5. BY RYAN SINGEL | 3.14.03 Candid Camera Smile, the cops are watching While many Americans find themselves obsessed with watching reality TV, they increasingly-and unknowingly-may be caught on the government's hidden cameras. Police departments across the country are using or considering closed-circuit surveillance cameras to watch over public spaces-including at protests and rallies. Some cameras, like those that monitor the front doors of a court building, are not much more invasive than the cameras at ATMs and convenience stores. In Baltimore, for instance, a nonprofit group called Downtown Partnership controls 64 marked cameras that monitor select city blocks in an attempt to cut down on street crime. A spokesman for the group dismisses privacy concerns, saying the cameras aren't monitored, police only view footage after a crime is reported, and footage is deleted after seven days. Still, the group is looking to add cameras in a new entertainment district in the city. Other systems are far more ominous and have received much more attention, even when ineffective. Amid national controversy, Tampa, Florida, installed cameras and facial recognition software in June 2001 to catch criminal offenders and runaways. The city discontinued the system after a year, never having matched a single person to a mug shot in the database. The same technology combination was put in play during the 2002 Super Bowl in Tampa, where it scanned the crowd for felons and "terrorists." But the system was deemed ineffective and quietly benched before this year's game. Now, the fight over surveillance has moved to the nation's capital. Over the past two years, without telling the City Council, Washington police have spent millions on a sophisticated surveillance camera system that uses hidden, high-resolution, remote-control cameras and wireless Internet services. The system shares a sophisticated command center with the Secret Service and the FBI. The cameras can zoom in on virtually any house or backyard in the downtown area and were first tested in April 2000, when they monitored protesters at anti-globalization marches. Agents from the Army's Intelligence and Security Command aided the department's surveillance of the protests, details of which were distributed to other federal and local agencies through the federally funded Regional Information Sharing System (RISS), according to Intelligence Newsletter. The City Council, angry with the police for not getting approval for the project, adopted a resolution in November 2001 that limited use of the cameras. The resolution requires public notification before cameras are turned on, orders police to delete footage after two weeks, and bans audio recording and racial profiling. However, the American Civil Liberties Union, which has proposed an alternate bill, had hoped the resolution would fail. "The regulations legitimize the use of cameras for general video surveillance," says Stephen Block, legislative counsel for the ACLU. "This usage is very different from red light cameras or narrowly focused cameras used for criminal investigations." Police used the cameras to search for the D.C. snipers in October and at the September IMF/World Bank protests, a January pro-life protest and the huge January and February anti-war protests. The cameras were on for most of February in response to the heightened terrorist alert, and will also be used at Washington's March 15 anti-war march. Police there say they generally only monitor, not record, camera feeds. Both Police Chief Charles Ramsey-known for authorizing pre-emptive arrests of anti-globalization activists-and Mayor Anthony Williams have publicly expressed their intention to emulate London, where the average citizen is caught on camera 500 times a day. London has an estimated 150,000 public cameras, which it uses, in part, to levy an approximately $8 charge on all cars entering the city center. However, crime rates have gone up in England, despite the 2.5 million cameras nationwide. England started installing the cameras in the early '90s in response to Irish Republican Army terrorist bombings, and the cameras have been largely uncontroversial there. "There is a great deal of safety and security that people feel [in London]," Ramsey told the Washington Times. "All we're trying to reach here in the District is that same sense of safety and security." Since public controversy erupted over the D.C. system, Ramsey has backed off his ambitious plans. But a white paper, prepared by the system's designer, reveals the early goals of the program. "Eventually, the Washington system will bring together cameras operated by different jurisdictions across the metropolitan area to include transportation, schools and potentially private security sources," the paper says. "Law enforcement officials will be able to view these images at the command center and broadcast the video to computer units already installed in most of the city's 1,000 patrol cars." Police shouldn't be surprised at the backlash against security cameras. Last March, the ACLU revealed that Denver Police had been spying and keeping detailed files on protesters for years. The dossiers include names, addresses, biographies and license plate numbers of those who attended peaceful rallies. The files even identify the Quakers as a "criminal extremist" group. Police in Worcester, Massachusetts, were caught systematically photographing protesters, one by one, at a peace rally in October 2000, on the day the United States started bombing in Afghanistan. It was later revealed that the department had been photographing participants at rallies for years. Privacy groups say they are trying to prevent the government from revisiting the widespread surveillance abuses of the '60s and '70s as chronicled in the congressional Church Report, which disclosed that the FBI had a list of 26,000 people to be detained in the event of a national emergency. Johnny Barnes, executive director of the Washington ACLU, worries just as much about the self-imposed censorship that cameras can create, especially in D.C. "We don't know how many people won't exercise their First Amendment rights because they are afraid of surveillance," Barnes says. The City Council, which held extensive hearings on the cameras in December, will return to the issue in coming months. The ACLU argues that if camera surveillance takes hold in our nation's capital, proponents of cameras will use it as a model for the rest of the country. Says Barnes: "We ran from a British-style system in 1776, and we should run from it now." http://inthesetimes.com/comments.php?id=115_0_2_0_C 6. GIS and Multimedia in the Military By: Chris Betz (Mar 18, 2003) Information is power. In the defense and intelligence world, information is military superiority. When you imagine the massive amounts of data gathered globally just on a daily basis, only then does one realize the awesome challenge of organizing, processing, analyzing, and disseminating intelligence products for planning and decision-making. While there are many different forms of intelligence, among the most useful is IMINT, imagery intelligence. The richness of images and imagery makes for a valuable and effective way to document, communicate, and make decisions. However, there is a distinction to be made between images and imagery, which will be addressed later. As part of military transformation efforts, there is a widely understood need to "fuse" various pieces of intelligence into a single environment or end product. To effectively deal with these challenges, the military turns to the world of technology and solution providers for help. In recent years, GIS and related spatial products have been playing a predominant role in the defense and intelligence communities. Not surprising, this trend will continue given the war on terrorism and the threats we face both within and outside of our borders. Digital mapping environments, GPS, satellite imagery, background map data, and analytical tools give military planners and decision-makers a whole host of advanced capabilities. NIMA, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, supports national security by providing satellite imagery, intelligence derived from imagery, and geospatial information. Armed with these resources, the military commander can achieve a higher degree of situational awareness and understanding through the visualization of a world, as they need to see it. However, there are limitations. By default, aerial imagery and data layers are remote sensing in nature. Considering that the essence of GIS is visualizing objects, their location, and their relationships to each other within a defined geographic area, one missing piece is the ability to actually see a particular object. Reconnaissance and surveillance play perhaps one of the most critical roles in the military. It is largely accepted that our intelligence may be the largest deciding factor in our ability to protect and defend our nation. Scouting teams, for example, rely heavily on image capture devices such as digital cameras and video recorders. Strong and sustained demand in the consumer market has made it possible to make major technological advances. As a result, there is widespread use throughout the entire military. For scouting teams, an image, as simple as it may be, provides a wealth of information such as attributes and site detail as well as ground-truthing characteristics. The true value of an image though lies in knowing the exact location from which it was captured. However, spatially referencing an image or video is a manual, time-consuming process. In certain situations, it may be impractical or too risky. Nevertheless, location-based images or video are invaluable. GIS is not the endgame, but a foundation on which to integrate spatial solutions that expand and compliment existing mapping capabilities. This is a case of innovation and evolution with the expectation that incremental steps will continue. For the purposes of this discussion, it is the fusion of human perspective and low aerial imagery, namely digital stills and video, into a mapping environment. Red Hen Systems is involved in solving two problems for the military. First is the ability to automatically merge GPS data with images and video. Second is the ability to link multimedia into a digital mapping environment. Their flagship defense and intelligence product, MediaMapper ELITE, is currently used in several DoD agencies and has proven to be an important decision support tool. Another military application that uses this technology is route reconnaissance. The goal is to visually acquire and communicate information along a continuous path or corridor. As stated earlier, the true value of any video footage is the ability to quickly and easily geo-reference the entire route. This is obviously a great challenge to any scouting team. Here is a sample scenario. A military commander is tasked with a troop movement assignment. It involves a convoy of 50 vehicles carrying equipment and personnel. The distance from Point A to Point B is twenty-five miles and requires travel through a small city. Unfortunately, this assignment takes places in a remote area overseas where maps do not exist or are dated. There is a high probability that hostile forces may be encountered during the movement. Before proceeding, route reconnaissance must be performed and the information gathered will be essential for planning and decision-making. A scouting crew is deployed with all of the necessary equipment. During the entire mission, video and still images are used to capture the road, terrain and features, landmarks (if any), immediate surroundings, key infrastructure such as bridges, buildings, airports as well as other relevant objects or situations. In the absence of clearly identifiable landmarks where the convoy would need to turn, images showing the exact approach and intersection will minimize any guesswork. A wrong turn involving all 50 vehicles would cause considerable delay, if not a security threat. Along the way, several areas are observed and deemed points of vulnerability such as hidden roadside entrances or a stoplight surrounded by abandoned buildings. These potential ambush points are easily marked on the videotape for further review later. Multiple roads are traveled to determine the quickest, safest, and most efficient route. From this, alternative routes can be mapped for contingency planning. It may be discovered that using a mobile bridge over a small river would provide a valuable short cut and lessen security threats. Within the city limits, images are captured to identify buildings, vehicles, and personnel of both friend and foe. The final destination is reached and the scouting team visually documents the area to determine which vehicles and equipment need to go where. The end product is an interactive map allowing military planners and decision-makers to see the "what is where" exactly as it exists. This true-to-life representation elevates the situational awareness to a much higher level than satellite imagery alone. This map can then be distributed for the benefit of all personnel. Logistically, it can be determined what equipment will be needed (i.e. mobile bridge), what personnel should be present throughout the convoy, areas to exercise the utmost caution, and an estimate of travel time given road conditions and obstacles. Route reconnaissance represents only one of multiple uses for location-based multimedia mapping. The US military will continue to be the most lethal force on the planet as it continues to adopt innovative spatial solutions that bolster our intelligence capabilities and operational efficiencies. http://www.directionsmag.com/article.php?article_id=306 7. Privacy commissioner has other ways to fight Kelowna RCMP camera, court told canada.com Wednesday, March 12, 2003 KELOWNA, B.C. (CP) -- A federal lawyer said Wednesday there's no need for Ottawa's privacy commissioner to go to court to try to shut down an RCMP camera aimed at a park in this Okanagan city. Commissioner George Radwanski wants the B.C. Supreme Court to declare the surveillance camera an infringement of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. But the Justice Department is arguing the case should be dismissed. Federal lawyer Harry Ruck told the court Radwanski has other remedies besides court action to urge changes in the use of surveillance cameras, including reports to Parliament. Radwanski was in Kelowna to observe the two-day hearing but said he would not comment on the merits of the case until it's concluded. "I do hope of course that the court will decide to let this important matter to proceed on its merits," he said. "It's an important matter obviously that I initiated by initiating the court challenge, so I think it's my responsibility and a show of respect for the court to be present." Radwanski had hoped Justice Minister Martin Cauchon would not oppose the privacy commissioner's charter challenge. Previously, he had accused Cauchon of obstructive tactics in moving to have the case dismissed, a claim the minister denied. The Justice Department claims Radwanski, an appointed officer of Parliament, has no standing in the case and therefore has no right to launch a court challenge. Radwanski has fought against the Kelowna camera for years. The Mounties did eventually agree to record only when something criminal appears