The Las Vegas Sun recently reported that the mass transit video surveillance system installed on the double-decker bus that was the scene of a shooting last week provided municipal officials and first responders with no capability to view it remotely as the situation was unfolding.
This made the situation difficult for responding members of law enforcement, as the windows of the bus were covered with one-way micro-perforated wraps. Designed to allow for advertising to be emblazoned on the glass (essentially making the bus a rolling billboard), micro-perforated wraps allow persons inside the bus to see out, but prevent those outside from being able to see in.
In critical incidents like this, the ability for police supervisors to remotely access a live feed from the video surveillance system on a bus or other mass transit vehicle is invaluable with regard to planning. Regrettably, according to a March 2016 article published by industry trade journal Mass Transit, only 27% of mass transit video surveillance systems allow real-time viewing of cameras located in rolling stock. Such was the case with the recent incident in Las Vegas. Because the security camera system installed on the bus had no remote view capability, tactical officers were left blind with regard to what they might face upon making entry to the vehicle.
In today’s day and age, whether we are considering security cameras for buses, light rail or ferries, the capacity to generate a live video and audio feed immediately from any camera in the system should be a hard requirement in the RFP for any mass transit video surveillance system.
Projects like this are well within the capabilities of Integramax. Using high-end solutions like German-made Mobotix cameras and fast 4G wireless connectivity, Integramax-designed mass transit video surveillance systems can give your public safety decision makers highly-detailed situational awareness when lives are on the line and seconds count.
Based in Westchester County, NY, Integramax specializes in high definition video surveillance systems for enterprise-level clients. Our principals are all experienced enforcement officers with graduate degrees in a wide variety of field including computer information systems, law and even medicine.
Whether the system you manage consists of buses, rail or a combination of both, a security camera system with the ability to view events in real time will provide the information you need to make decisions during critical incidents. If you are interested in learning more about what our company has to offer with regard to mass transit video surveillance, please do not hesitate to reach out for us. Your point of contact will always be an experienced active or retired police detective or supervisor, never a salesman.