Every CTA Rail Station Outfitted with Surveillance Cameras

If you have some underlying fear about "Big Brother" always watching you, you may want to reconsider ever going into any one of the hundreds of rail stations in Chicago. That is because Chicago leaders recently sent word to both CTA riders and criminals that each and every one of the 143 rail stations in the city are now equipped with multiple security cameras.

The cameras can't and won't stop criminals in the act, unfortunately, due to the fact that they do not provide live feeds to the Chicago Police Department or the CTA control center. It is hoped that these cameras will serve as a deterrent to criminals and also help police catch criminals brave enough to strike under the watchful eyes of the camera after they have committed the crime.

These new cameras, along with increased police patrols of the transit system, will also give transit riders an added sense of security, according to Mayor Rahm Emanuael, CTA President Forrest Claypool and Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy at the CTA Clinton station serving the Green and Pink Lines.

Footage from some of the newly deployed cameras on the platform station at Clinton and Lake Streets was recently used to arrest a suspect who attacked a woman and stole her purse in an elevator a block away from the station. The same criminal was also previously caught on surveillance using a stolen credit card. The camera evidence also connected him to a car burglary two weeks earlier near CTA headquarters.

A total of 1,735 cameras were recently installed at 78 stations that previously had no cameras whatsoever. The work, which began in June and was scheduled for completion by year's end, wrapped up six weeks ahead of schedule according to officials. A total of 65 stations already had cameras.

The project, which was federally funded, brings the grand total number of cameras to nearly 3,000, all of which are high-resolution security cameras. The number of cameras at each location varies depending on station layout and other factors according to officials. "We feel like this is about as close a saturation as you can get," Claypool stated.

The new cameras have already contributed to nearly 47 arrests of suspects who robbed or attacked passengers on the CTA system, as well as other crimes against people near CTA property in the last five months. The string of crimes includes three slayings near CTA property as well. Over 700 of the new 5000 Series rail cars that the CTA is putting into service are also outfitted with cameras. Those on-board cameras will eventually provide real-time video to police and the CTA according to officials.

Source: Chicago Tribune - CTA says its rail stations now all have surveillance cameras

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Two New HD Security Cameras from Bosch

Bosch, maker of some of the most popular security cameras, has just introduced two new IP cameras in the new Dinion HD and FlxiDome HD 720p Day/Night IP cameras. Both of these cameras are top of the line and available now. In addition to that, both of these cameras come with Bosch's Intelligent Video Analysis (IVA) pre-installed. The new models also give you the choice between a fixed-body or dome camera style with high definition IVA ready to go in a complete, plug-and-play system.

One benefit to these cameras having Bosch's IVA already pre-installed is that it is no longer necessary to buy separate licenses and go online to register and activate each individual IVA-equipped camera. This reduces the installation effort for you and makes the process go a lot faster and smoother as well. Intelligence embedded in the cameras also eliminates the need for an external server to run analytics software, which makes Bosch's cameras even more cost-effective and easier to manage for you.

Bosch further eases installation through something called an installation phase, as the software provides simple setup of detection criteria with a wizard-based graphical interface. Bosch IVA, working independently on each camera, offers a plethora of advanced detection functions including idle or removed objects, trajectory tracking and flow, line crossing, loitering, crowds and more.

As an operator, cameras pre-installed with Bosch IVA present a major asset to overall surveillance, supporting security personnel with a powerful and efficient event detection and alarm system. Events are flagged on-screen in real-time, enabling operators to never miss a thing. In addition to that, the images and video captured by these cameras can be stored together, giving operators the power to find any event, even ones that were not originally set up as alerts.

Source: IP Security Watch - Bosch introduces new HD cameras

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PureTech Implements PTZ Auto Follow Capability in FLIR Thermal Cameras

PureTech Systems Incorporated, one of the leading manufacturers of video analytic software, just announced that it has officially teamed up with FLIR to enable PTZ Auto Follow capability on FLIR's range of high-performance thermal cameras. When joined with FLIR's PTZ camera series, PureTech's PTZ Auto Follow capability will provide a powerful addition to a facility's perimeter thermal security.

PureTech's PTZ Auto Follow capability currently allows a CCTV camera to independently follow a desired target, while the software continuously identifies the target and adjusts the pan, tilt and zoom of the camera accordingly in order to keep the target centered in the camera's field of view.

PureTech now takes this feature to a whole new level by capitalizing on the advantages provided by the FLIR thermal camera line to auto follow in conditions of low light, no light, haze, smog, sunrise/sunset, low contrast scenes or precipitation. In addition to that, the feature is also designed to follow many target types, including cars, people, trucks and boats and can also be initiated in a plethora ways including a cue from a video management system, a video analytics device, an intelligent fence, access control system, GPS or radar.

The PTZ Auto Follow capability, which has been optimized for FLIR's thermal sensor and pan-tilt mechanism, also has the added flexibility to be deployed as a server-based installation or an edge device using PureTech's Scene Analyzer. In addition the PTZ Auto Follow capability can be supported via PSIM and VMS systems including PureTech's PureActive.

In a statement from Vice President of Security and Surveillance at FLIR Systems Bill Klink, "In cooperation with PureTech Systems, we've created a force multiplier for our customers, allowing hands-free control of our cameras during an intrusion event." Larry Young, Vice President of Business Development at PureTech added, "Our role in the security market is to not only enable cameras to detect intrusions with high accuracy and low false alarm rates, but also to help make the life of the security personnel a little easier. Allowing the camera to automatically follow a target without operator interaction allows first responders to react in a more efficient and timely manner."

Source: Security Info Watch - FLIR thermal cameras enabled with PureTech's PTZ follow capability

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New PTZ Dome Camera Line from Siqura

Siqura B.V. just recently announced the release of an advanced PTZ dome camera line that is capable of withstanding some of the harshest environments.

Thanks to pressurized dome housings, the new camera line ensures airtight protection against excessive moisture, dirt and even pollution. This type of protection makes this camera line perfect for situations like seaports and highway tunnels, areas where corrosive elements in the atmosphere can greatly affect the performance of a surveillance system and cause unnecessary risks to both safety and security.

These cameras have an IP67 Ingress Protection rating and the housing is constructed of materials designed to withstand intense levels of solar heat. In addition to that, pressurizing the house also prevents moisture, pollution and dust from damaging the camera and its internal components.

The Siqura pressurized PTZ dome camera series includes analog and IP options as well. These cameras make precision and expediency a priority thanks to their 400 degree per second preset positioning capabilities, 26x or 35x autofocus zoom lens and 12x digital zoom. Surveillance conditions can vary widely, even for just one camera. That is why these cameras also include day/night (IR-cut) filter and backlight compensations standard, both of which can be applied manually or automatically when lighting conditions call for it. The wide dynamic functionality also ensures excellent video quality, even in the most difficult situations.

In addition to that, each of these cameras is capable of quad-streaming and supporting dual H.264 streams as well as two highly configurable MPEG-2, MPEG-4 or MJPEG encoders. This makes it easy for these cameras to offer the best quality video while simultaneously streaming network performance. In addition to that, it facilitates a wide range of migration paths within IP networks.

Every Siqura IP camera is designed to comply with worldwide adopted standards and is tested with leading VMS vendors. This makes it possible to easily integrate these cameras with a plethora of third-party systems. These cameras also come with an easy-to-use, access-controlled, Web-based user interface that allows users to configure or view video streams from a computer or mobile device.

Source: SecurityInfoWatch.com - Siqura releases new PTZ dome camera line

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