to be occurring, but the camera still runs on a monitor at all times. Radwanski launched his court challenge last June. "It is a profound violation of our right to privacy, our right to go about the streets and public places of our cities and towns without being under the systematic observation of the police," Radwanski said at the time. The case is being watched closely by proponents and critics of such police cameras. Vancouver has considered installing surveillance cameras in its crime-ridden Downtown Eastside neighbourhood. http://www.canada.com/vancouver/news/story.asp?id=%7B76864BAD-D475-443F-B00D-31A1E3533C3F%7D 8. Surveillance cameras go to court Adrienne Tanner The Province Wednesday, March 12, 2003 As lawyers gather at B.C. Supreme Court in Kelowna today for a Charter of Rights challenge on police video surveillance, their movement throughout the city will go unmonitored. The RCMP video camera at Leon and Abbott has technical difficulties. A windstorm a few months back knocked out the transmission tower, says Kelowna RCMP Cpl. Reg Burgess. The camera, strategically placed in Kelowna's "bar flush" area, is the focus of a legal battle between Canada's national police force, attorney-general and the federal privacy commissioner. The case will set precedent for police forces across the country, some of which already have surveillance cameras in operation. Others, like Vancouver police, are waiting for the court decision before investing in equipment. Police believe the camera is a valuable crime-prevention tool which has the power to deter crime at trouble-prone locations. Federal Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski argues that surveillance cameras on street corners infringe the public's privacy. The case may not be heard at all, however, if Ottawa's Attorney-General's Department is successful in its argument that Radwanski lacks the jurisdictional right to mount a challenge under the Charter. David Loukidelis, B.C.'s privacy commissioner, who brought the Kelowna case to Radwanski's attention, said the case is important and hopes the complete argument is allowed to proceed. "I think video surveillance can be a useful tool in specific law- enforcement situations, but I wouldn't want to see it expand to the extent of the United Kingdom," he said. Fear of IRA terrorist attacks prompted police in Great Britain to install thousands of cameras on street corners and shopping malls. Studies indicate the British video onslaught has reduced crime in few measurable ways, Loukidelis said. WHO'S WATCHING? - Great Britain: There are so many video surveillance cameras monitoring the British that an exact tally is impossible to obtain. Estimates range from the hundreds of thousands to two million cameras, silently filming pedestrian movement in public places. The favourite anecdote to describe how pervasive the monitoring has become is, "The average Londoner is now photographed some 300 times in the course of a typical day." - Australia: Sydney Council has installed 51 cameras since December 1998. - U.S.: Tampa, Fla., and Virginia Beach, Va., have installed video cameras equipped with face-recognition technology in a number of high-traffic areas. - Canada: Sudbury's "A Lion's Eye in the Sky" project began in 1996. There are now five cameras downtown. http://www.canada.com/vancouver/news/story.asp?id=%7BDDECFFAA-DEB8-4300-876C-AB358F5D3992%7D X-From_: info@notbored.org Fri Apr 4 13:13:05 2003 X-Original-To: info@notbored.org X-Sender: notbored@POPserver.panix.com Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2003 13:06:52 -0500 To: me<info@notbored.org>From: Surveillance Camera Players<info@notbored.org>Subject: clipping service, 2 Status: O X-Status: this will have to be done "down and dirty," because we're waaaaaaay behind on this news-clipping service and wanta catch up quickly . . . . -- Surveillance Camera Players ******************************* 1. Beware secret cameras in the loo Employers are resorting to controversial methods to spy on staff. But how far does the law allow workers' privacy rights to be infringed? By Clare Dyer Clare Dyer Tuesday March 11, 2003 The Guardian What's the sneakiest and most privacy-invading trick you can imagine an employer playing on an unsuspecting worker? Reading your emails on the quiet? Listening in on your private phone calls? Planting a hidden CCTV camera behind your desk? Step forward, Warwick University, and claim your title as intrusive employer of the year. With the headlines full of sackings for sending dodgy emails or downloading porn, most of us have probably twigged that the computers we use at work are far from private. But few would expect an employer's surveillance to extend into our kitchens or living rooms. To be fair, the trick wasn't played by the university itself, but was perpetrated in its name by its insurers, who were defending a former worker's accident claim. Insurers normally take over the full running of any claims covered by their insurance; in this case the university says it was unaware of their modus operandi and indeed was surprised the case was still running after six years. But the tale of Jean Jones raises serious questions about how far the law allows a worker's privacy rights to be infringed. Jones, 65, was working in the student shop at Warwick in 1997 when a full cash box with a broken lid fell on her right wrist, inflicting a small cut between the fourth and fifth fingers of her hand. In her legal action against the university, which has not yet reached trial, she claimed around 135,000 in special damages, mainly loss of earnings, because of continuing disability in her hand. The insurers argue that she had virtually recovered five years ago. Their medical expert says her ongoing disability "remains uncertain but it seems to be more related to habit than need". In late 1999 and early 2000, Jones twice invited into her home a woman who turned up on her doorstep claiming to be a market researcher. What she didn't know was that her visitor was an inquiry agent hired by the university's insurers. She secretly videotaped Jones to see if her hand was really as bad as she claimed. The insurers' medical experts say the tape shows her hand functioning perfectly well; her experts claim her condition is variable, with good and bad days. The insurers' ploy came into the public domain only because they had to go to court to try to win the right to use the film in evidence. Jones' lawyers cited the European convention on human rights, part of UK law since October 2000, which guarantees respect for an individual's private life. Last month the insurers were strongly criticised by the court of appeal for behaviour which was both an invasion of privacy and, as a trespass, illegal. It was "improper and not justified", said the lord chief justice, Lord Woolf. The insurer's motivation to achieve a just result "does not justify either the commission of trespass or the contravention of the claimant's privacy which took place". But while the judges acknowledged that the inquiry agent had gained improper access to Jones' home and penalised the insurers by ordering them to pay costs, they still gave the go-ahead for the videotape to be used in evidence. Lord Woolf said it would be "artificial and undesirable" for the tape not to be put before the judge who will eventually try the case. He made the ruling while conceding: "There will be cases in which a claimant's privacy will be infringed and the evidence obtained will confirm that the claimant has not exaggerated the claim in any way. This could still be the result in this case." The appeal court's censure may make other insurance companies think twice before including the sham market researcher as the latest tool in their armoury. But you don't have to be suing your employers to be snooped on at their behest. Venture outdoors when you are off sick and your every move could be noted down and used against you. The prison service hired a husband-and-wife team of private eyes to watch an executive officer who was off work with depression. Managers suspected that she might be working in the dress shop she owned. The detectives saw her open the shop on two days but failed to disclose the four days of surveillance in which they saw nothing. She was sacked for gross misconduct but later won a claim for unfair dismissal. So did a maintenance engineer with 17 years' experience who was videotaped going to the doctor and the chemist and taking his son to school during a week when he was off sick. The tribunal held that sacking him was unfair and awarded him compensation. There is even more chance that Big Brother is watching you while you are at your desk. As email increasingly replaces the telephone, employers fear that smutty messages sent by employees could land them with sexual harassment claims or could besmirch their reputation. Technology now allows emails to be monitored for dubious content and porn downloads identified. Does your employer need your consent to monitor your emails, calls and internet access? Not if the purpose of the exercise is to monitor business communications. This covers interception for a wide range of purposes, including establishing the existence of facts - such as advice given to customers - or the standards workers are achieving; to prevent or detect crime; to detect unauthorised use of the IT system; or to check for viruses or other threats to the system. Interception without consent is allowed if the purpose is to check whether communications are business-related or not. This would allow the emails of an employee who was away to be opened to check whether action was needed (though it would not allow any emails marked "personal" in the header to be read). And no consent is needed for interceptions carried out only for the purpose of gaining access to the contents of business emails, but which "may incidentally and unavoidably involve some access to other communications". Even if your internet traffic isn't monitored, your downloads could still betray you, as the manager of a legal practice discovered recently when he lost his 60,000-a-year job. The company which supplied the IT system was called in after the computers kept crashing, and an investigation showed that the manager had been spending up to four hours a day tucked away in his office accessing porn sites. Not only was he being paid full-time for working half-time, but the practice was being charged at high rates for the porn he was downloading. In 2000 the former information commissioner Elizabeth France drew up a code of practice to regulate workplace monitoring of emails and internet use, CCTV and covert surveillance. Three years later, after much toing and froing with unions and employers' representatives - who inevitably don't see eye to eye on how much privacy employees should have - the code is still in draft. In January the TUC called on the new information commissioner Richard Thomas to "resist employer lobbying" and introduce the code. It pointed out that the Data Protection Act had come into force in October 2001 but employers still had no guide as to how to exercise their legal responsibilities and protect employees' privacy. The draft code says employers should usually tell employees if their emails and internet use are being automatically intercepted, and why. Ditto if the workplace is monitored by CCTV cameras. Covert monitoring of employees by CCTV is rarely justified, says the code. Employers should use it only where there are grounds to suspect criminal activities are taking place and notifying workers about the monitoring would prejudice an investigation. Hidden cameras should not usually be used in places where workers would expect privacy, such as toilets or individual offices. The code adds, however, that they could be justified even in toilets, if for instance there was evidence of drug dealing on the premises, though monitoring in such a case would normally be under the control of the police. So there is no guarantee of privacy at work - not even in the loo. http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/story/0,3605,911592,00.html 2. viisageOne-Day Wonder The Spoils of War By Lawrence Carrel March 19, 2003 Viisage Technology Inc. (VISG) Share price as of Tuesday's close: $3.57 Share price now: $5.12 Change: 43.4% Volume: 3.5 million shares, daily average 118,100 shares Last time this high: Dec. 13, 2002 52-week high: $7.64 52-week low: $2.50 Forward P/E before announcement: n/a Forward P/E after announcement: n/a WHO SAYS THE U.S. can't fight battles on two fronts? Amid last-minute preparations for a likely invasion of Iraq, the Department of Defense found the time to expand its licensing agreement with Viisage Technology (VISG), whose identity-verification software could play a greater role in the war on terror at home. Word that the Pentagon would make more use of the company's technology sent shares rocketing 43% to $5.12 on Wednesday. While Wall Street was clearly excited about the Defense Department's decision to broaden the deal, this isn't the first time investors jumped on the Viisage bandwagon only to bail out soon after. The stock rocketed as high as $16.80 in the days following Sept. 11 only to come back to earth as few new terrorist attacks materialized. Even with Wednesday's sharp gains, the stock is down 70% from its all-time intraday high set on Oct. 10, 2001. Giving reason for more pause, Viisage, citing a nondisclosure agreement, wouldn't release financial details of the new government contract. Bill Aulet, Viisage's chief financial officer, also declined to specify the length of the agreement. In February 2002, the Pentagon awarded Viisage a contract valued at $672,000 for the continued development of facial-recognition surveillance systems. "I would be shocked if the deal was for more than $1 million or $2 million," says Brian Ruttenbur, an analyst at Morgan Keegan & Co. "Annually, there's less than $15 million in revenue for the whole facial-biometrics industry. It's a tiny industry it's a niche of a niche." (Ruttenbur doesn't own shares of Viisage, and Morgan Keegan doesn't have an investment-banking relationship with the company.) Indeed, biometrics, the discipline of taking body measurements for identification purposes, occupies a small corner of the security sector. In the case of Viisage, based in Littleton, Mass., its facial-recognition technology integrates biometrics with advanced software and cameras, allowing a picture of a person's face to be turned into a mathematical representation, which in turn can be run through a database to find a match. The Defense Department could put the technology to a host of uses, from screening individuals who enter U.S. military bases to spotting suspected terrorists in crowds. While the Pentagon deal is a nice vote of confidence, most of Viisage's money still comes from nonmilitary sources. About 80% of its business is derived from making driver's licenses for 19 states. Viisage uses its technology to create IDs, embed them with data and verify the driver's identity to prevent issuance of multiple licenses. In the fourth quarter, Viisage won a six-year contract to create digital driver's licenses for Georgia, valued at about $20 million. Casinos also use the technology for surveillance purposes to spot banned cheats and card counters. While a small part of its sales currently just 3% CFO Aulet says casinos are a great environment for