Sep 11, 2014

Just a few years ago, the thought of a city-wide public safety surveillance system was a foreign concept to many authorities. Recently, however, the idea has caught on and a number of municipalities have installed wireless cameras on mesh network infrastructures, including officials in Denver. Since 2008, the city has leveraged Firetide‘s wireless infrastructure mesh to establish its HALO – High Activity Location Observation – system for public safety.

MuniWireless reported that the HALO system was first put in motion six years ago in preparation for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. At first, the system was comprised of 50 wireless cameras connected through the Firetide mesh infrastructure, but HALO has grown since then.

A successful operation

A mere two years after installing the wireless surveillance system, the city saw a considerable decrease in crime particularly in areas where levels had been high previously. According to The Denver Post, by 2010, HALO had expanded to include 80 wireless cameras overall. The images collected over the first 18 months of the program were very beneficial for law enforcement, and helped officers make approximately 80 arrests connected with 300 separate crimes.

The success of HALO was felt throughout the city, particularly in the retail sectors. Thanks to the safety benefits brought by the surveillance system, private businesses elected to provide a financial boost for the technology. One such group is the Colfax Business Improvement District, which donated $250,000 for the purchase and deployment of an additional 12 cameras in Denver’s East Colfax Avenue. In addition, Target Corporation gave $100,000 for the installation of new wireless cameras at several schools in the area. The financial support from these organizations allowed authorities to add 33 cameras during that summer, bringing the total count of the HALO system to just over 110 cameras.

A range of benefits

For law enforcement, the wireless surveillance system is considered a “force multiplier,” Denver’s deputy safety manager Mel Thompson told The Denver Post.

“We would like to put a cop at every corner,” said Lt. Ernie Martinez, who runs HALO. “But in reality, who can put a cop on every corner? What we can do is use technology to leverage our assets and help out our officers.”

Besides assisting in making arrests, the camera system can also be helpful in other law enforcement pursuits, Martinez noted. The technology’s high resolution capabilities allow officers to zoom in and see a small item – like a license plate – from more than a block away. In the case of an emergency, for example, the system could be leveraged to coordinate evacuation routes and medical attention, MuniWireless noted.

Besides boosting the capabilities of law enforcement, the use of Firetide‘s wireless mesh infrastructure technology also enabled the city to save considerable costs. Using wireless as opposed to installing and running the system via fiber saved the city up to 90 percent on its infrastructure costs, MuniWireless noted. In addition, officials noted that even with the public support and grants, the system paid for itself within the first 18 months due to the decrease in criminal activity.