Video Surveillance

Video surveillance involves the act of observing a scene or scenes and looking for specific behaviors that are improper or that may indicate the emergence or existence of improper behavior.

Common uses of video surveillance include observing the public at the entry to sports events, public transportation (train platforms, airports, etc.), and around the perimeter of secure facilities, especially those that are directly bounded by community spaces.

The video surveillance process includes the identification of areas of concern and the identification of specific cameras or groups of cameras that may be able to view those areas. If it is possible to identify schedules when security trends have occurred or may be likely to occur, that is also helpful to the process. Then, by viewing the selected images at appropriate times, it is possible to determine if improper activity is occurring.

One such application is for train platforms. Following a series of reports of intimidating behavior at a particular train platform, the use of video cameras and intercoms was found to reduce the potential for such events as the perpetrators began to understand that their behavior could be recorded and used to identify them to police. Furthermore, the act of getting on a train did not deter the police who boarded at the next station and apprehended the criminals. Word got around and the behavior was reduced dramatically.