testing the systems. Viisage also sells its technology to local law-enforcement agencies. "The driver's license business is a good business because it's a predictable stream of revenue," says Aulet. "But it's not high margin just 15% to 25% gross margin and we want to improve on that. But when you talk about facial-recognition margins, you're talking 50% and up. As the product mix improves, the company will build more profits." That's good news, considering Viisage lost $8.7 million, or 43 cents a share, excluding a restructuring charge, last year. Revenue, however, rose 23% to $32.2 million for 2002. Quote: "Facial recognition is one of the technologies that will benefit from government-related projects for border control and surveillance applications," says Prianka Chopra, senior biometrics analyst at independent market-research firm Frost & Sullivan in San Jose, Calif. "The total facial-recognition market in 2001 was $12.3 million globally. In 2006, we forecast the global facial-recognition market should be about $450 million." (Chopra doesn't own shares of Viisage, and Frost & Sullivan doesn't do investment banking.) http://www.smartmoney.com/onedaywonder/index.cfm?story=20030319 3. Council unsure about inner city cameras 22.03.2003 - A $400,000 close-circuit television system for monitoring crime and larrikin behaviour on Napier city streets may get the thumbs-down from council. Community development manager Dennis Morgan has recommended the council not install a CCTV system in the inner city. In his report to be considered at Wednesday's environmental management committee meeting, Mr Morgan proposes the council pursue other ways of dealing with crime and anti-social behaviour. Mr Morgan - whose recommendations are supported by committee chairman, Mayor Barbara Arnott - said $480,000 set aside for installing and running the camera system should be reallocated for projects such as inner city lighting and developing safer street designs. Administering a CCTV system in line with legal requirements would be reasonably onerous, he said. "There were also some aspects of police policy in respect to operating times, location and control and operations of cameras that appear to conflict with the council's aims for the system." The council asked for the report to look at the surveillance system for areas of the city vulnerable to graffiti, vandalism and crimes against people. http://www.mytown.co.nz/story/mytstoryprint.cfm?thecity=hawkesbay&thepage=home&type=nzh&storyID=3251396 4. Eye in sky keeps traffic moving Light pole sensors monitor vehicle flow in Redding Scott Mobley Record Searchlight March 22, 2003 2:17 a.m. Ever mug for one of those cameras perched atop traffic light poles around Redding? Well, relax. They're not taking your picture. They can't even see you. True, these cameras look like the hooded surveillance eyeballs mounted in banks, stores and ATMs. But they're a video version of the gesticulating, whistle-tooting traffic cop rather than another face of Big Brother. The first traffic camera in Redding appeared in 1996 at Churn Creek Road and Mistletoe Lane. Today, about 60 cameras supervise traffic in 27 intersections around town, tripping the lights from green to yellow to red. Paul Landis, field foreman for electrical technicians in the municipal utilities department, said motorists should expect to see more of these cameras pop up on traffic signal mast arms. The cameras react to the contrast between pavement and vehicle, whether it's a big rig or a bicycle. They can't see the color, make or type of vehicle. They cannot record license plate numbers. They won't tattle on red-light runners. Some cities such as Sacramento have pioneered infrared cameras that photograph scofflaw motorists. But just one of these cameras would cost at least $100,000, Landis said. Redding was among the first in Northern California to install the traffic signal cameras, Landis said. The city is testing them for the California Department of Transportation at the Cypress Avenue/Interstate 5 interchange and at North Market Street and Benton Drive. Redding maintains 73 signals, mostly inside the city limits. Caltrans operates another 61 signals along the three state highways slicing through town. For decades, the city and Caltrans relied on wire loops sealed into the streets to trigger signal changes. These loops work like metal detectors, Landis explained. The steel or aluminum in a car or a truck rather than its weight sends the signal to change the light, Landis explained. The loops hold up only as well as the surrounding pavement, he said. Heavy traffic can ground down a loop in four or five years. Crews must dig up an entire intersection if one wire fails. It's an expensive job up to $20,000 and a headache for motorists. A full camera system for an intersection also costs about $20,000, Landis said. But the cameras are easier and cheaper to maintain once they're set up. The city might spend $500 to swap out a faulty camera. So far, crews have replaced about a dozen. The city will outfit new traffic signals with cameras and replace wire loops with video detection as traffic grinds the busiest intersections into alligator-skin cobbles, Landis said. http://www.redding.com/news/stories/20030322lo010.shtml 5. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/1843125 # # March 29, 2003, 9:47PM # UT will appeal ruling to keep surveillance cameras secret # Associated Press # # AUSTIN -- The University of Texas is continuing its fight to # withhold information about campus surveillance cameras from the # student newspaper. # # UT System General Counsel Mike Godfrey on Friday said the # university will appeal a judge's ruling that threw out UT's # lawsuit blocking release of information requested by the Daily # Texan. # # The Texan wanted to know the placement, hours and method of # operation of those cameras. # # Godfrey said information about the cameras is far different from # the Texan's request for information about chemical and biological # agents, which UT provided earlier this week, the Austin # American-Statesman reported Saturday. # # That list is one required by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control # and Prevention. # # "We believe the security of students, faculty and staff is # sufficiently compelling for us to pursue this as far as we can," # he said. 6. For sale: Police camera action Jason Deans at Mip-TV in Cannes Wednesday March 26, 2003 The Guardian The Metropolitan police is not the sort of name you expect to see exhibiting at a television programming market in Cannes. But after years of virtually giving its archive footage away to TV shows such as Police Camera Action, the Met has decided it is time to cut out the middle man and sell the material to broadcasters. The Met is at the Mip-TV market in Cannes for the first time and Marcus Kendrick, the police force's head of income generation and sponsorship, said business had been brisk during the first 24 hours of the event. Thousands of hours of police camera action is for sale including dramatic footage of the audacious Millennium Dome diamond heist which the police foiled two years ago. Interest in the footage is expected to be international - it was the world's biggest armed robbery and was scuppered after a secret operation lasting more than four months involving 100 police, many of them armed and some dressed as cleaners with their guns in bin bags lying in wait for the robbers as they launched a raid that mirrored the opening sequence of the James Bond film, The World is Not Enough. The gang attempted to snatch 12 diamonds worth 350m, including the De Beers Millennium Star, one of the largest and finest diamonds cut. An Israeli TV station is interested in buying 10 hours of London police footage and one Asian broadcaster wants four hours of material, said Mr Kendrick. He is offering UK and foreign broadcasters thousands of hours of police film, mainly pictures of car chases and accidents from cameras in the Met's traffic cars and helicopters. However, he also has for sale CCTV footage including two-and-a-half hours of film from the foiled Millennium Dome jewellery heist and archive clips going back half a century. "We are here to generate revenue that would otherwise go into the private sector. We have the potential to generate revenue for London policing at zero cost to the force," Mr Kendrick said. "After taking into account officers' time and the resources needed to get the material to clients, a percentage of the money we make will go back to the units that provide the footage," he added. Until now the Met's TV sales drive has only raised a few thousand pounds, according to Mr Kendrick. But after meeting 30 UK and foreign broadcasters on the first day of Mip-TV, he hopes to swell the Met's coffers by as much as 1m. Mr Kendrick said the money raised would go towards projects such as the Met's safer streets and child protection schemes and traffic policing. "The footage is only released under strict criteria," he explained. "We will make sure it does not impinge on any moral or ethical issues and that the stuff we sell is suitable. But even after taking these things into consideration, there is still a huge amount of material." Mr Kendrick is also talking to broadcasters about payment for the use of the Met logo on cars and uniforms in TV shows shot in London. The police force already receives money for the use of its brand on TV shows such as EastEnders. It can also advise broadcasters on procedural matters for TV dramas set in London and provide interviewees for crime documentaries. Mr Kendrick, a former events organiser, joined the Met 15 months ago with a brief to generate income for the force. http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,921799,00.html X-From_: info@notbored.org Sun Apr 6 17:47:07 2003 X-Original-To: info@notbored.org X-Sender: notbored@POPserver.panix.com Date: Sun, 6 Apr 2003 17:42:05 -0400 To: me<info@notbored.org>From: Surveillance Camera Players<info@notbored.org>Subject: clipping service: Status: RO X-Status: This is a service of the Surveillance Camera Players https://notbored.org/the-scp.html To unsubscribe from it, please reply with the words, "unsubscribe unsubscribe unsubscribe." ******************************** 1. 78th legislature: Lawmakers debate open records bill (USA) 2. Circling Protectively Above New York City (USA) 3. Government Interests Keep Video Industry Moving (USA) 4. Police keep eye on local activists (USA) 5. Speedcams go to ground (Australia) 6. Hospital boss used camera to spy on staff (New Zealand) 7. Security increased on border (USA-Canada) ******************************** 1. 78th legislature: Lawmakers debate open records bill Amendments proposed to tighten disclosure of secure information By Elliott Blackburn (Daily Texan Staff) April 03, 2003 A third round of amendments to legislation which would restrict public access to state agency security practices will be debated on the floor of the Texas House Thursday. The "third read" of the legislation comes after Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, unsuccessfully proposed amendments Wednesday to HB 1191, which would make security system information such as camera locations and access codes confidential information. King and four other legislators authored the legislation, which tightens what King's Chief of Staff Lucy Trainor describes as dangerously open access to state government information. Because of the new awareness of the threat of terrorism, Texas must be more restrictive with the type of information the public can demand, she said. "Texas has a wide-open records act," Trainor said. "We passed that law, but with these concerns today, we've got to take a second look at some of the things we have made open." The amendment concerning security systems addressed what Trainor described as an obvious problem. "With our amendment, there's no good reason for anyone to have that information," she said. "It's just basic common sense that if you're going to put a security system up, you're not going to want people to know the ins and outs of that security system." In discussion on the floor Wednesday morning, some legislators felt the language of the amendment was too broad. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, said he was concerned records such as open bidding for contracts would be unintentionally restricted under the existing amendment. "I think we have to be very careful whenever we close open records," he said. "I thought that particular amendment ... was way too broad in the exclusion that it provided. Government will hide under any statute you give it in the broadest possible way." The Daily Texan filed two open records requests with the University to learn the details of security cameras on campus last October. A request was filed in January for the types and locations of biological agents held by University research institutions. UT System officials have participated as resource witnesses in the writing of the bill at the request of King and co-author Ray Allen, R-Grand Prairie. System attorney Helen Bright and Erle Janssen, UT director of Environmental Health and Safety, attended public hearings before the State Affairs committee March 10 on the bill. Roger Stackey, a System assistant vice chancellor for governmental relations, said University officials relayed information concerning litigation between the University and the attorney general's office concerning an open records request filed by The Daily Texan. "This is an issue that has generated press, so we have been asked to provide information about issues that have gone on with the litigation," Stackey said. Last week, the University dropped its lawsuit to prevent the release of details concerning biological agents. Last Friday, the University chose to appeal an order to disclose information about surveillance cameras. Other material proposed for restriction includes information gathered by the government concerning the detection or investigation of terrorism and property vulnerabilities. http://www.dailytexanonline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/04/03/3e8c5a081fb67 2. Circling Protectively Above New York City By DAN BARRY April 3, 2003 Looking straight up from the Midtown pavement, New York City seems like a fortress of granite, so solid and secure. But looking straight down at the city from 1,000 feet above, the metropolis seems almost naked in its majesty. Every landmark - the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Statue of Liberty - looks as though it could be molded not with concrete but with marzipan. That impression of vulnerability is, in a way, the reason for the aircraft providing this view of the city yesterday: a Black Hawk helicopter, whose pilot could have been talking about wartime when he assured the passengers that "the vibration is normal." When those two jetliners came from nowhere to pierce the World Trade Center towers 18 months ago, they also pierced the city's veil of invincibility. For a few months afterward, the Defense Department conducted round-the-clock air patrols above New York, but they ended as the country paused for the intermission between the first act of terrorism and the second act of war. Once the war began, the federal government resumed patrolling the city's skies, though with a different approach. Rather than have fighter jets arcing overhead, the Department of Homeland