Public security - Round table discussions

Cities are increasingly connected using information and communication technologies, a trend often referred to as “smart cities.” In much the same way, “safe cities” initiatives are uniting businesses, city officials, law enforcement and other stakeholders in an effort to maximise the safety of businesses and citizens and to minimise theft and crime. Safe cities programmes seek to leverage a variety of resources, including public-private partnerships, to make urban communi...

Will 2016 see faster adoption of video analytics? Will cyber-security have more impact on physical security? Is the market likely to see greater use of cloud-based products and services? Will technology help to drive greater involvement by everyday citizens in public safety initiatives? Could the market focus shift from selling products to selling solutions?  We asked this week’s SourceSecurity.com Expert Panel to look ahead to 2016, and these were some of the surprises they see in o...

College campuses often operate like small communities – or even like large communities depending on enrolment. Although each college and university campus is unique, there are commonalities such as a young and vulnerable population of students, many living away from their parents for the first time. Campuses can be urban or rural, geographically dispersed or densely populated, with a variety of demographics and “wild card” elements such as partying, drugs and alcohol. Campus po...

An eruption of violence at a church in Charleston, S.C., this June has increased awareness of the potential for such incidents at our houses of worship. On June 17 at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in downtown Charleston, a 21-year-old attacker wielding a Glock 41 .45-caliber handgun took the lives of nine people. But it was far from the first security breach at a house of worship. In fact, since 1999, more than 500 people have died a violent death on church or faith-based prop...

Video surveillance, or CCTV, is becoming increasingly common in cities and other public places all over the world. The benefits of video surveillance cameras to prevent crime and aid police investigations have been well documented, and there have been several high-profile cases in which video was instrumental in solving a crime. Still, whenever video surveillance is proposed in a public place, there can be opposition, based on privacy concerns, from various interest groups and the general public...