Surveillance for Towns & Cities

Improving Public Safety in Cities with Surveillance Camera Systems

Ensuring public safety requires a great deal of effort from law enforcement, local authorities, and citizens that reside within community. However, with security camera systems, it’s easier for towns and cities to monitor the security of public spaces to safeguard citizens from threats to their well-being.

Featured Video: What IT Looks for in a City Surveillance Camera System

From day-to-day incident resolution to emergency response and disaster management, surveillance can prevent or mitigate incidents that would otherwise alter the perception of safety in any town or city. Sharpening crime protection measures should therefore be the focal point of governmental success. For many, this initiative begins with modern surveillance technology.

Jump to each section to learn more:

• Why Public Governments Need Video Security for Cities & Towns

• How is Surveillance Technology used in Towns & Cities?

• Must-Have Features for Public Surveillance Systems

• How Towns & Cities Benefit from Security Cameras

• How do Mayors & Public Government Officials use Surveillance Technology?

• How do Law Enforcement Officers & First Responders use Video Surveillance?

• How do Citizens & Visitors Benefit from Surveillance Technology?

• Final Takeaways about Surveillance for Towns & Cities

Why Local Governments Need Video Security for Cities & Towns

• Lower Citywide Crime Rates by Assisting Investigation and Prosecution: Rather than depend solely on witness testimonies, police equipped with public video surveillance base investigations on objective video evidence of incidents. With more contextual intelligence at the beginning of investigations, law enforcement resolves incidents far more seamlessly and quickly. City security cameras then reinforce prosecutorial arguments during trial. With more offenders are identified and charged with visual evidence captured by smart city surveillance systems, crime rates decrease and citizens are less likely to be burdened by repeating criminal misdemeanors. Therefore, citizens feel safer to explore and engage in the city.
• Provide Preventative Security Measures to Encourage Civic Participation: Installing municipal security camera systems enables law enforcement to preventatively monitor areas around community events and public gatherings, as well as such events themselves. With the enhanced, proactive approach to security laid out for the public, citizens feel more comfortable attending community events, and feel safer doing so. Through these and similar efforts, city officials develop greater cohesion among different neighborhoods and cultures within a city. For instance, by installing video surveillance citywide, the City of Parkersburg, West Virginia lowered crime substantially and—in doing so—revitalized city life.

How are Municipal Surveillance Camera Systems used in Towns & Cities?

• Better Visibility into Citywide Activities: City officials utilize security cameras and surveillance footage of public spaces to resolve liability claims, criminal reports, and other incidents. With increased awareness of video surveillance in public places, citizens can work with IT departments either directly or indirectly to obtain footage of incidents for streamlined resolution.
• Improve Community Spaces for Citizens: Installing a surveillance camera system citywide gives local authorities the opportunity to clean up public areas like parks, sidewalks, and areas in the community. These proactive protection efforts are pivotal to larger neighborhood development projects, which lead to further increases in community safety.
• Increased Business Presence: Areas of a given city that experience lower crime rates will appeal to businesses looking to leverage the increasing foot traffic. Even better, an increase in citywide business presence has positive implications for both economic health and employment rate.
• Assist in Incident Resolution: Rather than depend solely on witness testimonies, police equipped with public video surveillance footage are able to base investigations on objective video evidence of incidents. With more contextual intelligence at the beginning of investigations, law enforcement resolves incidents far more seamlessly and quickly. Surveillance footage then reinforces prosecutorial arguments during trial.
• Lower Crime Rate By Capturing Offenders & Criminals: With visual evidence captured by citywide surveillance systems, it’s more likely to identify and capture offenders before they commit repeat crimes. By decreasing the likelihood of recurring offenses, citizens are less likely to be burdened by preventable criminal behaviors. Therefore, citizens feel safer to explore and engage in the city.
• Monitor Public Gatherings & Activities: Installing municipal security camera systems enable law enforcement to effectively monitor areas around community events and public gatherings. With improved visibility of such activities and increased peace of mind, citizens are more likely to attend and participate in community events.

Must-Have Features for Public Safety Surveillance Systems

• Easy Remote Accessibility: Some city functions, such as concerts or demonstrations, are planned in advance and can be properly staffed with security teams—however, a majority of incidents that require immediate intervention are unforeseen. Therefore, the ability to easily access camera feeds remotely is pivotal to gathering the required context to respond to situations in real-time.
• Proactive Alerts & Notifications: A security camera system that proactively alerts city officials and law enforcement when unusual activity is detected is a highly powerful feature. When it comes to any emergency situation, shortening the amount of time between incident and response can make critical differences in outcome. With proactive notifications, enable local authorities to assess situations immediately and respond in real-time
• Scalable Setup and Deployment: Whether a municipality is a densely populated city or a sprawling town, setting up public surveillance for crime prevention and emergency management is no small feat. For this reason, it’s important to find public surveillance cameras that are intuitive and quick to set up and deploy. In fact, if camera set up is intuitive enough, coverage can be scaled by business owners in target municipal areas themselves.
• Multiple User Access: Most functioning cities are safe thanks to the collaboration of teams that make public safety a shared responsibility. Therefore, there are almost always a number of varying departments that require access to a city’s public surveillance system. With the ability to grant multiple users different levels of access to surveillance footage, give teams the resources they need to effectively maintain public safety without violating privacy.
• Audit Logs that Track System Activity: Documenting all activities that occur on the surveillance platform (i.e. time-stamped access logs, failed logins, camera downtime) simplifies surveillance management for any administrator responsible for maintaining system security and health. With automatic audit logs, simultaneously prioritize privacy, safety, and security.
• Reliable Performance in Remote Areas: Deploying cameras across a large area of public space can be a daunting task, as many areas are remote from central buildings that provide connectivity. Therefore, finding systems that operate reliably with limited bandwidth or LTE connections, is highly recommended.

How Towns & Cities Benefit from a Municipal Surveillance Camera System

Mayors & Public Government Officials

• Use video footage to understand and effectively address reoccurring threats in the community
• Develop safety strategies that encourage the confidence of citizens at public gatherings
• Partner with law enforcement in identifying blind spots in public areas

Law Enforcement & First Responders

• Detect suspicious public behaviors and respond in real-time and mitigate potential threats
• Use video footage to effectively capture criminals and repeat offenders
• Streamline visibility across the city without having to be physically present

Public Citizens and Visitors

• Feel safer attending city events and frequenting public parks and recreational areas
• Use footage as source of truth for incident and liability resolution
• Deter threats and be less susceptible to theft, crime, or vandalism

Final Takeaways: Using Municipal Surveillance Systems for Public Safety and Smart City Management

When it comes to installing public video surveillance, educating the public about the benefits of municipal surveillance is key. It’s essential to reinforce the idea that public surveillance is not meant to monitor civilian activity, rather it is a resource to effectively protect and respond to crisis and emergencies. By deploying cameras only in public spaces, improve public safety without violating the privacy of residential areas.