Security has deployed several helicopters, including a couple of Black Hawks, and a couple of Cessna Citation II jets to patrol the Air Defense Identification Zone, which extends about 30 miles from each of the area's three major airports. These helicopters and small jets do not carry any weapons. Instead, according to officials of the federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they provide an early-warning system for anything suspicious in the air. "They're traffic cops in the skies," Dean Boyd, a bureau spokesman, said - albeit cops without guns. The strategy essentially works this way: Sophisticated radar planes, normally used to monitor drug-smuggling traffic in the South and in the Caribbean, are now being used to detect suspicious aircraft long before they reach New York, as far north as the border with Canada. If a suspicious plane manages to invade the restricted air space, a UH-60A Black Hawk - perhaps the most powerful helicopter used by law enforcement - will approach the aircraft to seek identification, possibly impede its flight path, and direct it to land. If the pilot ignores these instructions, then the helicopter's crew can alert the military. The strategy was applied first in Washington, in January. Since then, more than 100 intruders - small planes that have entered restricted air space - have been detected in Washington and here, none posing any threat. While the plan has other components, its darling is clearly the 11-ton Black Hawk. To promote its strategy, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement gave rides aboard a pair of Black Hawks to members of the media (a third Black Hawk was available in case of emergency). Reporters and photographers were buckled in and instructed on what to do if they felt the onset of nausea: look to the horizon. This was a new horizon for Genaro Rodriguez and Drew Salkeld, the pilots of one of the Black Hawks. Normally they guide their helicopter over the Puerto Rican landscape as part of the bureau's drug interdiction program. But two weeks ago they were summoned to New York to participate in a different kind of surveillance. "We're looking for planes, boats and cars, anything suspicious," Mr. Rodriguez said. "It's the same as drugs, except with drugs you usually see the bales." The two helicopters, laden with media, rose from the runway at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and made their way toward Manhattan. They flew side by side, their 47-foot frames casting small shadows upon the murky Hudson River waters. They looped around the Statue of Liberty like two bees circling a green flower, swapping positions so that all cameras aboard could frame the meaning-drenched shot of a Black Hawk juxtaposed before an American symbol of freedom. It passed over the Staten Island ferry, which looked like a child's bath toy, then headed north toward the United Nations, which looked like an upright deck of cards. From a Black Hawk hovering several hundred feet above the East River, the city appeared endless, its farthest stretches of Brooklyn and Queens blurring into the early April haze. The precise instructions crackling over headsets seemed orderly; the city below did not. Before heading toward ground zero for another symbolic shot, the helicopters glided slowly past the very top of the Empire State Building. Those in Black Hawks looked down at the tiny people gathered on the observation deck of what is now the tallest building in the city. And those on the observation deck looked up at the latest additions to the New York skyline. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/03/international/worldspecial/03BARR.html?ex=1050037200&en=02411643eee86a56&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE 3. Government Interests Keep Video Industry Moving By Robert Mueller Apr 1, 2003, 14:01 PST With NAB2003 almost here, the most common question I am asked by both video professionals and outside observers is, "How has the economy affected the video technology industry?" We are all aware of the current economic slowdown and its effect on all industries, as well as the vast societal changes that were the result of the tragic events of 9/11. Economically, I would say that the predominant effect on the industry has been a re-evaluation of all aspects of business, while simultaneously raising quality expectations. R&D budgets have been pared, marketing expenditures minimized in many cases, profit margins squeezed, technical support automated, and distribution channels optimized. In short, we are all faced with accomplishing as much as we did before the recession, but with less. Faced with these challenges, a company has two options: fold its tent or learn new methods to become more efficient and effective. While no company likes bad times, they tend to make good companies better. As a result, organizations flourishing in the current down trend are applying their R&D only where it makes the most sense, making their prices affordable, finding effective ways to satisfy customers, and streamlining their distribution. Oh yes, and they're making higher-quality devices. Areas Of Interest Nowhere is this improvement seen more than in the governmental applications of our industry, where there is growth in the training and surveillance sectors. In fact, government procurement is driving some of the newest and most exciting advances. In the training sector, a rapidly growing application is simulation, where a soldier or air traffic controller, for example, is placed in a safe but highly realistic environment. Simulation environments require extremely high-resolution, large-screen projection technology capable of withstanding rigorous use. Vividly realistic high definition (HD) brings unparalleled realism to the simulation training experience. Thanks to growing consumer demand for HD, R&D costs of high-quality projector optical engine development for simulation training is being partially offset by growing consumer market HD demand. For simulation training, the prospect of affordable HD projection will become a reality in 2003. HD program playback will come within reach of a broad range of end-users this year as well. The coming months will see the debut of affordable MPEG-based HD encoding. Coupled to a relatively inexpensive professional digital VCR, HD program playback will soon be as affordable as today's current standard definition (SD) video gear. In the surveillance sector, the demand for more and smaller cameras, wider Internet bandwidths, and easier accessibility of images will reward manufacturers' attention to, and successful delivery of, miniaturization, higher-quality compression, and vertical integration between acquisition and distribution technologies. Growing demand for information in real time is a requirement common to both training and surveillance. The Internet has created expectation for immediacy that is affecting how visual information is acquired and delivered. Servers and secure LANs are playing central roles in each field. Very small cameras that are affordable and remarkably high quality, which can deliver their images over a secure Internet backbone directly from the camera head, will proliferate in 2003. Some examples with near-future implications are already visible today. The success of the Army's Predator drones have propelled significant research into producing miniaturized aerial reconnaissance tools that resemble pocket-sized model airplanes. These devices can be carried and deployed by individual soldiers. The images that these devices capture can be transmitted to color video displays located in their helmets or uploaded to a remote command center. Many law enforcement organizations employ large-screen projection, some allowing the use of live ammunition and shot scoring. The key drawbacks to these installations are the cost of scenario production, the cost of the projectors, and the quality of image. All three of these drawbacks will diminish in the next six months, I believe. Couple this with high-quality video downloaded in real time from actual combat and crime incidents, and the longer-term possibilities for effective simulation training appears limitless. Meeting The Need Clearly, new opportunities enabled by technological advances must be properly addressed by each step in the supply chain. Manufacturers have to be aggressive in identifying needs and matching emerging technology to them. Systems integrators, consultants, contractors, and resellers need to continually poll their customers for needs, communicating reliable information regarding immediately forthcoming products. And procurement specialists need to be highly flexible in terms of creating RFPs that define bottom-line results rather than outdated specifications. That's asking a lot of everyone, but the rewards, in terms of higher quality, lower cost, wider and faster distribution, and the inevitable goal of saving human lives and making our world a safer place, are incalculable. Just as the Persian Gulf War produced the need for a new all-terrain vehicle that gave birth to the Hummer, our current governmental demands for high security and strategic intelligence will produce and refine video technology that will soon invigorate the private sector. Today's economic climate presents challenges because it precipitates a simultaneous decrease in working capital during the staging of a broad technical reconfiguration. However, I believe current, publicly funded media initiatives will soon produce an explosion of growth in the private sector, from home entertainment to corporate communications, to industrial applications of motion picture and telecommunications technology. Surely those companies with an aggressive philosophy of reducing cost, identifying the most efficient lines of research, and providing solutions to immediate technical challenges will be the companies to survive and thrive until the economy rebounds. Robert Mueller is the executive vice president of JVC Professional Products Company. http://www.uemedia.com/CPC/article_6556.shtml 4. Police keep eye on local activists by Eric Berto April 04, 2003 Bellingham resident Eric Robinson, 23, has been on a hunger strike since March 19 in protest of the war. He survives on juice and water as he stands under the surveillance camera at the corner of Cornwall Avenue and Magnolia Street. The city's engineering department installed a camera to monitor the activities of demonstrators outside the Bellingham Federal Building, Bellingham Police Lt. Craige Ambrose said. "The camera went up the day after a large gathering," Ambrose said. "It keeps us from having to have a couple of officers ready to videotape in case there is conflict between groups of supporters." He said the main reason for installing the camera was to cut costs for the department. "There is other surveillance all over the city; people just don't realize it," Ambrose said. Ambrose said the city has discussed future plans to install other cameras in high-crime areas, such as the corner of Railroad Avenue and Holly Street. Protesters downtown said the cameras are an unnecessary measure. Robinson, who has been fasting for peace for 15 days, said the camera is an insult to the protesters. "The camera shows the city has no respect for people who want to exercise their First Amendment rights," Robinson said. Supporters of the war said the camera is a necessary step to monitor the activities of the demonstrations. Former U.S. Marine Tim Teeters, 48, said the camera will help to quell the emotional outbursts that can happen during protests. "I like the camera," Teeters said. "It will show the conflict the opposition (to the war) has started." Police have had to intervene between clashing protesters in a few instances, Ambrose said. This, along with the growing numbers of protesters, caused the city to install the camera. Nate Johnson, coordinator of the Associated Students Peace Resource Center, said there is an underlying cause for the cameras. "I think it is an intimidation factor," he said. "I don't see how having a camera up there will prevent any conflicts. I think Bellingham is trying to justify its large police force by attempting to show us as criminals." David Robinson, who was supporting his brother Eric, agreed the camera is an intimidation factor. "There have been peace vigils every Friday since the '80s, and there's never been any violence," David said. "If people are going to have conflict, they won't care if there is a camera. Big Brother is watching us." Ambrose said the cameras are a necessary addition to downtown. http://www.westernfrontonline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/04/04/3e8df477a8680 5. Speedcams go to ground By SUE HEWITT 06apr03 SPEED camera operators are using urban camouflage to hide new, more sophisticated cameras from motorists. Speed devices are being placed behind road signs and overhead gantries. Some are painted in heritage colours. Drivers have complained a tree covers a speed camera at the intersection of Dandenong and Orrong roads, Armadale. The tell-tale camera flash that once alerted drivers to the presence of speed detectors, is disappearing. Older cameras are being replaced with digital models that can photograph in poor light. The device that triggers the speed and red light cameras is hidden in the road surface and goes unnoticed. But Melbourne motorists are fighting back, using websites, e-mails and text messages to alert people to speed camera sites. Public servants are trading in the speed camera secrets, with one e-mail circulating in the state Department of Treasury and Finance. Motorists and the RACV have slammed the growing network of speed and red-light cameras as revenue raisers, with fines expected to reach $426 million in 2004-2005. In a surprise move, Shepparton police this week released their city's five speed camera hot spots. They said the move was to reduce speed-related accidents because they did not believe cameras were designed to raise money. In other developments: SPEED camera snoops are listing all Melbourne cameras. WORKMEN started installing about 30 fixed speed cameras on the Princes Hwy this week. NESTS of cameras are stored in a single box, yet capture several traffic lanes. NEW speed camera designs are easily confused with traffic camera surveillance units. HUNDREDS of Melbourne motorists have signed up for the Road Angel device, which uses a global positioning system to warn of speed cameras. A Sunday Herald Sun survey has identified hidden cameras on the Western Ring Rd. Three speed cameras are attached to each exit sign on the inner and outer carriageways at Boundary Rd. Two speed cameras are attached to each sign at the Western Hwy exit on outer and inner carriageways. Three speed cameras are attached to the Pascoe Vale Rd overpass, outer carriageway. Three cameras are attached to the Keilor Park Drive overpass on the inner carriageway. Two cameras are attached to the Widford St overpass on the inner carriageway. Other sites with speed cameras include: ALEXANDRA Pde and Smith St, Collingwood. One unit checks traffic outbound on the Eastern Freeway. STUD and Wellington roads, Rowville. Two cameras cover Frankston-bound lanes. MELBOURNE and Sparks roads, Geelong. Covers all Melbourne-bound lanes. MELBOURNE Rd and Station St, Geelong. Camera covers Geelong-bound lanes. http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/printpage/0,5481,6241715,00.html 