Carnivals are a thing of joy. As are festival gatherings and open air concerts. Though rare, it has sadly on occasion become a target for attacks with extremely devastating consequences. These days, given the London Bridge, Nice Promenade, and the Queen’s day tragedies anyone with a car and an unsafe mind can wreak havoc. One of the greatest threats to public safety is the targeting of large gatherings and crowds across a range of locations.
There is a range of surveillance tools available to law enforcement to improve safety. In some cases it’s possible to affix static cameras at key points, with the ability to zoom, scan and live stream. However, what if there are public workers who can monitor within the crowds with mobile surveillance solutions?
Mobile surveillance can go where the action is, rather than waiting for the action to be visible on fixed CCTV cameras.
Mobile surveillance can take many forms, whether it’s live streaming from bodycams, vans and cars, motorbikes and bikes – any form of mobility given to the police force.
If the quality of broadcasting is HD or 4K, then facial technology can be applied. This would enable officers to pick out terrorist suspects and flagged civilians from the crowd. Arrests can be confirmed with identity checks for additional safety.
Feedback from a drone fitted with GPS can be mapped with resources. This can sense check that the crowd control crew are optimally placed and public safety vehicles are optimally accessed.
Typically, the command centre remotely monitors crowds and public safety. The command centre will use a Video Management System that monitors the various live streams coming in from fixed CCTV cameras. It is imperative that the same VMS system can also be used for mobile cameras, to ensure ease of use. The mobile live streaming solutions should be ONVIF compliant, as this open standard ensures inter-operability between all the different manufacturers of cameras and VMS systems.
