The world has watched dramatic CCTV footage of the attempted 21/7 bomb outrages in London. But evidential images as clear as these are proving to be an essential aid to detection and prosecution in all cases of public transport crime.
Trains, buses and even cabs now have technology that can act both as a deterrent and a detector of crime, vandalism and disorder.
Although passengers often have no choice but to travel by public transport, a lack of security is often cited as a reason to switch to private transport, and transport operators are aware that better security ultimately means more profit.
Although crimes against passengers are relatively rare, it has been estimate that eleven per cent more journeys would be made if passengers felt more secure not only on the journey, but on rail platforms and at bus stops.
Neither is it just the fear of personal assault. It is also the intimidation felt when witnessing anti-social behaviour or criminal damage.
A study carried out by the Department of Transport found that passengers’ perception of crime has as great an influence on their travel habits as actual experience – and it can stop ‘vulnerable’ people from travelling altogether.
- Men felt more fearful of the presence of groups of other men.
- Women were more concerned about the behaviour of lone men.
- Young people were most likely to be threatened or stared at in a threatening manner.
- Ethnic minority passengers felt exposed to racial harassment but were less likely to report incidents.
- Disabled passengers felt particularly vulnerable where access was limited or via poorly lit isolated routes.
People travelling by bus felt that locally monitored CCTV surveillance was the most reassuring form of security while train passengers were most re-assured by platform and on-board staff. All passengers wanted better lighting at stops and stations.
However both bus and train passengers are benefiting from on-board CCTV and mainline CCTV manufacturers and installers are finding this a growth area.
Two current national initiatives are helping to improve passenger safety:
The Secure Station Scheme is a national accreditation scheme that recognises rail stations that have reached a required standard of passenger and staff security and currently has more than 300 stations accredited.
‘Secure Routes’ are those where Improvements have been made to the physical and social environment transport interchanges, taxi ranks, CCTV, pedestrian and ‘walking facilities’ to help people feel more in control of their journey.
Passenger views
One authority working to develop secure transport and increased personal safety is Centro, the corporate name of the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive.
Centro’s transport user representatives have called for more staff presence, “friendly bus drivers” and a zero-tolerance approach leading to rapid prosecution.
There was a strong feeling that rail and Metro systems were too open. Fraudulent travel was linked to crime and ‘gateway checks’ by police seemed to result in detection of people wanted for robberies.
Graffiti should be removed and vandalism repaired quickly, said users. As those displaying anti-social behaviour often went to the back seats on the tops of buses, there was even a suggestion that these should be made more uncomfortable! In a public survey carried out by Centro, CCTV was one of the top “unprompted” suggestions from the public for improving public transport. The others were more frequent services, more supervision and cleaner and better lit facilities.
Says Centro “CCTV is popular with passenger representatives, operators and transport authorities and is seen as a proven deterrent by transport operators.”
CCTV feeds into the Wednesbury control room from all Metro stations and is linked to help points. Further developments will have enhanced recording facilities to help with prosecutions.
There is a major programme to improve CCTV at approximately 25 stations across the West Midlands and transfer monitoring on a 24 hour basis to the Network Safety and Security Centre. CCTV is already provided on this basis for major bus stations.
“The Outer Circle Bus Showcase scheme will include a secure by design waiting environment incorporating up to 45 cameras at 27 key interchange locations also monitored by the Network safety and Security Centre”, says Centro.
To complement CCTV, PA systems will be installed at a number of locations. Also bus and train operators including Travel West Midlands and Central Trains have installed CCTV on buses and in carriages.
Adds Centro: “While CCTV may be popular, the more cameras installed the more screens that need monitoring and recording. And while it is a deterrent and does lead to prosecutions, it puts increasing pressures on the police to respond to incidents.”
Here are some of the latest applications at home and abroad and some of the latest equipment available in this field …
Good connection
Dedicated Micros has supplied rail operator Southern with the newest version of its NetVu Connected Digital Sprite 2 DVR as part of a networked CCTV upgrade which began two years ago
Using NetVu ObserVer video management software, operators will be able to monitor cameras from across the stations at a control room in Hove, East Sussex. To date, 40 DS2 devices have been installed, with more to come.
The project has been designed to deliver enhanced security for passengers and stations on the South West coast line, which stretches from Bognor Regis to Brighton.
This new solution supports both live monitoring and remote management of the recorded images. It should allow station managers and the British Transport Police to use the DVRs locally at the station and, if necessary, take evidence away on CD or DVD.
Said Tim Biddulph, a member of the Strategic Business Development Team at DM, who worked with Southern on the project:
“Southern’s existing IT infrastructure was utilised, so there was no need to lay expensive additional fibre. In operation, high detail images are stored locally to each station on the DS2s and then, through DM’s unique transcoding capability, optimised images are viewed on demand, over ADSL and WAN at an efficient frame rate for live monitoring and also later review at Southern’s Hove control room.”
Video Motion Detection helps to narrow down searches for specific events and operators are able to apply a user-friendly graphical user interface at four viewing stations to view images also displayed on large 42 inch plasma screens and manage live video and play back.
Embedded maps help operators to manage incidents through site plans for each station and they can use the public address system to communicate with people at the station and warn offenders that they are being monitored.
Mike Blaquiere, Senior Project Manager at Southern said they were keen to move away from the limitations of their previous CCTV solution: “The impetus for change was that the control system we were using to manage our CCTV was simply not delivering what was needed to manage the stations the way we wanted to.”
Operators at the control room can use the PA system to single out any offenders and Blaquiere says the project, which groups 20 Southern stations together, has already changed public behaviour.
Trains speed up
IndigoVision is providing the technology behind a new train dispatch system that improves passenger safety and speeds up operations for the Berlin S-Bahn. The S-Bahn transports 1.3 million passengers a day across a network consisting of 16 lines and 165 stations.