6. Hospital boss used camera to spy on staff SUNDAY , 06 APRIL 2003 By DEIDRE MUSSEN A Dunedin hospital manager has been disciplined for setting up a surveillance camera to spy on his staff. The incident has forced the hospital to review camera surveillance policies. Bio-medical engineering staff were horrified to discover a camera hidden in an old speaker high on a wall in their hospital workshop on Thursday. "Staff are really shocked that they should be monitored in this way," Public Service Association organiser Rex Askerud said. It is believed their manager was behind its installation. He was unavailable for comment yesterday. Askerud said a staff member noticed a screw missing in the speaker and found the camera hidden inside when they investigated. Staff contacted hospital management with their concerns. "We don't accept there was any reason for it - they weren't having problems with theft" Askerud said. A staff member planned to complain to the privacy commissioner, he said. Hospital chief operating officer Ewan Soper said the manager had no legitimate reason to set up a spy camera in the staff-only workshop and had broken the code of conduct. He had admitted setting up the camera. "We've decided what disciplinary action to take and have told the staff member. I'm not prepared to state the outcome," he said. He declined to state whether the manager had been dismissed. "We are disappointed because the manager has been and is a valuable member of our staff and the action is out of character." The camera was set up half a day earlier and was not operational, he said, adding the hospital had used surveillance cameras only once or twice in four years. "We have used cameras to catch people involved with theft, such as around drug dispensing areas in wards." Hospitals were exposed to risks because of free public access and cameras did not normally target staff-only areas, he said. "We are reviewing our procedures around the use of cameras so we have better authorisation and awareness of the use of cameras for surveillance," Soper said. In 1995, Timaru Hospital nurses were outraged to discover a surveillance camera had been installed in a smoke detector in a ward equipment room. It was aimed at catching people who were stealing needles. At the time, the hospital said it would use cameras to catch thieves again. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2383265a11,00.html 7. Security increased on border Sunday, April 6, 2003 By TOM GODFREY, SUN MEDIA The U.S. has deployed a fleet of war-tested surveillance and chase choppers along the Canadian border to target smugglers and terrorists from slipping into their country. "This is one more tool in our fight against terrorism," said Mario Villarreal, of the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection. "The helicopters can communicate with Canadian and U.S. police agencies." The U.S. helicopters come as Toronto Police move closer to obtaining one to fight crime after the provincial government last month promised to kick in $1 million for the aircraft. Officials said the seven U.S. choppers will work with police on the ground in a Canada-U.S. Integrated Border Enforcement Team to probe suspicious activity and conduct surveillance. Villarreal said the AS350, or A-Star, is considered the most technologically advanced aircraft ever designed for law enforcement. The six-seater is armed with a satellite tracking system to monitor vehicles or smugglers on the ground, night-vision, infrared and heat-imaging technology. The technology, which is being used in the Iraqi war, can detect the footsteps of smugglers in the woods at night. Officials didn't disclose if the helicopters will be armed. Police said the A-Stars can hit speeds of 240 km/h and remain airborne for about three hours for surveillance. Sections of the 6,500-km border are already equipped on the U.S. side with dozens of remote cameras, heat sensors and motion detectors. The area is also swept by a military spy satellite and unmanned military aircraft. http://www.canoe.ca/CalgaryNews/cs.cs-04-06-0018.html X-From_: info@notbored.org Tue Apr 15 13:54:12 2003 X-Original-To: info@notbored.org X-Sender: notbored@POPserver.panix.com (Unverified) Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 13:48:30 -0400 To: me<info@notbored.org>From: Surveillance Camera Players<info@notbored.org>Subject: clipping service Status: RO X-Status: This be a service of the Surveillance Camera Players https://notbored.org/the-scp.html If you wish to unsubscribe, send a reply that says, "Yup I wanna unsubscribe." ********************************** 1. Tech Tools Lead Homeland Security Plan (USA) 2. Department offers first responders instant messenger (USA) 3. EXTREME CCTV INC: U.S. Military Airbases Upgrade Security with Extreme CCTV Infrared (USA) 4. Two robbers have been jailed (Italy) 5. Surveillance-technology maker target of protest (USA) 6. NHS Surveillance Policy Sparks Privacy Debate (USA) 7. SARS battle goes high-tech (Singapore) 8. Cops tout festival spycams (Canada) ********************************** 1. Tech Tools Lead Homeland Security Plan Tue Apr 8, 8:00 PM ET Elsa Wenzel, Medill News Service WASHINGTON-- The Homeland Security Department plans to put the fight against terrorism in the palms of many hands--literally, through wireless devices and other new technology. Spreading information quickly, to both citizens and law enforcement, by using wireless technology is a major priority, said Steve Cooper, chief information officer of the Homeland Security Department. He gave a keynote address at the 2003 Federal Office Systems Exhibition here this week. The Homeland Security Department plans to serve all citizens as customers, Cooper said. "Our goal is to make it work all the time," he added. "We want to be faster, better, cheaper." The Homeland Security Department also faces an organizational challenge: how to efficiently house 22 agencies with hundreds of thousands of personnel under one roof. Yet the world's largest bureaucracy expects to furnish itself with state-of-the-art technology to protect the nation from terrorism and natural disasters. The agency is looking to private companies for the most advanced tools possible. One such tool is a crisis alert system now being tested in Virginia, and demonstrated here at the technology exhibition by Mark Penn, captain of the Arlington Fire Department. It offers local residents free subscriptions to emergency alerts, which are delivered to personal digital assistants or mobile phones. Penn said eventually the technology will tailor messages to specific zip codes, alerting residents to dangers in their own neighborhoods. Penn said the alerts are an example of getting "data and people to talk to each other," which he said is key to public safety. Similar wares are being shown by dozens of firms, many of which are already providing computer gear to the government, and others hoping to win contracts for homeland security. Other software being exhibited, but not currently used by the government, includes: * a database linking governmental departments to maps that plot disasters as they happen; * tools to allow agencies to bypass the Internet when sharing information, such as streaming video files; * software that identifies people by scanning the retina of the eye. The Homeland Security Department is still early in its first job: assembling a vast array of federal agencies and their varying functions and responsibilities under one umbrella and then linking them to state and local governments. Cooper said the challenge is daunting but feasible. Technologies used by some federal or local governmental agencies include a number of technical safeguards in lieu of (or in addition to) passwords. For example, biometric devices check fingerprints for entry to some military bases and government PCs, and facial recognition software allows entry to some systems. Also, medical surveillance software has been implemented to track hospital records to detect potential bioterrorism. Eventually, state and local law enforcement agencies will be able to share terrorism information in real time, Cooper said. He expects to implement this using wireless technology and computerized maps, and to use data-mining software to study e-mail and other communications that could reveal terrorist threats. However, Cooper said the department is balancing these efforts with the concerns of privacy advocates and others who fear an erosion of civil liberties. The government does not aim to be Big Brother in its zeal for security, he said. "We are not interested in trashing what this country is about," said Cooper. "I don't know exactly what the tipping point is. I don't know exactly what the balance is." http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/pcworld/20030409/tc_pcworld/110203&e=5 2. Department offers first responders instant messenger April 9, 2003 By Amelia Gruber Nearly 5,000 first responders are taking advantage of an instant messenger service to help bridge communications gaps among federal, state and local emergency relief workers, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said Wednesday. The Homeland Security Department bought the technology at an undisclosed price from Bantu, a Washington-based technology company, and it was ready for use by first responders by late March. It allows them to send out secure notes or alerts from any location with Internet access. Unlike some commercial instant messenger services that many first responders use now, Bantus system is relatively safe from hackers, said Larry Schlang, the company's president and chief operating officer and Bob Coxe, the program executive officer of e-government initiatives at FEMA. Notes sent over Bantus system are encrypted and the service contains firewalls to protect against viruses, Schlang explained. Because the system is so secure, Homeland Security officials are encouraging the countrys approximately 4 million first responders to start using it, according to Coxe. Responders can access the system by logging onto Disasterhelp.gov, an e-government site designed by FEMA to help coordinate emergency workers. These workers first need to obtain a user name and password for access to select areas of the site by filling out registration information in the upper right corner of the homepage. Anyone can register for Disasterhelp.gov, but registered users are not allowed to use the instant messenger service unless FEMA has verified that they are first responders, Coxe said. Local firefighting associations and other first responder groups are helping the Homeland Security Department publicize Bantus instant messenger service, but Coxe predicted that it will still take a while for the new messaging system, which was complete late last month, to catch on. The Homeland Security Department approached Bantu to provide the service because the company offers a more secure system than others in the field and has worked with other federal agencies on similar projects, Schlang said. In 2001, Bantu installed instant messenger technology on the Armys Knowledge Online portal, helping more than 1.3 million service members communicate. The service will help local responders contact colleagues across the country who have expertise in such areas as bioterrorism, Schlang said. For instance, if a first responder in rural Kansas is reading a research paper on anthrax, he can check if the papers author is logged onto the instant messenger and if so, initiate a conversation. The system also houses chat rooms where responders can discuss topics of concern. Right now, Bantus service is most useful for sending out more mundane communications about research or meeting reminders, Coxe said. But eventually, emergency operations centers will be able to use the system to locate and talk to first responders in the event of a terrorist attack or other emergency. Such technology would have helped prevent the confusion that slowed rescue efforts during the Sept. 11 attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, he added. Bantu was one of 443 technology companies with exhibit booths at the annual FOSE trade show, which runs from April 8 to April 10 at the new Washington Convention Center. The show featured a Homeland Security Pavilion with more than 40 products on display, ranging from communications devices to surveillance cameras. The Homeland Security Department hopes to complete an inventory of its current IT assets by June and will look to the private sector to fill gaps in existing technology, said Steve Cooper, the departments chief information officer, in a keynote speech at FOSE Tuesday. When he gets the go-ahead from the departments general counsel, Cooper hopes to publish information about IT products currently in use at the department. Cooper said he would then publish an e-mail address where technology companies can send feedback and ideas for new products. Homeland Security officials are especially interested in learning about wireless communications devices, infrastructure mapping devices and computer programs that simulate disasters, according to Cooper. Many of the FOSE exhibits showcased such devices. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0403/040903a1.htm 3. EXTREME CCTV INC: U.S. Military Airbases Upgrade Security with Extreme CCTV Infrared 4/9/03 VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Apr Extreme CCTV announces its contract to supply infrared illuminators for the upgrading of security at numerous U.S. Air Force bases. The first of an 83 unit order for UF500 infrared illuminator will be installed at Air Force bases in Alaska. Contract and installation details were not disclosed and are to remain confidential. The UF500, designed and manufactured at the company's Great Britain factory, is regarded as the world's finest infrared illuminator and holds a U.S. patent for its even-illumination characteristics. It is utilized to allow CCTV surveillance cameras to capture full motion video in the dark. Its even-illumination characteristic makes dark scenes appear as if they were day. This feature along with it compact, ruggedized, all-weather design has made the UF500 the primary night-vision device for government security installations throughout the world, including British Ministry of Defense bases and at most of her Embassies. 