Potential Value of Security Cameras Highlighted in Florida Investigation

The use of security cameras in public areas by the government, whether it be local or national, is a hot button topic for a lot of people and a great debate in our country. A lot of people think that these types of cameras will deter crime and even catch criminals after they have committed a crime. Others still fear the whole "Big Brother is always watching" privacy issue. What do you think?

Well, despite your feelings on the issue, police that are investigating the murder of two British tourists at a public housing complex in Florida are utilizing evidence found on a single government surveillance camera that was installed on a nearby roof a month prior.

However, the detective's ability to piece together the moments leading up to the shootings is not as good as it could have been due to the fact that the installation of nine other security cameras was delayed by government bureaucracy. The Sarasota Housing Authority planned on stationing several dozen cameras around the The Courts as well as the other housing developments at the end of 2010.

However, instead of cameras there are empty poles where the cameras would have been positioned throughout The Court, including several between the site of the killings and the home where the 16-year-old charged with the killings lives with his mother.

Police have stated that even if the cameras did not catch the actual shootings of James Cooper, 25, and James Kouzaris, 24, they might have offered clues to how the two arrived at The Courts or could have helped identify anybody walking nearby at the time of the shooting.

According to Sarasota Police Captain Paul Sutton, "Even if it's not the suspect, even if it's not the victim, that may give you people who need to talk, who are potential witnesses to the crime."

Source: Security Info Watch - Florida killings highlight cameras' potential worth

The Security Camera Blog



Get a regular infusion of new security camera technology information, video and news. Easy to subscribe in a reader or by email.

We help you stay in touch with the latest security camera features.

Six New PTZ Cameras Released by Sony

Sony Electronics has just recently announced the new EP and ER series of network cameras. These new cameras are PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) and rapid dome models each feature three different units that cater to diverse customer needs. Each of these new cameras is also compatible with full HD 1080p output, HD 720p output or standard definition output and the six new network cameras also represent the most comprehensive lineup of full featured, wide-area surveillance units in Sony's HD security camera series. All of these cameras are rich with features and are integral for high-definition, wide-area video surveillance. These cameras can serve a multitude of services and are recommended for peripheral surveillance for large buildings, factories and parking lots. They are also good for monitoring roads, highways and transportation hubs. They are also good for public utilities like power and water purification plants or for surveillance on city streets. According to Marketing Manager for Sony Electronics Security Solutions Division Miguel Lazatin, "High definition PTZ cameras fill an important niche in most vertical solutions we offer customers. They provide the video coverage on the perimeter and peripheral locations in most security solutions from Sony." These new high speed cameras are capable of full PTZ functions of up to 360-degrees per second and can also utilize Sony's DynaView technology in order to facilitate wide-dynamic range, even in backlit environments. Both the EP and ER series of network cameras also receive power via Ethernet (POE) which makes installation simple and increases the flexibility of where the cameras can be mounted. These full HD cameras, utilizing an optical block developed by Sony, feature a high magnification zoom functionality. The SNC-EP580 and SNC-ER580 models feature 20x optical zoom while the SNC-EP550 and SNC-ER550 feature 28x optical zoom with a minimum rotation radius of 340-degrees. Some models even feature endless (360-degree) rotation for the widest area surveillance possible. Other special features include:

• Built-in IR-cut filter - Day and Night functionality


• Built-in camera obstacle detection for function


• DEPA compatible


• Built-in SD memory card slot enables recording of video or images on local storage

Source: Security Info Watch - Sony releases six new PTZ network surveillance cameras

Security Camera Solutions

Security Cameras Catch Surprising UPS Deliveries

Whenever I hear about delivery men throwing or abusing packages, I immediately think of the opening scene in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective where Jim Carrey throws, kicks, punts and does anything else you could imagine to a package he is delivering. I used to think that this was a gross exaggeration of how people think companies like UPS and FedEx handle our mail. I was wrong.

A man in California knew that he would not be home on the day he was expected to receive a package from UPS. So, in order to ensure that he got his package that day, he left a note for the driver saying that he should leave the package on his neighbor's porch instead. What the man did not expect was the the UPS driver's definition of deliver meant hurling the package over the customer's fence onto the neighbor's porch ten to twelve feet away, something no customer ever wants to happen to their package.

"I, I couldn't believe it. I mean I was just dumbfounded," says the homeowner who posted video surveillance of the footage on YouTube that he recorded from his home security camera system. Once the video hit YouTube it gained the attention of a CBS affiliate in Sacramento.

