A crime prevention video surveillance network deployed by New Zealand's Manukau City Council is proving to be an effective means of reversing urban blight.
Crime rates have been slashed, drug dealing and other illicit activities have been curtailed, and real estate values are staging a comeback in four commercial areas subject to video surveillance. Located on New Zealand's North Island within greater Auckland, Manukau is the country's third largest city with a population of 320,000.
The municipal council piloted the video surveillance system in 2001 when traditional means of policing didn't seem to be deterring unwanted activity. The pilot was so successful that the crime prevention network was expanded in 2003 and 2004.
March Networks Certified Solution Provider Swiftlink Ltd. supplied and installed the systems using a variety of March Networks DVRs. It also provides the council with 24/7 live monitoring services.
24/7 monitoring
Manukau's DVRs are installed in private businesses or city-owned facilities and are linked back to Swiftlink's control centre by a mixture of networks, including a wireless LAN, a wireless VPN and frame relay, DSL and fibre optic cable connections.
Pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras in public spaces are controlled remotely by Swiftlink control centre personnel or pre-programmed as part of a guard duty tour.
Swiftlink monitoring personnel alert the police or other community services staff when an incident, such as a theft or altercation, is observed, enabling them to respond to the event almost immediately. They also provide the council with a daily log of events through a Web-based event reporting system.
"We copy still images and attach them to the log," says Swiftlink managing director Warren Kitchin. "It could be picture of an individual, a graffiti tag, or something else of interest. From that, police and municipal officials can assess whether the visual evidence may be of use to them. If it is, they'll then make a request to view the entire clip."
Requested video clips are copied to a CD or DVD and viewed using the March Networks DVR Player, a free video playback utility.
"There are only a few police officers and municipal officials who have access to the video and there's a very strict process we have to go through to view it."
Reporting
Swiftlink monitoring personnel also use the event reporting system to quantify events for statistical purposes.
"It could be police visibility, incidents of drug or substance abuse, or the number of times we call out the fire brigade," says Kitchin. "We code everything and turn it into statistics so council and the police can determine if the environment is changing or improving. They can also identify trends and decide if some other action or services are required to address a situation."
In addition to reducing the incidence of theft, vandalism and disruptive behaviour, the system has helped to streamline prosecutions.
"Evidence from the CCTV system has significantly shortened court cases," notes Di Bella. "Instead of proceeding to a jury trial, which could take days and cost a considerable amount of money, an offender faced with video evidence will often plead guilty. That represents a huge saving in time and investigative resources."
Liability protection
Video evidence has also proven useful in settling insurance claims.
"In one incident, a person claimed his vehicle caught on fire, but we were able to use the archived video to prove that he had torched it himself," says Kitchin. "It was an unfortunate situation. He ended up in hospital, the vehicle was destroyed, and he had no insurance claim."
The March Networks systems help resolve incidents of physical violence as well, by revealing who threw the first punch or who wielded a knife, adds Di Bella.
The monitoring of public spaces by a third-party service like Swiftlink represents a departure from traditional practice in New Zealand, says Kitchin.
"The tradition here has been to set up cameras and connect them back to police stations, but that hasn't worked very well," he notes. "Consistent resourcing tends to be a problem and without live monitoring there's little value achieved."
Di Bella expects the city will expand the March Networks DVR systems to other locations in Manukau over time, but each candidate site is carefully considered to ensure that the municipality is getting value for the funds it invests. The city consults widely with merchants, community groups and police prior to any installation and then alerts the public to the planned monitoring through signage, leaflets and newspaper advertisements.
High quality
Swiftlink evaluated a number of DVR products in 2000, when Manukau first considered installing a CCTV system, recalls Kitchin.
"The March Networks product family has continued to grow and advance," he adds, "and now provides us with a wide range of solutions for our clients in a variety of market sectors."
According to Di Bella, Manukau's crime prevention network has been widely accepted by police, merchants and residents as an effective way to combat crime.
"Based on the number of calls I receive from other councils asking us about our experience, it appears that CCTV surveillance of public spaces will become more and more common in New Zealand," she says.