Slashdot Mirror
Police Cars To Transmit Real-Time Video
Hugh Pickens writes "In the first such system deployed in the country, police vehicles in Ponca City, Oklahoma will have wireless video cameras installed so precinct dispatchers and supervisors can monitor activities during traffic stops in real time, and quickly deploy additional officers and resources if necessary. The system to provide an added level of monitoring and protection for its force is part of a broadband mesh network comprised of more than 490 wireless nodes and gateways connected to 120 miles of fiber backbone that will provide coverage for approximately 30 square miles of the city. The network will provide field communications for city services including police, fire and emergency, parks and recreation, public works and energy, but will also be used to provide free wireless internet access for all residents of the city. 'The testing of this network showed that it was robust enough to handle not only municipal traffic, but also citizens' traffic.' said Mayor Homer Nicholson. 'So the Ponca City Board of Commissioners voted to allow the extra internet access to be given to the citizens of Ponca City for free.' The second phase of the project will expand the network and wireless coverage to more than 430 square miles surrounding the city with an estimated annual cost savings of over $1 million for city residents, who can discontinue their existing internet service. 'Our goal is to be one of the most mobile communities in America, and this is a significant step in that direction,' said Nicholson."
I live south of Ponca City in Stillwater, OK. I can tell you that what ever mom and pop isp is in the area is probably gonna run the whole thing for them. There isn't a strong presence in the area by any large isps. It should also be noted that Ponca City is mostly Oil Refineries (Connaco / Philips ) and the area around there is sparsely populated. Were talking farmland and grazing grassland prairie. Most of the people around here do not have Internet access other than dial up. I pay a hefty fee to get 1 mb point to point 802.11 from a tower 3 miles away.
We substituted the coffee Slashdot normally drinks with "Sandoz Crystals", Lets see if they notice the difference
More details about the Ponca City's wireless mesh in the slideshow presentation here.
Motorola makes a product that streams video back from first responder vehicles over mesh networks that has been available for a couple years now. One of the customers is the LAPD.
http://www.motorola.com/business/US-EN/Mobile+Video+Sharing_US-EN.do?vgnextoid=c5dc23805ae46110VgnVCM1000008406b00aRCRD
---- Dave
In the UK everyone has access to any footage anyone records of them on CCTV, whether the person recording is a private company, or the government. It's not exactly one-sided.
Newport Beach, California has had video recorders on its police units since at least 1997, and it's great. It helps cops prove their cases, and has a huge effect on keeping officers out of abuse complaints, both real and false accusations.
The reality is, most police are actually in favor of this once they realize how it helps them do their job and keeps them out of trouble.
I've actually seen a case made by one of these tapes. I've sat in a DA's conference room watching as a DUI investigation a defense attorney claimed that his client was not drunk - until she fell over, ha ha. Boy did he change his tune quick.
But this does have a positive effect on officer behavior. Obviously, if you know you are being taped, you are going to be more careful doing your job.
One downside of live streaming: Not all of the people police encounter are criminals. There are crying victims, accident scenes, etc. I know if I were laying bleeding on the street and a cop was the first responder to my accident, I wouldn't want it broadcast as I cried like a baby. And what about rape victims? Yes, not likely to be encountered in a traffic stop, but surely there will be cases where victims of crime are broadcast for the world to see.
BTW, even for those departments that don't have video, many cops these days carry mobile audio recorders and they push "record" when they talk to suspects.
Slashdot "libertarians": Small government for me, big government for those I disagree with. -1, I disagree with you
Depending on where you live, I highly recommend going on a ride-along with your local Police Department. Some of the cities in Silicon Valley have Police Departments equipped with some amazing tech. From on the fly license plate scanning of all vehicles around you and bouncing those plates off the various alert lists, to their real-time map of all police, ambulance and fire trucks in the area that show them converging on accidents or violators. BTW, license plate scans are stored by time and gps location and can be used at a later time to locate people of interest... The car I was in also had video (pretty darn good quality) being recorded and accessable tby the PD "overseer" at any time. BTW, it gets even more interesting on their helicopters (didnt get to go but a friend works as a pilot for CHP). They got super high res, high end cams that automatically track people (touch screen - just touch the perps car and the camera and if necessary the spot light will stay on them), same deal as far as character recognizing the plates from way up high and storing time, gps, and pics of them for "other uses". Anectodally, the newest generation of plate recognition is completely nonplussed by the various covers or spray-on reflective crap - they get your info no matter what. Pretty cool stuff from tech point of view, and pretty creepy from the civil rights side.
I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.
In the UK everyone has access to any footage anyone records of them on CCTV, whether the person recording is a private company, or the government. It's not exactly one-sided.
You missed a few bits out:
1. They're not obliged to reply to your request immediately - and they're not obliged to pause their normal operations between the day your letter demanding information arrives and the day it's replied to.
So if it takes 30 days for your letter to hit the top of the pile and tapes are recycled after 28 days, there's nothing to give you.
2. There are plenty of examples of all the CCTV cameras in an area being mysteriously "out of service" in areas where something politically sensitive is going on.
3. The law is very badly enforced. I know of no widely publicised case where an organisation has been punished for not properly honouring a request for information - yet I can't believe this hasn't happened yet. Hell, it's happened to me.