Connectivity is king in both police stations and on the streets. High bandwidth, low latency wireless data connections are becoming more widely available, while more and more “smart devices” are connecting, recording, and reporting all manner of data to the cloud.
This is good news as police officers have a growing need for quick and reliable connectivity, especially in emergency situations. Moreover, live access to video data allows for intelligent monitoring of data streams to trigger rapid response to emerging situations. Even still, many still rely on legacy mobile video surveillance cameras (e.g., vehicle-mounted or body-worn) with low bandwidth connections, meaning their recordings are stored locally on their device and then moved to a shared storage after they return to the station. The inherent delay in gaining access to video evidence is also unfortunate as supervisors must be able to see live or recorded video as soon as possible.
Adding to the challenge is that the rise of network-attached devices and interconnection of disparate systems are overloading old 3G and 4G networks. This burden has prompted the telecommunications industry to prioritize 5G availability to the point where 3G networks are being shut down, leaving some older internet-attached devices obsolete.
Moving data along with 5G
5G is the fifth-generation communication standard for broadband cellular networks. While 4G is still active, it is planned for obsolescence since 5G delivers much faster data speeds with low latency and improved reliability. This improved bandwidth is promising for Internet of Things (IoT) and network-based security applications, and the enriched network capacity and availability will allow the boom in measuring, collecting, and analyzing data to come into its own.
The high-priority requirements for communication pathways for law enforcement and other first responders have led many governments to dedicate a portion of the 5G bandwidth for emergency usage. In addition, law enforcement often works with telecommunications providers to allocate extra bandwidth for public safety use to ensure a dependable communications path during regional incidents. Cell phone networks tend to get overloaded with traffic when emergencies occur, but dedicated bandwidth ensures that 5G dependent services will continue to operate as intended.
With 5G capabilities, centralized police operations centers can now manage the video and security data flowing from disparate remote locations over a strong internet connection. The boosted capacity of 5G also allows for data-heavy video to be connected wirelessly, thereby shining a light into the darkest corners of the city that had previously been difficult to access with video security surveillance.
Another obvious application of 5G connectivity for the first responders is in the vehicle and body-worn cameras that currently capture live video. While current systems load data to the system storage when they return at the end of the day, 5G enables cameras that can live stream data to a secure cloud-based data storage array. Moreover, the fast connection makes live streaming video and sensor data immediately available system-wide.
That all said, any amount of latency in the video—even a few seconds—can mean delays in mission-critical decisions by commanders. As such, fast bandwidth and minimal latency are a must-have in emerging technology. 5G devices help make this possible, but telecommunications companies are still building the network in many areas. Even still, many technology pundits predict significant advancements in the coming years.
Proactive policing with software support
Software-assisted monitoring of video streams from body-worn cameras can raise situational awareness and automate a rapid response to any incidents that trigger the monitoring system. This is also true in newer applications like autonomous drones and street vehicles, which can be sent into volatile situations to record the scene and provide situational awareness before putting officers and emergency responders in harm’s way.
Software for emerging applications can also trigger an autonomous response when pre-defined events occur. For example, if seismic sensors detect a possible earthquake, drones can automatically launch to survey the proximal area for damage. Similarly, if a vehicle moves onto a roadway in the wrong direction, traffic blocking bollards could deploy to prevent wrong-way vehicles from proceeding into a dangerous situation.
XProtect Video Push
No doubt, clear, reliable, secure footage is an asset in law enforcement. With this in mind, Milestone System’s XProtect® video management software (VMS) turns any smartphone into a surveillance point. Using the Video Push live streaming capabilities, it captures live video and audio data directly into the VMS, where it is then tagged and searchable within the platform. This enables authorized users to use their smartphone or tablet to push video from their device to XProtect, keeping others informed about a situation. The video is viewable live, and the platform stores footage for later investigation.
One can imagine how useful XProtect’s live streaming capabilities might be for capturing a detailed record for use by police commanders who need to make split-second decisions.
As the IoT era dawns, connected devices are capturing more data than the human mind can fathom. At the same time, reliable software platforms like XProtect are working behind the scenes to connect disparate security and operational systems to be more capable than they can be on their own. In addition, XProtect leverages partner technology to apply complex video and audio search algorithms, providing end-users with viable data and automated processes that will trigger an appropriate response to emerging situations.
Many police precincts are speeding to upgrade their systems to take advantage of these new technologies. While the infrastructure upgrade of hardware and software capabilities presents a challenge in some places, the payoffs deliver rapid response, officer safety, automation of standard processes, and improved real-time access to intelligence.
Questions? See XProtect in action by booking a 1:1 demo with a Milestone expert today.