'We are especially pleased to see the UF500 being utilized by the U.S. Air Force in Alaska and for their next installations at airbases in Hawaii and Guam,'says Jack Gin, CEO of Extreme CCTV. This is another testimony to the effectiveness and versatility of the UF500, and also shows the growing confidence we see from the U.S. Department of Defense for Extreme CCTV's product line. http://www.stockhouse.ca/news/news.asp?tick=EXC&newsid=1624862 4. Two robbers have been jailed in Italy Updated 15 February 2003, 12.25 Two robbers have been jailed in Italy after being identified from a mobile phone text picture. The pair are thought to be the world's first criminals to be convicted using the new technology. They were snapped by a shopkeeper who thoughtthey looked suspicious. He texted the police and sent the pic, too. The police checked their files and saw the pair were wanted for robberies, so they arrested them. They both went to jail for six months. Rome police told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "We believe this to be the first time in the world a picture text message has been used to help catch criminals and secure conviction." Picture messaging catches out robbers http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/sci_tech/newsid_2765000/2765969.stm 5. Surveillance-technology maker target of protest 04/09/2003 - Updated 10:45 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Anti-war protesters on Tuesday targeted the U.S. headquarters of Autonomy, which makes surveillance technology for clients including the military and the Department of Homeland Security. Autonomy lists Defense Policy Board member Richard Perle on its board of directors. Perle resigned as chairman of the Defense Policy Board late last month because of controversy over a business deal, but remains a member of that group. Perle, a former assistant secretary of defense, has been a vocal advocate of going to war against Iraq. The 40 demonstrators, some dressed in business suits to blend in with the financial district crowd, gathered suddenly Tuesday morning in front of the black granite building chanting "Perle says drop bombs, we say drop Perle." About 10 other protesters went upstairs and sat in the company's headquarters before police arrived. They also wanted to call attention to Autonomy's role in producing technology that simultaneously monitors hundreds of thousands of e-mail messages and phone conversations, looking for relevant patterns. A representative of Autonomy said the protesters were misguided. "Perle hasn't profited that much from Autonomy," said company spokesperson Kris Marubio, who confirmed Perle has about 75,000 options. "Even if our stock doubled, he would earn very little." http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-04-09-protest_x.htm 6. NHS Surveillance Policy Sparks Privacy Debate BY TANJUA DAMON The Newtown Board of Education agreed Tuesday night that its Camera Surveillance on School Grounds Policy needed more work before it is implemented. The board voted 5 to 1 in a straw poll, with Margaret Hull the lone dissenter, that surveillance cameras at the high school should be left on 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The vote came after a lengthy discussion about civil liberties, student privacy, and for what the cameras were originally intended. The board has been reviewing the policy for a month making changes to the wording. But Ms Hull has expressed concern that the cameras are on all day taping students' movements. The cameras are not monitored in real time, but administrators have used the footage retroactively when an issue has arisen. "I think that when we first decided to buy these cameras, we did buy them and install them to protect our assets. Now they are being used to monitor hallways during the school day," Ms Hull said. "My concern was they may be monitored in real time going against student's civil liberties of privacy. I thought the cameras would be turned on when administrators left the building. Personally that is what I would be most comfortable with. I think it's a serious issue. I think it's very gray right now. I don't think its clear." Board vice chairman Vincent Saviano agreed with Ms Hull's view that constant monitoring could foster a "Big Brother" atmosphere in the school, but explained that since the cameras are in place and are already being used 24/7, that the cameras either have to be on all the time or not at all. He went on to say that to create a schedule of times the cameras should be on and when they should be off for administrators to follow would be too complicated. "It's more than agreeing on a policy. We've stepped back a bit -- should they be on 24/7 or only when administrators are not there," Mr Saviano said. "I feel bad we didn't think about it like Margaret has [before we put the cameras in]. It's hard to write a policy on it when we're not clear on what the applications of the cameras are going to be." Assistant Principal Lorrie Arsenian attended the board meeting to help clarify what the high school is using the cameras for and to present how the administration feels about the system. "I have to say it's a deterrent from an administrative point of view. We're not out to get students. They are not being monitored," Ms Arsenian said. "We know we aren't watching in real time. We don't have the time to watch in real time." Ms Arsenian told the board there have not been any negatives to the system at this point, but acknowledged the system has only been in place since the beginning of the school year. She also told the board that parents as well as students do have a good feeling and a sense of security with the cameras in place. She added that the cameras also are helpful when administrators are investigating a situations because now they are able to go back and review a scenario. "Sometimes we have to give up a little bit of safety for civil liberties," Ms Hull said. "I want them [students] to feel like they are at their own house. I don't think you necessarily have to be doing something wrong to feel uncomfortable being videotaped." Board member Lisa Schwartz pointed out that the school is a public building, but agreed the policy should be looked at more closely. "Maybe we didn't think deeply enough," Ms Schwartz said. "The question of on or off, or monitored or not monitored, wasn't explored at length. I think it's a great exercise to look at." Earl Gordon explained that he could not exactly remember the complete conversations when the board was initially looking at purchasing the cameras. He pointed out that even if it was just to protect the assets, the high school could be "vulnerable 24 hours a day." "I feel fairly comfortable if there is a reason to go back and view the tapes if the administration thinks there is a reason," Mr Gordon said. "Basically it comes down to philosophical differences. I'm not willing to go the full nine yards of turning them on and off." School board chairman Elaine McClure believes that the most important aspect is the need to protect the students and that the cameras can help that happen. "To me our students in that school are the most important thing," Ms McClure said. "The world is not a perfect place. Things happened we don't want to happen." Mr Saviano pointed out that the board needs to decide before implementing a policy where it stands on the cameras and when they should be used. "What do we feel is important for our reality? Nothing beats adult interaction," Mr Saviano said. "What really is the overall value the cameras are bringing to the situation? The decision is going to be all or nothing. It's unfair to put one handcuff on an administrator and tell them to decide when to use it." Newly appointed board member Andrew Buzzi, an attorney, said he did not see the issue as one of civil liberties, but one of policy. He also explained he thought the board could be putting itself in "serious legal liability" if the cameras are not used all the time. "There are many cameras in public and private buildings. They are there for many reasons. What we need to decide is what our policy is going to be," Mr Buzzi said. "They were in place but we didn't use them. I don't think we can pick and chose. I don't think we have that luxury." "We should have had this discussion before we bought the cameras," Mr Saviano added. "We're past philosophy. We're in reality." The board will continue to refine the policy so that it reflects how the cameras are being used. http://www.newtownbee.com/News.asp?d=Archive2000&s=News04-10-2003-11-58-55.htm 7. SARS battle goes high-tech Thursday, April 10 Associated Press SINGAPORE - Singapore will employ surveillance devices including cameras and wrist tags to ensure compliance with quarantine orders on people suspected of having been exposed to SARS, officials said Thursday. The measures were part of intensified efforts to contain Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), a deadly form of pneumonia which has left nine people dead and more than 130 infected in the city-state. The Ministry of Health (MOH) said it had engaged the services of the Commercial and Industrial Security Corp. (CISCO), a state-linked security agency, to enforce quarantine orders on potential SARS cases. Confirmed SARS cases are brought to a central hospital but hundreds of people who have had contact or possible contact with carriers have been placed under home quarantine for observation. "The [surveillance] measure follows a limited number of incidents in which the home quarantine order was flouted," the MOH said. CISCO officers serving quarantine orders will install cameras at the targeted homes and the subjects will be called at random intervals daily, asked to turn on the camera and present themselves in front of it. "Anyone found breaking the quarantine will be served a written warning and given an electronic wrist tag. The tag is linked to a dedicated telephone line and will alert the authorities if the person leaves the house again or tries to break the tag," the MOH said. Most Singapore homes are wired for telephone, Internet and cable connections, allowing for easy electronic surveillance. Under a rarely invoked law against infectious diseases, Singapore invoked quarantine powers after SARS broke out in East Asia last month. The exact cause of the disease remains unknown. The surveillance measures were announced as seven more SARS cases were reported in Singapore, bringing the total to 133. Nine people have died. More than 100 people have died worldwide and the number of cases is approaching 3,000. The disease apparently broke out in southern China in late November but was recognized as an international health crisis less than a month ago. http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030410.gtsarsapr10/GTStory 8. Cops tout festival spycams Saturday, April 12, 2003 By RAQUEL EXNER, EDMONTON SUN City police want to install cameras in the Old Strathcona area to watch for any criminal activity during this year's Fringe Festival and Canada Day festivities. Edmonton police spokesman Wes Bellmore said cops already have plenty of support from merchants in the area. The idea was born after consulting with the community about the 2001 Canada Day riot, he said. "Our intent is to make people safer and feel more comfortable about being in the area. We want to be completely publicly transparent about it." Every Saturday this month, police cadets will survey the public on Whyte Avenue about the proposal to set up closed-circuit TV monitoring. The results will become part of an impact assessment that will be handed over to Alberta Privacy Commissioner Frank Work. The assessment flags any privacy concerns about the use of invasive technology, like cameras. Bellmore said the 24-hour cameras would only be operational for the duration of Fringe Festival and Canada Day. The cameras would monitor the area between 102 Street and 107 Street, and 81 Avenue and 83 Avenue. Tim Chander, spokesman for the office of the Alberta information and privacy commissioner, said the FOIP Act allows law enforcement agencies to use surveillance cameras. However, the commissioner is against the idea because he doesn't believe they're an effective tool to control or eliminate crime, Chander said. "He believes they should be used as a last resort, but he welcomes any results from the survey that the EPS collects and we will look at them. It will be interesting to find out what the results are considering we haven't had a riot in two years. Is it worth installing them? I guess we'll have to leave that up to the people to decide if they like having surveillance cameras on Whyte Avenue." The office of the federal privacy commissioner wouldn't comment on the plans of local cops because it's out of their jurisdiction. That office is currently in a Supreme Court battle to shut down RCMP video surveillance in Kelowna. The commissioner wants the courts to declare the cameras a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonNews/es.es-04-12-0031.html X-From_: info@notbored.org Sat Apr 19 17:50:29 2003 X-Original-To: info@notbored.org X-Sender: notbored@POPserver.panix.com (Unverified) Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2003 17:44:34 -0400 To: me<info@notbored.org>From: Surveillance Camera Players<info@notbored.org>Subject: clipping service Status: RO X-Status: This be a service of the Surveillance Camera Players https://notbored.org/the-scp.html To unsubscribe from it, please reply by saying, "Woof!" ********************************************* 1. Cost concerns keep red-light cameras shuttered (USA) 2. Cameras near GFH reducing crimes, loitering (USA) 3. IDF destroys its own secret camera (Gaza Strip) 4. Future looks brighter (USA) 5. Cheek-puffing robber beats cameras (USA) ********************************************* 1. Cost concerns keep red-light cameras shuttered Not enough money: Dubuque police chief says the system is too expensive to continue by KYLIE GREENE Despite the chance that cameras would help enforce red-light violations on Kennedy Road, Dubuque police say they can't afford the surveillance system. The cameras were installed more than a year ago to monitor northbound traffic on Kennedy Road, at the intersection with Pennsylvania Avenue. More than 500 motorists were caught on tape running red lights during the pilot program, between February and August. The cameras since have been deactivated, although they still hang above the intersection. During the six-month pilot, the $75,000 installation and maintenance was funded by the Iowa Department of Transportation. The city now would have to pay for the estimated $100,000 in hardware, staffing and computer costs and $2,500 monthly maintenance. Authorities also wanted to install a second system to monitor the intersection's southbound lane, which would add about $72,000. Police hoped to defray the costs through citations. "The cost benefit related to its ongoing maintenance and the equipment itself just isn't in the cards for us at the moment," said Dubuque Police Chief Kim Wadding. The chief prepared a memo to the city council last week stating that, while the program had some value, the police department felt the budget was too tight to justify it. Officers researched other funding possibilities, but after Sept. 11 most grant money that was available was shifted to needs other than traffic enforcement, said Dubuque Police Capt. Paula Gieseman. "Everything comes down to city budget and what our priorities are," she said. "We weren't seeing enough justification to spend it on that intersection. There are other intersections in town that have accidents occurring." The heavy traffic and high number of accidents at Kennedy prompted officials to choose it for the pilot program, which made Dubuque the first city in Iowa to have automated red-light enforcement. Nationwide, at least 50 cities use similar systems. Gieseman said she thought the cameras would be beneficial in the long run. "I think the program never really got far enough along to know how helpful it could have been," she said. "Hopefully people will just control themselves and their driving habits." The video footage has, however, allowed officers to see exactly how the violations are occurring, Wadding said. Police will continue to monitor the intersection, along with other troublesome ones. Thanks to grants from the Iowa Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau, officers are able to conduct special traffic enforcement, including watching for red-light