Cameras in the UK
The UK police are considering mandating the quality of commercial CCTV cameras to ensure that the images meet their evidence standards.
Entries Tagged "cameras"
Page 18 of 21
Mennonites and Photo IDs
Mennonites are considering moving to a different state because they don’t want their photo taken for their drivers licenses. Many (all?) states had religious exemptions to the photo requirement, but now fewer do.
The most interesting paragraph to me is the last one, though:
And in Pennsylvania, Dr. Kraybill said, a law requiring photo identification to buy guns has prompted many Amish hunters to hire non-Amish neighbors to buy guns for them.
Sounds like the photo-ID requirement is backfiring in this case.
The Doghouse: Onboard Threat Detection System
It’s almost too absurd to even write about seriously—this plan to spot terrorists in airplane seats:
Cameras fitted to seat-backs will record every twitch, blink, facial expression or suspicious movement before sending the data to onboard software which will check it against individual passenger profiles.
[…]
They say that rapid eye movements, blinking excessively, licking lips or ways of stroking hair or ears are classic symptoms of somebody trying to conceal something.
A separate microphone will hear and record even whispered remarks. Islamic suicide bombers are known to whisper texts from the Koran in the moments before they explode bombs.
The software being developed by the scientists will be so sophisticated that it will be able to take account of nervous flyers or people with a natural twitch, helping to ensure there are no false alarms.
The only thing I can think of is that some company press release got turned into real news without a whole lot of thinking.
Cameras Protecting Other Cameras
There is a proposal in Scotland to protect automatic speed-trap cameras from vandals by monitoring them with other cameras.
Then, I suppose we need still other cameras to protect the camera-watching cameras.
I am reminded of a certain building corner in York. Centuries ago it was getting banged up by carts and whatnot, so the owners stuck a post in the ground a couple of feet away from the corner to protect it. Time passed, and the post itself became historically significant. So now there is another post a couple of feet away from the first one to protect it.
When will it end?
Sending Photos to 911 Operators
On Wednesday, Mayor Bloomberg announced that New York will be the first city with 911 call centers able to receive images and videos from cell phones and computers. If you witness a crime, you can not only call in—you can send in a picture or video as well.
This is a great idea that can make us all safer. Often the biggest problem a 911 operator has is getting enough good information from the caller. Sometimes the caller is emotionally distraught. Sometimes there’s confusion and background noise. Sometimes there’s a language barrier. Giving callers the opportunity to use all the communications tools at their disposal will help operators dispatch the right help faster.
Still Images and videos can also help identify and prosecute criminals. Memories are notoriously inaccurate. Photos aren’t perfect, but they provide a different sort of evidence—one that, with the right safeguards, can be used in court.
The worry is that New York will become a city of amateur sleuths and snitches, turning each other in to settle personal scores or because of cultural misunderstandings. But the 911 service has long avoided such hazards. Falsely reporting a crime is itself a serious crime, which discourages people from using 911 for anything other than a true emergency.
Since 1968, the 911 system has evolved smartly with the times. Calls are now automatically recorded. Callers are now automatically located by phone number or cell phone location.
Bloomberg’s plan is the next logical evolution—one that all of us should welcome. Smile, suspected criminals: you’re on candid camphone.
This essay appeared today in The New York Daily News.
Another blog comments.
Ubiquitous Surveillance
Nothing new in this article, but it’s nice to see it on the front page of The Washington Post.
Wholesale Surveillance
I had an op-ed published in the Arizona Star today:
Technology is fundamentally changing the nature of surveillance. Years ago, surveillance meant trench-coated detectives following people down streets. It was laborious and expensive and was used only when there was reasonable suspicion of a crime. Modern surveillance is the policeman with a license-plate scanner, or even a remote license-plate scanner mounted on a traffic light and a policeman sitting at a computer in the station.
It’s the same, but it’s completely different. It’s wholesale surveillance. And it disrupts the balance between the powers of the police and the rights of the people.
The news hook I used was this article, about the police testing a vehicle-mounted automatic license plate scanner. Unfortunately, I got the police department wrong. It’s the Arizona State Police, not the Tucson Police.
Surveillance Cameras Catch a Cold-Blooded Killer
I’m in the middle of writing a long essay on the psychology of security. One of the things I’m writing about is the “availability heuristic,” which basically says that the human brain tends to assess the frequency of a class of events based on how easy it is to bring an instance of that class to mind. It explains why people tend to be afraid of the risks that are discussed in the media, or why people are afraid to fly but not afraid to drive.
One of the effects of this heuristic is that people are more persuaded by a vivid example than they are by statistics. The latter might be more useful, but the former is easier to remember.
That’s the context in which I want you to think about this very gripping story about a cold-blooded killer caught by city-wide surveillance cameras.
Federal agents showed Peterman the recordings from that morning. One camera captured McDermott, 48, getting off the bus. A man wearing a light jacket and dark pants got off the same bus, and followed a few steps behind her.
Another camera caught them as they rounded the corner. McDermott didn’t seem to notice the man following her. Halfway down the block, the man suddenly raised his arm and shot her once in the back of the head.
“I’ve seen shootings incidents on video before,” Peterman said, “but the suddenness, and that he did it for no reason at all, was really scary.”
I can write essay after essay about the inefficacy of security cameras. I can talk about trade-offs, and the better ways to spend the money. I can cite statistics and experts and whatever I want. But—used correctly—stories like this one will do more to move public opinion than anything I can do.
Real-World Social Engineering Crime
Late on Monday, two thieves used a swipe card to drive a van up to Easynet’s Brick Lane headquarters. Once inside they began loading equipment into their van. They were watched by two security guards—one was doing his rounds and the other watched by CCTV—but both assumed the thieves, with their legitimate swipe cards also had a legitimate reason to take the kit, according to our sources.
EDITED TO ADD (11/25): Here’s another story (link in Turkish). The police receive an anonymous emergency call from someone claiming to have planted an explosive in the Haydarpasa Numune Hospital. They evaculate the hospital (100 patients plus doctors, staff, visitors, etc.) and search the place for two hours. They find nothing. When patients and visitors return, they realize that their valuables were stolen.
Sidebar photo of Bruce Schneier by Joe MacInnis.