Wireless IP Pole Cameras

[Spectre]

I have been put in charge of researching pole cameras for my station. Was hoping to some of you could help by posting what products your departments are using and what you like or don't like about them. I want to try to find something that has good range through wifi or perhaps cellular with the ability to view remotely from any computer or smartphone.

The purpose of them is to put up throughout the city in certain high crime areas.

[OneAdam12]

I have been put in charge of researching pole cameras for my station. Was hoping to some of you could help by posting what products your departments are using and what you like or don't like about them. I want to try to find something that has good range through wifi or perhaps cellular with the ability to view remotely from any computer or smartphone.

The purpose of them is to put up throughout the city in certain high crime areas.

I do recommend that you consult security experts that do this for a living.
PM sent

[izamsilas]

If you work with tech, definitely join NATIA (natia.org)...they can also provide lots of info with regards to IP cams, etc

[jannino]

Also try posting this in the General LE section.

[ChiTownDet]

If they are not very high resolution and manned 24/7, where the operator controles what the camera is looking at, they aren't worth a crap. Our city has hundreds of them and they don't help solve crimes, push the "crimes" around the corner out of the sight of the camera, and cost a bunch of money. They are only a "feel good" solution to the public, a way for a PD to justify not keeping it's manpower up to par, and worthless in my opinion.

If they were nothing more than PR, why are they marked and lit up like Griswald's Christmas Tree to let the bad guys know where they are?

[Jenny1212]

Does NATIA (natia.org) provide training in this regards.

[Drummadude12]

@ChiTownDet,
You reminded me of my last visit to Chicago to see family. In a bad thunderstorm, I saw blue lights flashing on cameras mounted above the street. Indianapolis has them too, and I find the lights to be an eyesore.

I monitor security cameras for a big suburban high school and the worst ones do not move or zoom or are grainy and blurry. I do have a few that I can control, as do the city dispatchers.

To the OP, your real first step should be contacting a company that does this sort of stuff. You will buy from them and also get the cameras installed. Then you can get a good quote for your agency.

To answer your question, I am looking at the entire list of 173 cameras I monitor. They range from ACTi, AXIS VAPIX, Panasonic, Arecont Vision, and Sony.

For some reason, the controllable cameras do not have the manufacturer name in the config screen. I think they are IP analog Panasonic cameras, and they are 2CIF resolution (704x240). I don't know the prices.

P.S. A great feature is that dispatch and patrol officers can access these cameras from their MDC's. Talk about some great planning for a major incident - officers can survey the school from their cars before entering.

[NOLA19]

We currently use a company named MMR, they are based in Baton Rouge, La. We have 23 IP cameras and use the Milestone software to view cameras. I have a dedicated server to archive video. The most important thing is to stay vigilant in the maintenance of the system. If a camera goes out or line of sight is lost between radios, have it fixed or moved to a new location. If you don't stay on top of it, believe me the system can get out of hand quickly.

[RR_Security]

Not "pole cameras" as such, but how about the Tripwire Systems cams like San Jacinto had/has? I realize those are motion-detecting rather than constant monitoring, but they're pretty concealable. In an area where no one should be during certain hours, I think those are kinda cool.

I was pretty impressed with this "pinch" in Hemet several years ago:
<http://www.tripwiresystems.com/examp...der%20case.pdf>

[SloMoHolic]

To Spectre: I'll mostly stay out of the debate on the efficiency of cameras in reducing crime or garnering public approval, but I wanted to recommend an option that may help in your research. The Austin PD and Denver PD both use a camera system named HALO. I have no firsthand knowledge of the Denver operation, but I can say that in Austin, officers do staff the HALO monitoring room 24/7, as part of the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC). These cameras have excellent resolution, and offer full joystick control over pan, tilt, and zoom (often called PTZ), all of which can be combined into an automated scanning routine. They are currently only in a few high-activity areas in the city, but I believe they will be expanded soon.

From an IT Support standpoint, I can say that the HALO system has been extremely easy to maintain. We rarely get calls about problems with the system, much to my surprise. Initial set up took some time, but was done professionally, and seems to be holding up well.

I agree with NOLA19 - Plan well and stay current on the maintenance, or it can quickly get out of hand. We use virtualized servers to store HALO video, and locally use 10+ workstations, 14 LCDs, 5 large TVs, and a custom-built room for operations. We encourage our HALO/RTCC unit to report even the slightest equipment problems so we can fix them fast.

All I can say on the political side is that a media search of either the Austin or Denver program will reveal that there may be just as many civilian opponents as proponents of the concept. There is also a research study on the effectiveness of the Denver program that may be of interest to you; Do a web search for "halo cameras papazian" to find the PDF. Lastly, it should be noted that there are Google maps available that detail the precise location of all cameras in both Denver and Austin. Personally, I don't think that the camera maps influence many of the crimes that the cameras are intended to catch or prevent.

I hope this helps.