running, throughout Dubuque, according to the chief. http://www.thonline.com/News/04142003/tristate/174997.htm 2. Cameras near GFH reducing crimes, loitering By KIM SKORNOGOSKI Tribune Staff Writer [Montana]: Brock DeShaw, 17, was one of 33 Great Falls High students cited last week with possessing tobacco after he was caught on camera smoking outside the school. Using $80,000 spy technology from the Secret Service, police are targeting a troublesome corner at GFH, citing hundreds of kids since getting the gear 18 months ago. DeShaw and his friends call the cameras an invasion of their privacy, while administrators and school neighbors praise the cameras for catching large groups of law-breaking students -- something the adults can't do. Neighbors also credit the surveillance and the subsequent tickets with cutting down on loitering in the area. School resource officer Bruce McDermott said the corner of 2nd Avenue South and 20th Street has been a gathering place for large groups of students during lunch and after school for the past 15 years. Officers tried to curb underage smoking, fighting and even drug sales on the corner, but the 40 or 50 kids would disperse when they spotted police. Students would stand in the street and block traffic, trample neighboring lawns and litter. The corner was a popular spot for students who were kicked out of school to meet their friends after class. McDermott approached the Secret Service, which has taken an interest in school safety after the national spate of school shootings in recent years. In addition to pitching in $80,000 in high-tech cameras and other mobile surveillance equipment, the federal government flew in two experts to help design the best system for the area AND train local officers in its use. In the first month after setting the system up, McDermott cited 144 students. Since then, police have photographed teens and charged them with smoking cigarettes, smoking drugs, selling drugs, breaking into vehicles and assault. "If you're able to identify the smokers and the minor infractions, then the drug dealers catch on that they don't want to be doing their dealings there," McDermott said. The cameras use some of the most sophisticated technology available. Great Falls Police detectives have used the gear for other types of surveillance, but it has yet to be used at other schools. While fines start small -- $55 for a first offense of minor in possession of tobacco -- they can grow to several hundred dollars for subsequent offenses. Associate principal Paula Paul said the corner, which had been a neighborhood nuisance, has been cleaned up. She said all that is left is a small group, and those teens leave within 10 minutes of when classes let out for the day. The cameras are another form of adult supervision, she said. However, she admits the technology has had a negative reception from students. "It's not popular, of course. No one wants to get a ticket," Paul said. "But it does reinforce that adults in Great Falls, Montana, do care about kids. I think most of the students accept the fact that someone is watching." Because the cameras are mobile, McDermott uses them when the group swells, doing surveillance secretly for a week, then handing out dozens of tickets. Nearly all the students at the corner whom the Tribune talked to after school last week had been cited for some minor violation. But few said it changed their behavior. DeShaw parks near the corner and will spend a few minutes there before heading to work. He's quitting smoking because he moved in with his dad, who disapproves. "I think it's stupid to give out MIPTs," he said. "The cameras are a waste of money." Barrett Killham, 16, has a couple of tobacco citations, including one from last week. "It's not going to change anything," he said. "Kids are going to hang around down here. If your parents don't care if you smoke, why does it matter?" Jared Rogers, a 17-year-old who frequently hangs out at the corner, said the cameras go too far. "I think they're violating our civil rights," he said. "We're not causing trouble or anything." Most of the teens cross the street, which puts them on the lawn of the Campfire Office, 1925 2nd Ave. S. Executive Director Mary Ellen Bindel has seen an improvement in the past year, with many students reporting the large number of citations as the reason. A dozen or so students still stop out front, but they stay only a few minutes to talk with their friends and then move on. Most of the teens never caused much trouble. Some even picked up trash and tossed it in a garbage can she set out. "Last year there was definitely a problem," she said. "They would block our driveway, and they'd be sitting on our front step when people tried to get in and out. Now some of the kids have got four or five tickets. I don't know if it deterred them from smoking, but it has really improved the area around here." http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20030414/localnews/115653.html 3. IDF destroys its own secret camera Palestinian security sources meanwhile said Israel carried out an air raid on a cemetery in the southern Gaza Strip to destroy evidence of secret surveillance cameras it was using to monitor militants. The sources claimed Friday's raid, during which Israeli helicopters fired missiles at a grave in a Khan Yunis cemetery, was aimed at destroying a concrete post in which were hidden secret cameras used for monitoring the movements of local Hamas leader living nearby. One man was injured as four of the missiles slammed into a freshly-dug grave. At least one of the cameras was discovered by a group of Palestinian children, who noticed it hidden inside a crack in concrete block which was outside the house of Mohammed As Sinwar, a member of Hamas' military wing. "As they played with it, the helicopter fired the first missile which landed unexploded next to the house. The children then decided to move the block into the cemetery," the sources said. As they moved it into an empty grave in the cemetery, which was right next to the house, the helicopter fired four more shells, completely destroying the concrete block, they said. The Ezzedin Al Qassam Brigades confirmed the information but claimed some 10 cameras were hidden in the block. "A suspicious body containing 10 surveillance cameras was planted next to commander Mohammed As Sinwar's house," it said. http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=84196 4. Future looks brighter Struggling telecom company, working toward a turnaround, targets homeland security market Article published Apr 13, 2003 LAKEWOOD RANCH -- At an unnamed U.S. airport, remote-controlled video cameras scour the perimeter looking for intruders. Instead of communicating through cables buried under the runways, the pictures float back to the control tower as hacker-proof streams of data. They travel using broadband wireless radios made in eastern Sarasota County by Speedcom Wireless Corp. On the surface Speedcom still looks like a basket case. After nine years as a manufacturer of broadband wireless communications equipment, the company continues to bleed red ink. Its management and board of directors changed abruptly last year. Its stock, which went public at above $4 per share in the fall of 2000, is selling for mere pennies. But the company might be on the verge of a much brighter future. The Federal Aviation Administration's field trial at the anonymous airport could lead to a multimillion-dollar contract covering airports nationwide, conscious of improving security since 9/11. And the FAA is only one of a number of security-conscious organizations now considering using Speedcom equipment, including the U.S. military, Amtrak, city and state governments, and school systems. The turnaround, if there is one, will come about because a new CEO took control of the company last spring and refocused Speedcom to play to its strengths. A fast gun Michael Sternberg is a fast gun for hire. A Connecticut financier who provided Speedcom with its last major dose of refinancing essentially booted out company founder Michael McKinney in June 2002 and put Sternberg at the helm. Sternberg, in turn, brought along his own financial guy, Mark Schaftlein, and installed him as chief financial officer. Sternberg might have been the perfect choice to turn Speedcom around. [...] Like any number of restaurants these days, the Starbucks had created a wireless zone where customers with properly equipped laptop computers can log onto the Internet without plugs. Sternberg had his laptop with him, and had just started checking his e-mails. "All of a sudden a bunch of e-mails started to come to me, and I looked at the name on it and under my breath I muttered, 'Who the hell is Bill Fuller?' I was getting all this e-mail for Bill Fuller. It was the guy sitting next to me." That could not happen on Speedcom's equipment because it encodes data so that it can only be read by the right person. Think about which potential customers "can't have people hacking their wireless," said Sternberg. "Those benefits are needed by financial institutions, by medical institutions, who now have a requirement where they need to be able to encrypt the sending of medical records, the military, state and local government, and cities." In addition to using the wireless routers to provide high-speed Internet connections, they can be used to carry other kinds of digital data. Many of the governmental entities, including the FAA, are interested in sending the digital feed from surveillance cameras back to a central computer without worrying about hackers. [...] http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=SH&Date=20030413&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=304130803&Ref=AR&Profile=1060 5. Cheek-puffing robber admits to 27 bank heists Tuesday, April 15, 2003 BY JOHN P. MARTIN [New Jersey] Star-Ledger Staff It wasn't long after Cazzie Williams' arrest last fall that he agreed to pose for two portraits for authorities: one looking relaxed and another with his cheeks inflated. The second one made Williams look older, a bit more weathered. He also looked familiar to federal investigators. Williams, they said, had pulled off 27 bank robberies in New Jersey and four other states, foiling agents and surveillance cameras with a simple, almost childlike puff of the cheeks. "We assumed he was stuffing his mouth because he wouldn't speak" to tellers, Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Gannett said yesterday. Williams, a former postal worker and East Orange resident, pleaded guilty yesterday to seven of the robberies. But he admitted to all the heists during a hearing in Newark before U.S. District Judge Joseph Greenaway, and is likely to face a minimum of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in August. Why he robbed the banks remains unclear. Defense attorney James Patton said Williams, a 30-year-old father of two children, had "emotional difficulties" related to his job at the Whippany postal facility, but declined to elaborate. He said Williams has agreed to be evaluated by a psychiatrist. Williams wore handcuffs and a dark green prison uniform in court yesterday. He said nothing beyond a litany of a one-word replies as Gannett recited the details of all 27 robberies and asked him if he agreed. The heists were nearly identical. Besides extending his cheeks, Williams typically donned a baseball cap and gave tellers a note warning that he would begin shooting within minutes if he didn't receive all the bills -- $50 or $100 bills or both -- in their drawer. Investigators aren't sure he was armed. He walked away with more than $11,000 in some robberies and empty-handed from others. He still maintained the postal job during most of the time he was committing the robberies, but sometimes "had trouble showing up for work." said Special Agent Carrie Brzezinski, the lead agent on the case. The first dozen robberies occurred in central and northern New Jersey. But after the so-called "Puffy Cheek Bandit" gained attention in newspapers and on the television show "America's Most Wanted," Williams looked for targets outside the state. He struck in Aberdeen, Md., Liberty, Ohio, Woodbridge, Va., and in Mt. Pocono, Pa. In all, he collected more than $100,000 between September 1998 and last fall. A fingerprint taken in one of the first robberies -- but lost for years in a backlog of cases at the FBI lab -- led investigators to Williams last fall. The prints matched some taken from Williams after a minor offense he committed years ago. Brzezinski declined to elaborate on the delay. "It just didn't get done," she said. Gannett, the prosecutor, said she still don't know how Williams first chose his method of disguise. Why he stuck with it was slightly clearer. "Obviously, it worked." she said. http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1050388346161220.xml 6. Student leaders speak on downtown cameras Tuesday, April 15, 2003 By William Berry and Rory Hassler Collegian Staff Writers Student leaders spoke out against the installation of surveillance cameras on Beaver Avenue at the State College Borough Council work session last night. Of about 15 citizens who addressed council, all of them expressed various levels of discontent with the proposal, and several, including USG President Ian Rosenberger, requested the issue be tabled until the fall semester. For the most part, council members remained silent during the testimony. Council President Richard McCarl said he doesn't believe council will vote on the protocol at its April 21 meeting. However, he did not know if council would conduct a final vote on May 5. A vote will not take place over the summer, McCarl said. Rosenberger asked that council not vote during finals week. He is attempting to get more than 2,000 signatures against the proposal to present to council by next week. The petition is in the USG office, 223 HUB-Robeson Center, and will be distributed to student organizations. "Penn State students are by a majority against placing surveillance cameras downtown," he said. "I want to encourage students to crowd the council meeting on April 21. In this case students make up almost 100 percent of the constituents effected by the security camera issue. This is an awesome opportunity for students to have a voice." A referendum asking if Penn State should partially fund the installation of the cameras was voted down by a 4:1 ratio, Rosenberger said. Jason Covener, a non-degree conditional undergraduate student, suggested council let the community decide. "You say you want the community involved in the decision," he said. "Put it on the ballot as a referendum at the next election. Put your money where your mouth is." Dan Leathers, president of the College Libertarians and co-coordinator of the Penn State chapter of the ACLU, already has presented council with a petition with about 700 signatures against the cameras. "Penn State, in its hopes to mend any bad blood between the university and the local community hopes to buy its way out of past problems with a $10,000 check towards the project," Leathers said. "Penn State's Bill Asbury, who met with the local chapter of the ACLU, said he would recommend not funding the cameras if they were to be used in any circumstance other than riots." State College Police Chief Tom King said he will attempt to incorporate the comments and views aired throughout the night as he makes