The supervisor of the local UPS hub, who was obviously contacted about the incident, played down the video trying to convince the homeowner that the driver "tossed" the package onto the neighbor's porch. Obviously that didn't fly with the homeowner or the CBS affiliate so they contacted UPS headquarters. Their response? "Drivers know they are to handle each and every one of their 15.1 million packages delivered every day with care."

However, if you scour YouTube for no more than 5 seconds you can find thousands of videos from security cameras that show more than a few UPS drivers who think "handle with care" means "kick the crap out of it".

Source: The Consumerist - Don't UPS Drivers Realize Customers Have Security Cameras?

A Tech Travel Agent can get a laptop rental to you within 24 business hours in over 1000 cities worldwide. Call 800-736-8772 We have 3987 Installers, Technicians and Engineers stationed in nearly 1000 locations worldwide to serve you.

World's Largest Security Camera Network to Go Up in China

Want to know where the world's largest network of security cameras is? Well, pretty soon it will be in China. Yes, that's right, the country with the biggest population in the world will now have the biggest security camera network says a recent report from the Daily Mail.

According to the report, China will spend an estimated $4.18 billion on 500,000 security cameras in order to create the world's largest security camera network. This marks the largest "Big Brother" network of CCTV surveillance cameras in the entire world since the events of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S.

The city of Chongqing in China has been in charge of drawing up the plans for the network after an outbreak of religious groups began clashing in July of 2009. The cameras will be set up and installed in 2012 with the goals of reducing crime and enhancing rescue operations as well as emergency controls.

According to the Daily Mail, Police Chief of Chongqing Wang Zhijun said that the system would be the world's largest security network since the attacks on the United States in September of 2001. This camera system is poised to completely dwarf the current 40,000 camera system currently set up in China's Xinjiang region.

The entirety of the network will be managed by a single network that will allow authorities as well as emergency services in the area of over 30 million people to share the video feeds.

Authorities in China are increasingly enlisting technology for security reasons which was widely seen during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The government in China has expanded resources to police online activity and block anti-government postings as well as other politically sensitive material with a system known as the "Great Firewall of China".

Plans for the surveillance system surfaced after officials in the region announced plans to build 10 luxury inland river cruise ships large enough to accommodate landing pads for helicopters. So I guess when people say Big Brother is watching in China, they mean it literally.

Source: - Sify News - China to create world's largest security network with 500,000 cameras

Computers, Desktops, Laptops, Servers and the latest in Portable Tablet PCs are available from your computer rental company, Rentacomputer.com.

Talk to a Rentacomputer.com Tech Travel Agent Today!
Call Toll free 800-736-8772.

1,500 Cameras Watch Over the San Francisco International Airport

You know those paranoid people who are always spouting about how "big brother is always watching us?" Well, some of them may be right, at least if they live near the San Francisco International Airport. You see, from the moment you leave the freeway until the moment you board your plane you are being closely monitored by 1,500 video surveillance cameras which are a part of the SFO's new one-of-a-kind surveillance system.

The system is definitely interesting and leaves nothing unwatched. With the SFO's system, two groups of security analysts watch a wall of security monitors, the TSA (in-between pat-downs) watches the checkpoints and SFO security workers watch everything else. According to Kim Dickie, Assistant Deputy Airport Director at SFO, "We are focused overall so if we have an incident anywhere in the airport we really want to be able to have a view of that."

The interesting part is that there are only a handful of airports in the entire world that have a security setup like this. $20 million worth of security cameras are already in use and an additional $1.5 million more is being spent on the new SFO terminal opening in a few months. "We keep adding cameras every month and every day," said SFO security analyst Liam O'Byrne.

That is a lot of money on a security setup and it begs the perennial question of how closely are travelers being being watched? Let's just say that your process of driving into the airport, parking at the curb, going through security and walking to the gate is all monitored. The cameras pick up your every move. Believe it or not, even with 1,500 cameras there are still a few holes in the system. The TSA definitely wants you to know they are watching, but they do not want you to know where they are not.

There are at least 20 visible cameras on your drive through the airport, your walk through security and your trip through the terminal. However, it is also very clear that there are cameras along that route that are not visible since the SFO stated that there are more than 30 cameras that monitor that particular trek through the airport.

The cameras cannot watch every single person at every single moment they are in the airport, but what they can do is go through footage to see if a person who started a fight in the terminal got drunk at one of the airport bars earlier. If somebody accuses a security agent, or anybody for that matter, of stealing or of "inappropriate conduct", then reviewing the footage from the cameras can back up or refute that claim. Even the SFO employees know they are being watched. According to O'Byrne, "Thefts have gone drastically down because we can watch them and employees all know." One thing is for certain, the cameras are expected and security officials believe that they work.

