Video Surveillance Guide

The Charleston City Council voted earlier this week to provide funds to and allow the city’s police department to install over $300,000 worth of video surveillance equipment by the end of the year.

The system will operate on an encrypted wireless network set up by the Aviro Group based in Maryland.

The police department and local watch groups have been building support for the cameras for some time, and paid special attention to protecting citizen’s privacy. “We made sure cameras won’t be pointed into people’s houses or back yards,” said Arthur Lawrence, president of a local neighborhood organization.

Eventually, live streams from the cameras could be available in police cruisers, helping officers react and respond appropriately to major disturbances – even terrorist attacks.

“I can tell you one thing for sure: The criminals would prefer that we didn’t have these cameras,” said the Mayor of Charleston.

Chip Smedley of LancasterOnline.com – the online wing of several Pennsylvanian publications – recently wrote a great piece about video surveillance law. Recently, the town of Lancaster installed cameras in public areas, which got locals talking about what is and what isn’t legal about video surveillance.

Smedley spoke with two experts – Clifford Fishman, a professor at The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law, former New York City assistant district attorney, and author of “Wiretapping and Eavesdropping.” The other expert, local attorney Len Brown, is a part time judge advocate in the U.S. Army Reserve, and works in the Joint Operations Center, which oversees military activity in and around Washington, D.C.

Smedley first asked the two what is considered public and private:

“The Supreme Court, Fishman says, has taken the general approach that what a person knowingly exposes to the public — even in his own home or office — is not constitutionally protected.

While out in public, he says, people have virtually no right to privacy of any kind from visual surveillance.

No federal law governs video surveillance by private citizens or organizations like the coalition, he and Brown say. And virtually no federal law — other than the Fourth Amendment — covers police video surveillance.”

There are many laws on the books regarding audiotaping, though there are very few concerning videotaping. Fisherman and Brown believe that the lack of laws is due to politics and strong opinions on each side.

“The large and powerful telecommunications industry wants to protect its customers, which motivates specific legislation against wiretapping or bugging,” says Fishman.

On the other hand, ” … the Justice Department likes the law the way it is, because it allows visual surveillance of public conduct.”

Both experts agree that individuals must follow the same guidelines regarding video surveillance in and around their homes. “If a person films a neighbor’s property, that’s not necessarily illegal. If that person points the camera toward the street curb, and it films people walking by, that’s fine, too,” says Fishman. However, if the camera operator continues to follow and film an individual, even after he’s asked to stop, that encounter could be considered harassment.

Even though cities have the law and the supreme court on their side, some organizations like the ACLU are fighting to have these video surveillance systems taken down. They claim the municipal video surveillance has not been proven effective, it’s susceptible to abuse, and there are very few limits and controls on public camera use.

Source: Lancaster Online

D-Link announced today it’s introducing two high-end IP-based network cameras that are designed for professional surveillance and security applications. The company says the new models, the DCS-3110 and DCS-6110, are powerful and versatile that can be used for local or remote monitoring applications.

The DCS-6110 is a Fixed Dome Network Camera, and is primarily designed for professional indoor surveillance.

The DCS-3110 is a Fixed Network Camera and features include Day & Night viewing, a 1.3 Megapixel Progressive Scan CMOS sensor, high power zoom and Power over Ethernet (PoE) support. The DCS-3110 also comes equipped with a built-in microphone and audio ports allowing 2-way audio communication when an external speaker is connected.

Both cameras include 802.3af Power over Ethernet (PoE) to receive both power and data over a single Ethernet cable, allowing the camera to be placed in locations without a power outlet. They also support simultaneous streaming of MPEG-4 and MJPEG video to provide both bandwidth efficient and high quality compression formats.

Key Features and Benefits
• Built-in 802.3af PoE support
• 4x Digital Zoom
• 3.7mm-12mm Varifocal Lens
• Real-time MPEG-4 and MJPEG compression
• Simultaneous dual-stream support
• 3GPP mobile surveillance
• Motion detection recording with e-mail alert
• Up to 30 frames per second
• Built-in Samba client
• Built-in microphone and speaker port (DCS-3110 only)
• 1.3 Mega pixel resolution (DCS-3110 only)
• CompactFlash slot (DCS-3110 only)

The two new cameras will run just under $1000 USD.

For those looking for simplicity in an indoor/outdoor surveillance system, the Lorex wireless surveillance security system (LW1020) may be a good option.

The Lorex LW1020 would be a great camera for the front or rear door (or both by adding an optional second camera for around $80). It’s wireless transmission allows for easy mounting, and the camera itself can pivot to adjust to the desired angle. The LW1020 camera can be hooked up to any A/C outlet, or can work off batteries for true wireless operation. The video signal is always wireless, though – and is sent to the receiver which can be connected to any A/V device or computer via USB port.

In addition to video, this Lorex camera has a built-in microphone to monitor sound in the area as well.

The kit includes: 1 x Wireless Receiver, 1 x Wireless Camera, 1 x USB Cable, 1 x 9V DC Power Adaptor (camera), 1 x 5V DC Power Adaptor (receiver), 1 x RCA Video Output Cable, 1 x Camera Battery Adapter Cable, and can be found for around $149 online.

The iPhone is becoming more and more popular, and their users are becoming more and more demanding. I should know – I’m one of them! There are several applications on my iPhone I use daily, such as apps for updating Twitter, Facebook, and even updating the website thanks to WordPress’s iPhone app. But now thanks to the crew at Lextech labs, business owners and homeowners can keep an eye on their security cameras from their iPhone.

