https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • Microwave/RF
    • T&D World
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Call Center/Command


Serve and protect

Serve and protect

Tamperproof, multi-camera video system improves the effectiveness and image of police officers.
  • Written by Urgent Communications Administrator
  • 1st March 2010

In-car police video-recording systems traditionally have suffered from a few deficiencies: The video resolution is VHS-quality at best, lacking the detail needed for facial recognition and for retransmission on local TV newscasts. The VHS recorders are out of date, and their tapes are difficult to store and slow to search for specific sequences. Finally, these systems are not always reliable, especially in harsh weather conditions and high-speed chases where trunk-mounted VCRs can get jostled.

Recent moves to digital video systems have resulted in better quality video and more robust digital video recorders (DVRs), which record images as files that can be server-stored and shared across police networks. However, law-enforcement agencies in Emporia, Va., Calcasieu Parish, La., and Charlottesville, Va., still were not satisfied. In addition to digital video files, these departments wanted broadcast-quality, in-car video that was easy to upload, store and access. They also wanted these digital files effectively to be tamperproof, so that no one could accuse the departments of doctoring evidence video after the fact.

To meet these requirements, all three departments installed the DP-2 Digital Patroller system made by Digital Safety Technologies (DST). “We wanted a server-based solution with high-quality video and robust equipment that was simple to manage,” said Capt. Todd Anderson of the Emporia Police Department, which has about 20 cars fitted with the DP-2. “This system meets these requirements nicely.”

The DP-2 consists of a trunk-mounted DVR and dash-mounted display unit; a high-resolution camera that can be mounted in myriad locations and a low-resolution camera designed to keep tabs on back-seat passengers; wired and wireless microphones, the latter of which features a remote triggering device; and DPView video-management software.

The DP-2 DVR is available in hard-disk-drive or solid-state-drive versions. The solid-state drive has no moving parts, making it more suitable for departments working in rough road conditions. Both versions are available in single- or dual-drive configurations. Each DVR can support up to four video cameras to provide multi-angle recordings that can show what’s happening all around and inside the vehicle. The recordings can be viewed and annotated — but not altered — on the car’s 4.5-inch LCD screen.

“The display unit is designed such that you can add incident information to a video, using a series of pull-down menus,” said Blaine Cosgro, a detective with the Charlottesville Police Department, which has equipped 200 cars. “You can also plug the DVR’s feed into a laptop computer, and view the video on there.”

When activated, the DVR automatically records the vehicle’s speed, GPS location and the time of day. In standby mode, the DP-2 system constantly captures video and audio through the cameras and microphones, always holding the last 30 seconds in its buffer. This means that whenever the system is triggered — by the officer, the activation of the car’s lights, an impact, or sudden braking or acceleration — whatever happened up to 30 seconds prior is permanently saved to the DVR. This ensures that viewers don’t just see what happened when the officer reacted, but also the stimulus to which he reacted.

The high-resolution main camera is comparable to a standard definition (4:3 picture ratio) broadcast television camera, according to the company. It offers 346,000 pixels/480 lines of video resolution and a 22x optical/220x digital zoom that is controlled by the platform’s dash-mounted display. It also offers built-in heaters; functionally, the weatherproof camera can operate in temperatures ranging from -4 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

The smaller 85,000 pixels/420-line passenger camera is designed to cover the rear seat, where the prisoners are held. It has a built-in, infrared lighting array for capturing video in total darkness, ensuring that the prisoners’ actions — and treatment — always are being documented.

The DP-2’s wired microphones are mounted in the car, to capture whatever is said there. The officers wear the 2.4 GHz wireless microphones, which have a 1,500-foot, line-of-sight transmission range. Again, the 30-second buffer means that if an officer finds himself in an altercation away from the car, he can still document what happened to spark the event by pressing his wearable triggering device.

The system’s trunk-mounted DVR records high quality audio and video, and can hold up to 24 hours of content at a time. Transferring the data to the department’s server is accomplished in one of two ways: each patrol car can roll up to an outdoor Ethernet cable, plug it in and have its video files automatically uploaded; or, the data can be transferred wirelessly at the department’s Wi-Fi hot spots. Both methods are an improvement over the traditional approach, which is to remove the data drives from the DVR and connect them directly to the server, a less-efficient and time-consuming process. If the file transfer is interrupted by the car having to leave suddenly, the system simply picks up where the upload ended next time around. Once the upload is done, the DVR is wiped clean.