Source: KTVU.com - New Camera System Keeps Watchful Eye Over SFO

Find out what is going on in the Tech Army World.



What are the Top 10 Money Making Missions?

What other companies have joined and what do they do?

How do I join the
Tech Army Organization ?

Use of Security Cameras More Prevalent in Small Towns

We all know that a lot of businesses use security cameras to protect their store, products etc... and you generally would assume that security camera systems are more prominent in big cities. Big cities are home to a lot more people, have more expensive stores, more stores in general and a wealthier customer base. However, if you assume that bigger cities have more security cameras you'd be wrong because, as it turns out, video surveillance is used more in small towns than big cities.

One such area is Saginaw, Michigan. Saginaw has a population of only 55,238 residents and installed 17 security cameras at a water park/skate park and plans on adding more by June in other parts of the city according to Mayor Greg Branch. "Crime for us is trending downward, but we still have a lot more crime than we want," he says. Adding more security cameras is also a lot cheaper than hiring more police officers. "Every city is facing budget pressures," he added. "We can't put more police on the street." A federal grant in the sum of $300,000 will pay for the new cameras.

Big cities like Chicago, New York and Washington have cameras installed in high crime areas, and a lot of businesses have them installed inside and outside their buildings. A security camera in Tucson caught footage of the shooting which killed six individuals and severely wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Dan Kobil, a constitutional law professor at Columbus, Ohio's Capital University Law School, says that the courts have ruled that people have no expectation of privacy in public settings. Kobil added that as technology becomes more precise and allows for the quality of images to improve, courts will likely revisit the issue. Kobil stated, "Although cameras are an important tool for law enforcement, I'm disturbed by it... as someone who values my privacy.

Other small towns that are hopping on the camera train include:

Lafayette, Indiana, with a population of 65,704, has around 15 cameras and is considering adding at least 30 more. According to Police Chief Don Roush, the cameras helped solve a 2008 homicide.

Williamsport, Pennsylvania has a population of 29,304 and is seeking bids for a security camera system. Gabriel Campana, Mayor of Williamsport, says that he wants them in the residential areas "where we've had challenges. My No. 1 concern is public safety.

Salisbury, Maryland, with a population of 28,327, has police which are advising downtown property owners who want cameras to get them. There is a lot of support in the area and cameras could be in place as early as this summer.

Vineland, New Jersey has a population of 59,198 and also 23 video surveillance cameras as well as 7 cameras used to identify the license plates of vehicles involved in crimes. These cameras were bought with a state grant in the amount of $200,000. Mayor Robert Romano says, "People had the perception that downtown wasn't safe, and perception becomes reality if you don't keep it in check. This makes people feel safer."

I feel like we will be seeing a lot more small cities installing security camera systems as the price of cameras drops and installation becomes easier. Add that with the fact that almost any city can get cameras through government grants and the possibilities are limitless.

Source: USA Today - Video surveillance used more by small towns

Find out what is going on in the Tech Army World.



What are the Top 10 Money Making Missions?

What other companies have joined and what do they do?

How do I join the
Tech Army Organization ?

Security Camera Catches Man Stealing Security Camera

I think one of the biggest things that makes being alive so great is irony. Irony, for me, not only makes you think but it also makes for some pretty hilarious stories. Especially in the case of a crime that took place in Bakersfield, California not too long ago.

Now there are some pretty dumb criminals out there, I mean really dumb. Just watch an episode of Cops or one of those World's Dumbest Criminals Caught on Tape and you will see exactly what I am talking about. You will see criminals walk in to rob a place with a mustache drawn on with a Sharpie or who will rob a place in the winter then walk home in the snow leaving footprints right to their doorstep.

But what is probably one of the dumbest and most ironic stories I have read recently comes from Bakersfield, California where a man was caught on a video surveillance camera stealing, surprisingly enough, a security camera. According to local authorities, a man removed the video surveillance camera from a medical office in the 500 block of West Columbus Street.

I guess he didn't think about taking the other cameras as well. Or maybe he didn't see them? Whatever the reason this man deserves a spot on one of those shows. However, this does bring up some very interesting questions. Like why did he only take the one camera? Why was that camera so important? And why in the hell didn't he disguise himself? Even if there was only the one camera the owners of the system would still have the footage recorded from the camera before it was removed. Some people are just really really dumb.

Police say that the man appears to be in his 20s with a dark complexion and a slight beard. Anyone with information regarding the identity of the man is urged to call Detective Scott Miller at 326-3552.

Source: Kero 23 ABC News

SMBnow.com is news of, for and by SMBs!
SMBnow.com... The Small & Medium Business Magazine!