The department says as a result its incident response has improved and the percentage of investigations resulting in arrests and prosecutions has significantly increased.
Under the leadership of Police Chief Derek Kearns, Harrison PD has employed the COMPSTAT process to improve their policing operation.
COMPSTAT is a management approach that involves collecting, mapping and analysing crime data and other police performance measures on a regular basis. High-quality forensic surveillance video is a key element of this strategy.
Prior to this initiative, Harrison had a handful of poor quality cameras monitoring their urban centre, which did not include recording.
IP video investigation
In 2008 they looked into IP video, following the recommendation of the Hudson County’s Prosecutors’ Office who had used an IndigoVision solution to transform their surveillance and interview process.
With the help of IndigoVision partner Pinnacle Wireless, they tested the system by connecting an existing analogue dome camera to an IndigoVision video transmitter module and streaming the video onto their existing network.
Sergeant Ed Markowski of the Harrison Police Department said: “We were so impressed with the video quality and the capabilities that IP video offered, we kicked off a plan to deploy a city-wide system.
“We have now installed cameras in our interrogation room, the local library and around the city centre. The next 15 cameras will be fitted in the landmark Red Bull Arena.#
“Then we can really dive into the good stuff – we have barely scratched the surface with the system capabilities and are anxious to learn more.”
Monitor and analyse
Officers use Control Center, IndigoVision’s video management software, to monitor live video and analyse recordings, which are stored on IndigoVision’s standalone NVRs.
Harrison PD use Control Center in dispatch as well as on the desks of eight other remote officers and detectives, including the Chief of Police.
“We can now validate and authenticate video evidence from robberies, crimes and other incidents, which we could not do before,” Markowski said.
“The new surveillance system has given us additional ‘eyes’ on the street, expanding officers’ reach and helping us to improve our incident response.”
Pinnacle installed a combination of point-to-point and point-to-multipoint wireless systems to provide city-wide network coverage for the system.