep recordings a manageable size.
According to Patrick Fiel Sr., National Security Expert, most surveillance cameras are not fully utilized, as the camera feeds can’t be viewed outside of the building under surveillance. With PublicEye, first responders in fire, police, or emergency medical departments can now “swipe” through camera feeds anywhere, anytime, on any device. There is even a social media integration to see live Tweets as they go live on the map.
The event was informative, engaging, and captured the advantages of using technology in campus security. Today’s powerful technology allows for more pervasive and intelligent perimeter management and detailed video surveillance. However, security can never be taken for granted in this modern age of crime and campus shootings: college and school campuses are still considered “soft” targets. Technology is only one part of the puzzle, but rapidly evolving public safety tech has made it better to be on the side of good.
If you are involved in Public Safety, sign up for a free PublicEye demonstration and webinar. More about IndigoVision and their complete IP video security solutions here.