The iPhone app is called “iRa C3 Mobile” and in order to use the free app, you must first purchase “iRa C3.” The Lextech team will put together a quote based on your security needs (we didn’t fill it out, as we’re currently not reviewing any compatible systems).

The iRa C3 Mobile app allows users to monitor an unlimited number of video feeds, and group them for easy viewing. Viewing can be set for multiple cameras at once, or one can go full screen with a single shot. Once on the single camera, iPhone users can drag and pinch areas to access the camera’s pan, tilt, and zoom features.

Currently, the following systems are compatible with the iRa C3 and iRa C3 Mobile:

• Axis 241Q/QA 4 port video server
• Axis 207 IP fixed camera
• Axis 212 PTZ
• Axis 213 PTZ
• Axis 215 PTZ dome
• Axis 216 PTZ
• Axis Video Encoders
• JVC VR-N900U & VR-N1600U Network Video Recorders
• Milestone XProtect Enterprise, Professional, or Basis+ Server
• Milestone Corporate
• OnSSI NetDVMS
• Quickset GeminEye IP enabled PTZ
• Lantronix UDS1100 serial to ethernet converter
• DV-41 Pelco-D PTZ Dome
• AirLink101 SkyIPCam250 (AIC250)
• Linksys WVC54GC

The townsfolk in Sarnia, Canada aren’t too pleased with a new surveillance video balloon patrolling over the international border at Port Huron, Michigan. To show their discontent, locals will be aiming their bare backsides at the million-dollar-camera during their “Moon the Balloon” protest scheduled for August 15th.

The surveillance balloon is owned by U.S. based Sierra Nevada Corporation and operated by another U.S. company, True North Logistics. The two companies are reportedly trying to catch the eye of U.S. Homeland security with their aerial surveillance technology, but the program is receiving privacy complains from across the border in Canada.

“There was absolutely no consultation with the local community and I am not aware if there has been at the national level about this particular initiative,” said Mike Bradley, the Mayor of Sarnia.

The U.S. border patrol has been contacted, but since the program is being conducted legally by a private firm, there is little the agency can do. In fact, the U.S. border patrol has their own plans to monitor the area – soon, $30 million will be spent in the area to build 11 towers equipped with high-tech cameras.

Around 200 people are expected to show up to the mass mooning protest – a protest that is expected to be as ineffective as it is ridiculous.

The California Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision that a Children’s Center’s use of video surveillance was not a breach in privacy for the workers, but did believe employees had a reasonable expectation of privacy.

The Hillsides Children’s Center, which provides care for children who have been abused or who have special needs, discovered via its computer monitoring system that someone had been accessing pornographic websites from one of the terminals late in the evening.

The Center, concerned for the welfare of the children, set up cameras on the office area, which some workers believed was an invasion of privacy, even though the cameras were only turned on in the evening. To be successful, the plaintiffs needed to prove:

1. The plaintiff must possess a legally protected privacy interest,
2. The plaintiff’s expectations of privacy must be reasonable, and
3. The plaintiff must show that the intrusion is so serious in nature, scope, and actual or potential impact as to constitute an egregious breach of social norms.

The court believed the plaintiffs did have a legally protected privacy interest, and also had a reasonable expectation of privacy. However, given the nature of the business and reasons for surveillance, could not conclude that a reasonable person would find the privacy intrusion to be offensive and an egregious breach of social norms.

The company believed it was OK to videotape employees, and thought their computer monitoring policy would have diminished the employee’s expectation of privacy, but the court believed that since the policy never mentioned video surveillance, they had a reasonable expectation not to be videotaped at work.

Case report .PDF

The courts decision in this case strengthened both employee privacy rights and employer rights, establishing that employees do have a reasonable expectation of privacy at work, but employers videotaping workers under certain situations without their explicit consent is acceptable.

GVI Security Solutions is based in the DFW metroplex and recently announced they have been selected to provide video surveillance technology to a pharmacy chain in the North East.

The video surveillance system is based on GVI Samsung high performance/low light color video cameras and DVRs with remote viewing capabilities.

“This end-user had been experiencing problems with night time break-ins that were going un-noticed by their previous video surveillance systems,” said Michael Capulli, GVI Senior Vice President Sales/North America. “They replaced their prior systems with our low light cameras and DVRs for reliable low light surveillance and easy remote monitoring. Problem solved.”

GVI Security Solutions, Inc. is a leading provider of video surveillance and security solutions, with sales and service in North, Central and South America. The company provides Samsung Electronics and GVI branded products, software and services to the homeland security and commercial markets. Their customers include governments, major retail chains, leading financial institutions and public and private school systems.

Axis Communications is an Indian company that produces surveillance and monitoring products and services – below is an article from infoworld.com that showcases where they shine.

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Kilgore College police chief Martin Pessink has announced that the college has upgraded its already state-of-the art video surveillance camera system in an effort to better protect students and employees.

The cameras record 24 hours a day and the police staff can monitor the live video feeds at any time. “The camera system we have in place now covers most areas of campus, whether it’s parking lots, common areas or inside buildings,” Pessink said. “The upgraded system will better protect our students and hopefully keep crime to a minimum.”

The CCTV cameras are also present in dormitory common areas, and resident assistants can also monitor those video feeds.

The former police chief started adding surveillance cameras in 2007, and states that in some areas crime has been reduced to zero since, “people knew they were being watched.”