revisions to the protocol over the next week. Rosenberger will meet with King today to further discuss the issue. Earlier in last night's meeting, the debate started with a presentation by King on his proposal. "We have tried a lot of things since 1998," he said. "We still have problems, it's time we try something else." The cameras, which would only record images and not sound, would be focused on the sidewalks and streets, King said. Cameras would be programmed to automatically pan, tilt and zoom in order to cover the widest area, he said. A special feature would create a tint over any glass, inhibiting viewing into apartments and private areas. "The cameras shouldn't see anything you can't see from the street," he said. "What they will be viewing is what occurs on public property." Recorded images will be stored digitally on a computer and will be kept for 30 to 45 days before being erased, King said. If the image is being used for an investigation, it can be stored for a longer period of time, he said. While the images are stored on the computer, only certain personnel will have access to them, he said. "This isn't an instance of having a tape that we could take home and watch with popcorn," King said. The plan also calls for the establishment of a police chief's advisory committee to ensure implementation would take place in a public and a professional manner. The committee, made up of local officials, would periodically review procedures and make recommendations to King. Council would have to approve all changes in procedure. Council members as well as citizens raised questions about who should be on the advisory committee. Janet Knauer said she did not see a need for the inclusion of the chair of the Pedestrian Traffic Safety Committee. Others expressed concern that there wasn't a spot for a community member. Council members Tom Daubert and Goreham are unwaveringly opposed to cameras, while Cathy Dauler and James Meyer are in favor of the plan. McManis appears to be leaning toward voting for the plan. "The gauntlet is being thrown down and there has to be a way for us to address the problem," McManis said. McCarl expressed similar views. "I'm probably coming down on the side of saying it's a good idea right now," McCarl said. Knauer said she is leaning against the proposal. http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2003/04/04-15-03tdc/04-15-03dnews-11.asp X-From_: info@notbored.org Fri May 2 02:27:38 2003 X-Original-To: info@notbored.org X-Sender: notbored@POPserver.panix.com (Unverified) Date: Fri, 2 May 2003 02:20:11 -0400 To: me<info@notbored.org>From: SCP<info@notbored.org>Subject: clipping service Status: RO X-Status: Comes before you the clipping service of the Surveillance Camera Players https://notbored.org/the-scp.html To unsubscribe from it, reply by saying "Nay." ************************************* 1. High-tech Peeping Toms target of bill (USA) 2. Guardian Angels patrol Caernarfon (Wales) 3. CCTV system dubbed ineffective (Wales) 4. Oneida casino to employ facial recognition system (USA) 5. Security camera sends message to phones (USA) 6. Card readers, cameras found at area cash machines (USA) ************************************* 1. High-tech Peeping Toms target of bill April 15 , 2003 The Associated Press - ATLANTA Lawmakers want to crack down on high-tech Peeping Toms who use Internet minicams and video cameras that look like clock radios. A first-ever bill before the Georgia House would move into the digital age and expand felony peeping beyond simply sneaking up to someones window. "There are huge gaps in the law when it comes to this state-of-the-art technology stuff," said Sen. Randy Hall, an Augusta Republican who sponsored the measure. "Right now there are people finding pictures of themselves on the Internet, and prosecutors can't do much about it except patch together some misdemeanors," Hall said. "About the only way to get a Peeping Tom conviction is if youre going on someone elses property and looking in the windows." The bill passed the Senate unanimously earlier this month. Now the House is deciding whether to pass it in the last three days of the session. The measure would rewrite the Peeping Tom law to include surveillance tools such as telescopes, binoculars, cameras and videocameras. Pocket-sized videocameras cost less than $200 on the Internet, and peepers can also buy cameras disguised as smoke detectors or clock radios. A Peeping Tom conviction carries a penalty of one to five years in prison and a possible $10,000 fine. Some House members are hesitant to approve the bill, fearing it goes too far. The House Rules Committee failed to schedule a vote on it earlier this week. "What if I was at Panama City Beach with a pair of binoculars looking at girls on the beach? That's going to be a felony?" asked Rep. Bobby Parham, D-Milledgeville. Hall pointed out that the Peeping Tom laws only apply where people have an expectation of privacy, a legal term that means people would not expect to be recorded in places such as restroom stalls or hotel showers. Outside, its legal to record other people. "All were trying to do is protect the privacy rights of Georgians that already exist. To do that, we need to close some gaps in the law," Hall said. http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=7922 2. Guardian Angels patrol Caernarfon A north Wales town plagued by violent gang attacks has decided to imitate New York by inviting Guardian Angels to patrol its streets. Growing concern about late night attacks by youths in Caernarfon - which have left some victims hospitalised - has led to the local people taking unprecedented action in Wales. On Wednesday, Welsh language BBC programme Taro Naw will reveal how steps are being taken to establish vigilante patrols to deal with the problem. The programme follows New York Guardian Angel, Arnaldo Salinas, who has been over to advise on how to deal with the anti-social behaviour of the town's youth. Although Caernarfon has a population of only 9,500, over 500 cases of violent behaviour were reported to the police there last year. This compares to over 900 in Chester which has a population of over 100,000. Most of the attacks by teenage gangs happened either in the town centre or on the Maes Barcer housing estate. [...] Some shopkeepers in Caernarfon have criticised the town's CCTV system, saying it is an ineffective surveillance method. Noel Perkins, owner of Dodrefn Perkins in Caernarfon, said: "The situation is absolutely ridiculous - CCTV isn't effective and the police are never round on the beat," he said. But Gwynedd community safety officer, Clive James, said it was important to remember CCTV was only one weapon in the war against crime. "There is a feeling amongst the public that the cameras should sort out all the problems in the town," he said. "But it will only do so in tandem with other measures - the most important one being that people report crimes to the police." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_west/2951075.stm 3. CCTV system dubbed ineffective Friday, 7 February, 2003, 18:04 GMT Crime surveillance methods in Caernarfon have come under fire from traders who say the CCTV in the town is ineffective. Business owners claim the problem has been compounded by a lack of police on the beat. Closed-circuit television cameras have been installed at key locations throughout the town, however, a number of late night disturbances have gone undetected. North Wales Police defended the crime detection rates and said many arrests had been made following the spate of anti-social incidents. However, Noel Perkins, owner of Dodrefn Perkins in Caernarfon, said he would not set up in business knowing what he does now. "The situation is absolutely ridiculous - the CCTV isn't effective and the police are never round on the beat," he said. "We've had five large windows broken in two years. It wouldn't be too bad if the situation was now resolved but it's just as bad as it's ever been. In hindsight I don't think I'd bother setting up a business in the town," he said. Clive James is the officer responsible for community safety for Gwynedd council who operate the CCTV system. He said it was important to remember CCTV was only one weapon in the war against crime. "There is a feeling amongst the public that the cameras should sort out all the problems in the town," said Mr James. "But it will only do so in tandem with other measures - the most important one being that people report crimes to the police." The council has begun an overview of the whole system before preparing a report on the way ahead. Businessman Adrian Williams, from Richards Newsagents, also feels the situation is disgraceful. "Someone smashed the shop window by head butting it at 2130 GMT on a Friday night," he said. "The CCTV camera lies 20 yards away from the shop yet it didn't pick up the incident. The fact that you only see the police around in the van doesn't help. The whole town would feel better if police officers were walking around Caernarfon," he added. Community safety officer Alan Bevan from North Wales Police said an 40 extra officers were being trained. "This will certainly help in terms of getting more officers on the beat," he said. "The number of specialist departments within the police has increased dramatically in recent times and, as a result, this has meant fewer officers patrolling the street." The concerns have prompted the setting up of the Gwynedd Community Safety Partnership made up of representatives from various bodies, such as the police, council and the business community. The hope is to bring a co-ordinated approach to beating crime in the town. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/2334239.stm 4. Oneida casino to employ facial recognition system 17 April 2003 Oneida Bingo & Casino, Oneida, will employ facial recognition software in conjunction with its surveillance cameras to identify and exclude people from prohibited areas. The Green Bay-area casino, operated by the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, has purchased a license for a facial recognition surveillance application from Vancouver, Canada-based law enforcement software firm Imagis Technologies Inc., Imagis said. Imagis software allows casino operators to scan crowds and identify people from images captured by video cameras. The Oneida Nation Police Department has also purchased a license for a computerized arrest and booking system from Imagis. The system will enable integration with the facial recognition software and connect the department with a national database of offenders. Terms of the licensing agreements were not disclosed. The Oneida Nation worked with its security partner, API Technologies Inc., Oneida, in acquiring the licenses. http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2003/04/14/daily39.html 5. Security camera sends message to phones Thursday, April 17 Ben Charny CNET A wall-mounted surveillance camera that can send images directly to a cellphone will be available in the United States this summer, according to maker Nokia. The Observation Camera will launch in July, executives for the Finnish phone giant said Tuesday. The sub-$500 (U.S.) device is among the first to use so-called machine-to-machine (M2M) technology, which lets machines use cellular telephone networks to communicate with computer systems or other machines. M2M has attracted some big-name supporters, including Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Intel, which are all trying to capture a bigger slice of the emerging market for wireless monitoring gear. Wireless Data Research Group expects worldwide sales of such devices to blossom to $28-billion a year by 2007, as companies rip out the wiring now needed to accomplish the same tasks. But for now, devices and buyers remain few and far between. Nokia has released just one other product, a GSM connectivity terminal. Meanwhile, customers for M2M gear are limited mainly to security firms or large manufacturing plants, said Michael Lang, president of wireless equipment provider Airdesk, which plans to sell the new Nokia-made cameras in the United States. Mr. Lang said each cameras will cost $350 to $400 and will be coupled with cellular service from either AT&T Wireless or T-Mobile, both of which have approved the device for use on their networks. The machine-to-machine concept, introduced two years ago and heavily backed by Nokia, would provide a cellular phone number and phone radio to the billions of machines on the planet. That way, they could automatically communicate their needs, such as when they require repairs, by sending a message over a cellular network. The camera is turned from optical wonder to cellphone dialer by the insertion of a subscriber identification module (SIM) card, which is the thumbnail-sized chip inside cellphones that contains key subscriber information such as account numbers and pass codes. By adding a SIM card, which is easily removable from cellphones, the camera literally has a phone number. With a few programming tweaks, any cellphone can send it a blank text message, and the camera replies with a photo of something snapped just moments earlier, said Nokia spokesman Keith Nowak. http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030417.gtcamapr17/GTStory 6. Card readers, cameras found at area cash machines: ATM theft goes high-tech BY KEN GOZE STAFF WRITER Police and the banking industry are trying to stay ahead of a new form of fraud which can steal customer's bank account numbers and codes as they use automated teller machines. In recent weeks the crime, known as ATM skimming, has made its first appearance on the North Shore and elsewhere in the Chicago area. Skimming devices, which capture cardholder information, were discovered March 31 on an ATM at Harris Bank's Skokie Boulevard branch in Wilmette. No arrests have been made in that incident, but police are working with banks and the public to help customers spot the scam. "We're working with the Secret Service on the case to try to positively identify the suspects and locate them," said Wilmette Police Detective Kyle Murphy. By getting customer account numbers and personal identification numbers, skimmers can program their own blank bank cards and empty funds from hundreds of accounts. Thieves get the information by installing their own card readers on the ATM, along with a camera or other device to get the PIN codes each time a transaction is made. In the most recent Wilmette case, the card reader was placed over the machine's card slot, which allowed transactions to work normally but grabbed and stored numbers for the skimmers. Police believe the card reader holds 100 or more numbers and may have been placed and retrieved several times over the weekend before it was discovered. The camera captured an overhead view of the ATM keypad and apparently transmitted the images to a nearby vehicle, and crew members likely kept the bank under surveillance. The devices were relatively unobtrusive, but drew the attention of an alert branch manager. "A small number of our customers were affected, and we have reached out to each one of them," said Jennifer Dillon, media relations manager for Harris Bank. "It is an issue for the whole banking industry and we're trying to spread the word so people know what to look for." http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/localnews/current/gl/04-17-03-1122.html