Once the data has been transferred to the department’s server, video can be viewed by senior officers on authorized workstations, using DST’s DPView software. The system prevents any altering of the data, which ensures that any DP-2-generated video used in court can be certified as accurate and tamper-free. However, should anyone attempt to make any changes to the video the system automatically and irrevocably will log the attempt. This is a plus, as police and sheriff’s departments discourage evidence tampering; recording the attempt lets officials investigate why it occurred.

The three departments cited above all believe the system has made them more effective. For instance, thanks to its broadcast quality video, drunk-driving convictions have gone up substantially. “We also have seen a substantial drop in citizen complaints, simply because we can now see exactly what happened in these cases,” said Lt. David Benada of the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Department, which has equipped 150 cars. “In instances where officers have made errors, we can find out what happened and correct it, and use the video to train other officers, as well.”

The video’s broadcast quality means that it can be sent to local TV stations for use on-air. Such releases not only give the public an accurate view of what their police are dealing with, but they also help to polish the police’s image in the process.

The proof of this can be seen in some of the video clips posted on DST’s Web site (www.digitalsafetytech.com). They include raw police footage, plus news broadcasts in which the anchors comment on what they (and the viewers) have just seen. A case in point: One video sequence shot through a patrol car windshield shows an apprehended suspect viciously attack and injure an officer — who subsequently required plastic surgery — while resisting arrest. Later, the suspect is fatally shot as a result of his actions.

Yet, based on the video provided by the DP-2 systems, the anchor did not condemn the police officer’s actions. Instead, she commented that the “dash-cam video appears to justify that shooting.”

Tags: Call Center/Command Wireless Networks

Most Recent


  • Serve and protect
    Newscan: Verizon counts 5.1 million first-responder subs; AT&T has 3.7 million
    Web Roundup Items from other news organizations Verizon counts 5.1 million first-responder subs; AT&T has 3.7 million DHS researches overcoming occlusions in video surveillance for public safety Less-serious 911 calls put on standby due to Durham EMS staffing shortages Russian hackers get the headlines. But China is the bigger threat to many U.S. enterprises. One […]
  • Taiwan crisis another blow to the supply chain
    It’s been a good news-bad news-slightly better news kind of week. The good news is the world just avoided a superpower conflict over Taiwan. The bad news is China is right now in the middle of a live-fire military exercise on all sides of the island that is impacting commercial flights, shipping and the global […]
  • Motorola Solutions logo
    Motorola Solutions seeks contempt finding, global injunction against Hytera for not paying royalty
    Motorola Solutions asked a federal judge to find Hytera Communications in contempt of court for refusing to make ordered royalty payment and to prohibit the China-based manufacturer from selling land-mobile-radio (LMR) equipment globally, according to a legal filing posted Wednesday. Hytera Communications did not make its first royalty payment as scheduled on July 31 to […]
  • Humanoid robot explores shipwrecks
    Stanford University researchers created a humanoid diving robot that can access deeply-sunk vessels and objects, and features a haptic feedback system that simulates the feeling of items encountered so operators can experience what the robot does. The robot, known as OceanOneK, also comes fitted with 3D vision and eight multidirectional thrusters to help it navigate […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • New Orleans-area 911 center inks multiyear APEX deal with Carbyne to replace call-handling system
  • Serve and protect
    Newscan: Feds recover millions from pipeline ransom hackers, hint at U.S. Internet tactic
  • Cyber is the new Cold War, and AI is the arms race
  • Private wireless networks in the US start going public

Commentary


LTE and liability: Why the fire service must move forward with digital incident command

  • 2
6th May 2022

Partnership and collaboration must be the foundation for emergency communications

18th April 2022

FirstNet success means no hypothetical ‘shots’ need to be fired, Swenson says

22nd February 2022
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

Newscan: Verizon counts 5.1 million first-responder subs; AT&T has 3.7 million dlvr.it/SW84Gv

6th August 2022
UrgentComm

Taiwan crisis another blow to the supply chain dlvr.it/SW7GSs

5th August 2022
UrgentComm

Motorola Solutions seeks contempt finding, global injunction against Hytera for not paying royalty dlvr.it/SW6Ldm

5th August 2022
UrgentComm

Humanoid robot explores shipwrecks dlvr.it/SW36fy

4th August 2022
UrgentComm

How IT teams can use ‘harm reduction’ for better cybersecurity outcomes dlvr.it/SW32rd

4th August 2022
UrgentComm

Increase in emergency-response time caused by insufficient staffing, traffic congestion dlvr.it/SW16zp

3rd August 2022
UrgentComm

Tepid demand, taxation fears drag at 2.5GHz spectrum auction for 5G dlvr.it/SW15Yt

3rd August 2022
UrgentComm

Newscan: Cyberattacks against critical infrastructure quietly increase dlvr.it/SVxr3P

2nd August 2022

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X