Surveillance technology to expand in transportation and city centres

(12/12/2006)

Dr Ken Sutherland, corporate director for surveillance solutions at Telindus Surveillance Solutions (TSS) has predicted that in 2007 there will be two key areas of rapid growth in the surveillance technology market: transportation and city centres.

As a result of studies such as The Report on the Surveillance Society, produced by the Surveillance Studies Network for the Information Commissioner’s Office, 2006 saw CCTV propelled into the limelight as people expressed their concerns about Britain becoming a “surveillance society”. Amid fears that CCTV may infringe on personal privacy, the benefits of CCTV as a valuable tool in the fight against crime faded into the background. However, according to Dr Ken Sutherland, the increase in the use of surveillance worldwide, which was prompted by 9/11 in New York and 7/7 in London, will continue in 2007.

“Next year, we will see the amount of surveillance deployed on public transport escalate, not only for anti-terrorism purposes, but for the public’s peace of mind,” said Dr Ken Sutherland. “In recent years, terrorist attacks on both the tube and aeroplanes provoked a decline in the public’s confidence. In an attempt to regain the public’s trust and encourage them to continue using public transport, organisations are employing surveillance technology – the more visible the surveillance is, the safer the public feel.”

“Surveillance technology on transportation systems can also significantly improve the ‘uptime’ of services if an incident does occur,” continued Sutherland. “The quicker an airport, tube station, train station or bus service can be up and running following an event the better. The more effective the surveillance technology, the quicker the emergency services can decipher what, where and why an incident has occurred and they can respond accordingly”

Interest in city centre surveillance will also be mirrored globally as people become increasingly concerned with either deterring criminal activity or capturing it on camera so that the images can be used as evidence. Surveillance technology is progressing rapidly and the demand for a system that is as open and flexible as possible is increasing.

According to Sutherland, it is just a matter or time before transmitting video images to hand-held PDAs becomes more widespread and the sight of security forces across the UK carrying PDAs will become normality. With such innovative technology in place, police will be able to respond to events as they happen and the safety of citizens will be improved.

Related topics:  CCTV System   Remote Monitoring and Surveillance   Security market sectors 

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