Red-light cameras yield: City of Chicago decides against expanding program, instead will relocate some of the devices to trouble spots
Red-light cameras have hit a red light in Chicago -- and it's all because of a shortage of green.
Chicago's worst budget crisis in modern history has put the brakes on plans to expand the city's Big Brother network of red-light cameras to more than 330 accident-prone intersections by 2012.
From Chicago Sun Times, October 26, 2009
Atlanta: Cameras may police city streets
Atlanta’s other reality show is taping today outside CNN Center, at Woodruff Park and in Midtown.
What you might call Real Pedestrians of Atlanta is a rather modest video surveillance: a few dozen cameras monitoring select locations in the city every second. But the city has applied for millions in federal stimulus funds so it can train about 500 more cameras on city streets.
From Atlanta Journal Constitution, October 26, 2009
$44.1 billion Homeland Security bill passes Congress and heads to president
A $44.1 billion FY 2010 Homeland Security spending bill has now passed both houses of Congress.
The $44,137,241,000 authorized by the new legislation represents a decrease of $230,507,000 from the funds authorized in the 2009 legislation, according to a joint Committee of Conference estimate.
From Government Security News, October 23, 2009
Bosch tops in EMEA CCTV market
According to a new report from UK-based IMS Research, Bosch Security Systems leads in CCTV market share for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
The report states that Bosch holds a 3 percent advantage over its closest competitor in the EMEA region with a 9.1 percent market share in CCTV and video equipment. In addition, the company has a nearly 10 percent edge in the region’s video encoder market, holding a reported 19.4 percent market share.
From Security InfoWatch, October 23, 2009
Raytheon to be net systems integrator for Army’s Expeditionary Warrior experiment
Waltham, MA-based Raytheon Company reports that it has been selected as the network systems integrator for the Army’s Expeditionary Warrior experiment.
According to the company, this experiment will integrate more than 25 technologies from more than 20 different companies and government agencies to operate on a single integrated backbone network.
From Government Security News, October 22, 2009
Harris Poll Shows 96 Percent of Americans Support Uses of Video Surveillance to Counteract Terrorism
A recent Harris Poll survey indicates that 96 percent of U.S. citizens feel the federal government and law enforcement agencies should be able to use video surveillance in an effort to counteract terrorism and help protect U.S. citizens in specific public places.
From Reuters, October 22, 2009
LA Metrolink engineers union sues to block surveillance cameras in locomotives
The union representing Metrolink engineers today filed a federal lawsuit to halt the video-surveillance systems recently installed in all of the commuter rail line’s locomotives.
Metrolink installed cameras as a direct response to the deadly 2008 Metrolink crash in Chatsworththat killed 25 people and apparently involved an engineer who earlier had been text messaging on his cellphone.
From Los Angeles Times, October 20, 2009
Contra Costa County weighs video surveillance
Several communities of Contra Costa COunty, CA, have installed surveillance cameras to fight crime. But discussion is open on the efficiency of vieo surveillance for law enforcement
From Contra Costa Times, October 20, 2009
India: now, Nagpur station to be under hi-tech surveillance
Looking at growing security challenges that Nagpur railway station faces, the signalling & telecommunication department of the Nagpur
Division of Central Railway has drawn up a Rs 3.3 crore hi-tech digital video surveillance plan.
The new system, to be monitored round-the-clock by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, is expected to be in place in 12-15 months.
From Times of India, October 19, 2009
Satellite Communications Brings Critical Intelligence to Chicago Emergency Responders
The events of 9/11 and the 2005 hurricane season highlighted how quickly land-based communication networks can be overwhelmed during a disaster, either by physical damage to cell and radio towers or by a spike in mobile-phone traffic. Those events and others prompted the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) in 2006 to seek out a unified command system that provides 911 dispatch, communications, video and data transmission between a mobile command vehicle and the OEMC.
From Emergency Management, October 19, 2009
