Cloud-based Surveillance Platform to Foster Intelligence Sharing Between Shops and With Police

Intelligence-sharing platform Facewatch has partnered with surveillance start-up Cloudview to help businesses share incriminating CCTV footage with each other and the police.

The Facewatch platform will allow businesses to rapidly upload footage captured by any surveillance camera – analogue as well as IP-based – to the cloud via the Cloudview service. From there it can be shared with other Facewatch subscribers and the police – making it a useful tool for realising the ‘safe-cities‘ ideal of increased, more rapid cooperation between businesses and with emergency services.

Facewatch, which was founded by London wine bar owner Simon Gordon, is already used to share evidence of crime and antisocial behaviour by numerous police forces and thousands of shops, bars and restaurants across the UK.

Cloudview, meanwhile, provides secure cloud-based storage for surveillance camera operators without disrupting local recording and monitoring. A small Visual Network Adapter (VNA) connects cameras to the internet for remote video capture and management via the Cloudview service. Footage is encrypted and stored on secure servers where it can be viewed from smartphones, tablets and PCs – any device with a web browser and internet access.

At present Facewatch members often alert each other to shoplifting gangs, pickpockets, drunks and potential troublemakers via walkie-talkies. This latest innovation will give them the capacity to upload footage directly  into the Facewatch intelligence sharing and crime reporting system at the click of a button.

“Add Cloudview to a CCTV system and there’s no need to trawl through piles of DVDs or in some cases even VHS video tapes, for the right recordings,” says Cloudview founder and CEO James Wickes. “It’s all there in the cloud, immediately accessible from a smartphone or tablet, ready to share with other users via Facewatch.”

Cloudview can also be configured to send an email or SMS alert when motion or other sensors are triggered in unattended premises or areas.

“No technical skills are needed beyond being able to use a browser and the footage is held in a secure industry standard format in the cloud ready for instant transfer to Facewatch – and all at the touch of a button,” adds Wickes.

“What this new integration does is completely demystifies and smoothes that process – it’s a total automation of the process.

“If a retailer has a CCTV system then the addition of Facewatch and Cloudview really gives their system teeth. So it really is the missing link. We’re very excited about it.”

So how did the collaboration come about?

“Cloudview got its Secured by Design status from ACPO (Association of Police Officers) and as a result we spoke to quite a few police forces about Cloudview,” explains Wickes. “One of the messages that came back to us was very much that it would be great if you could integrate Cloudview into Facewatch.

Facewatch chairman Simon Gordon believes “the partnership with Cloudview will be of great benefit both to our users and to the police. Facewatch users will be able to use CCTV images to identify potential troublemakers and quickly share that information with others, and to the police who will no longer have to send officers on-site to collect vital video evidence.”

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