Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Police Cars Get Wireless Video Link

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2004 16:44:40 -0400

Police Cars Get Wireless Video Link

A digital video camera system is going live in police cars in Tyler,
Texas. The live cameras are linked through a wireless network. The
system is designed to send images in real time from the police car back
to police headquarters.  Though various police forces use
dashboard-mounted video cameras, Tyler's system is the first to
broadcast the footage in real time. IBM is supplying the technology. The
system costs $6,000 to $7,000 per car for the basic package and $10,000
to $12,000 for higher end networks.
=================================================================================

 Police force enlists digital cams in cars
Last modified: April 20, 2004, 11:36 AM PDT
By Reuters

Drunk-and-disorderly calls and other police blotter entries are about to
go live and digital in Tyler, Texas, thanks to a new system that puts
digital video cameras on the city's police cars and links them through a
wireless network.
The east Texas city next month will start to install a digital video
system designed by IBM to beam TV images of any police action in real
time from the police department's 60 cruisers over a wireless network
back to headquarters, IBM executives and Tyler police said on Tuesday.

They said this will be the first digital video network for cruisers in a
U.S. police force. Numerous police forces currently use
dashboard-mounted video cameras that record police stops on tape.

The technology will grab and store video on a hard drive in the police
car, going back to retrieve data starting four minutes prior to the
officer's hitting "record" or flipping on the overhead pursuit lights.
This will help capture the probable cause for the police action, IBM and
Tyler police said.

The cars will eventually be linked through a wireless network so that
headquarters can see events unfold live. The computer record from the
police car will be downloaded each day and placed into computer storage.

Data from the car, such as readings on a radar gun, will be matched with
the digital video, along with information from the magnetic strip of a
driver's license that is swiped by police.

The system allows for quick retrieval of the video and data of a police
stop, which can be used as evidence in court or by a citizen charging
the police with unlawful conduct.

The system cost about $6,000 to $7,000 per vehicle for a basic package
and about $10,000 to $12,000 for a top-of-the-line network that also
offers a huge amount of storage for the computers back at police
headquarters.

IBM and Tyler police hope that it will save money over the long-run by
cutting down on the need for storing video tape and the manpower needed
to retrieve evidence from the tapes.

The resolution from the digital recordings is about twice as sharp as
the tapes from police stops seen on TV shows such as "Cops."

Tyler Police Chief Gary Swindle said the system costs about as much as
their current system of having each car equipped with a videotape
recorder and a computer.

"We don't have to manage tapes. That is one of our nightmares," Swindle
said.
IBM said about 14 other cities have expressed an interest in the system.

http://news.com.com/2100-1025-5195690.html

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