This innovative IP video system allows the driver to safely manage train dispatch via a display in the cab – the first installation of its type anywhere in the world for an urban rail system.
A pilot system using 24 cameras across six stations, was successfully completed over a six month period. The next stage is to install a further 88 cameras on an additional 22 stations.
Berlin S-Bahn hopes to deploy the system across its entire network of 165 stations and stopping points. The system is part of an IP-communication and passenger information system installed by Alcatel-Lucent.
Future expansion could mean more than 2,000 cameras monitoring 330 platforms across the entire network.
In a typical station four fixed CCTV cameras are placed on each side of the track to monitor the platform and train doors. The cameras are connected to a quad-split unit to produce a single 4-way video image which is connected to an IndigoVision 8000 transmitter unit.
The 8000 converts the analogue signal into a digital video stream for transmission over the IP network. The video is also transmitted using a wireless LAN to a display in the train cab where the driver can ensure doors are closed before departure.
Video and alarm management software is used by operators in control rooms at the larger stations, to monitor the platform images. The video streams are transmitted to allow any system workstation to view live and recorded video from any of the platform cameras at any station or stopping point on the rail network.
IndigoVision’s ‘Control Center’ software allows the installation of as many operator workstations as required for no more than the cost of a PC. This will have a major impact on reducing costs as the system expands, says the company. Built-in motion analytics in the IndigoVision 8000 transmitters triggers an alarm when a train arrives at the station.
Video recording is via IndigoVision’s PC-based Window’s Network Video Recorders.
For buses and taxis
A mobile digital video recorder targeted at smaller bus operators, public service vehicles and taxis has been launched by AD Network Video – part of the AD Group.
Compact, lightweight and ruggedised with aerospace grade anti-vibration mounts, TransVu Express is also suitable for covert and mobile surveillance and rapid deployment on building sites. Very low power consumption is said to make the system ideal for fast set-up in isolated areas where there is no mains supply and TransVu Express can run off batteries via solar power. It is said to be easy to install, the small size making it readily mounted under a seat of a bus or even in the boot of a car. A single connector allows easy fitment and removal.
AD says it has many features commonly only found on larger, more expensive, units such as the ability to automatically download footage and system status on request via wireless communications technologies, and can be accessed remotely via cellular networks.
Intelligent power management based on ignition and supply voltage sensors means that the unit will carry on recording for a predefined period after the vehicle’s engine has been switched off. Certain models can also provide local monitor output.
Images can be stored on a fixed or removable hard drive in transport applications. TransVu is built on AD Group NetVu Connected technology.
Cars abandoned!
Authorities in Mexico City are encouraging commuters to abandon their cars and use a new rapid transit bus system in an attempt to improve air quality and improve commuters’ carbon footprint.
The 25-mile network features dedicated lanes, articulated or ‘bendy’ vehicles and pre-paid smart cards of the kind used on London Transport and the New York subway.
One-third inch colour DSP cameras from California-based Rainbow (www.rainbowcctv.com) have been installed throughout the new bus stations, with the images contributing to passenger safety as well as informing drivers of user numbers and traffic conditions. The camera, which can operate at 0.3 lux at F1.2, has backlight compensation with centre zone detection, making them suited to the kind of transport application described here where space is at a premium.
Buses run through Insurgents’ Avenue which, at 18 miles, is the largest urban avenue in the world. The initiative has already improved air quality throughout the city.
Cabling costs cut
Canadian company, Visual Defence Inc has launched an IP mobile digital video solution that records in real time, allowing for rapid video downloads.
IP DVSSm can also isolate key portions of video so they can be encrypted or viewed and stored for investigative purposes.
Visual Defence says it has integrated its IP Mobile Digital Video Storage Solution with its Virtual Matrix System software to create the centrally managed system.
It is said to be durable and easy-to-use and with decreased cabling costs when compared to traditional stand-alone digital video recorders.
Video recorded on vehicles can be downloaded by removing the hard drive, with a direct Ethernet connection or remotely over IP networks such as WiFi. Once downloaded into the central system, the video can be encrypted, or viewed and stored for investigative purposes. The source of downloaded video is recognised, including the specific camera number of a particular vehicle, making it easy to manage a vast amount of video, says the company.
The front-locking panel is resistant to extreme vibration experienced on trains and buses. DVSSm is also available in an analogue version. Information: www.visualdefence.com
Mobile partnership
DResearch, the Berlin-based mobile CCTV specialist, has signed a partnership agreement with DB Kommunikationstechnik, a subsidiary of the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn.
Both companies plan to expand their cooperation into the field of mobile CCTV.
DResearch will supply tailor-made customized solutions for mobile video surveillance, while the DB subsidiary will take over their installation and maintenance. DB gains the opportunity to use its installation and maintenance skills everywhere that DResearch’s TeleObserver technology is already in service. In return, DResearch gets DB’s support in winning new customers.
The company has faith in the future of mobile surveillance. “In times when transport systems are under increasing threat, mobile video surveillance will become more important”, explains Michael Weber, MD of DResearch.
DResearch has launched two mobile video surveillance developments for transport monitoring: a high performance, easily installed, hybrid recorder for use with analogue and network cameras, and a VPN server solution for the secure transmission of video and audio from buses and trains via IP.Information:www.dresearch.de
Mickey on board
Metal Mickey from Forward Vision is increasingly being used in mobile security systems, says the company.
The MIC1 PTZ camera has been used in a major project for Hong Kong Transport Department when live video was transmitted via a 3.5G wireless network back to transport headquarters where it was processed by video analytics. Newly launched is the MIC1-440, an explosion protected model.Information: www.fvcctv.co.uk