Cameras at Park & Ride Lots Capture Crime
Monday, July 30, 2007 1:03 PM
Just how effective is the eye that never sleeps?
Since February of this year, we have had 354 cameras in our 26 Park & Ride lots. Although METRO police are still learning how to use these cameras as a tool to catch the bad guys, so far the initial results are impressive.
"It has become a very good investigative tool, and we're trying to get more and more use to get more and more benefits from the total system," said Chief Tom Lambert.
The video surveillance system scans both the platform and parking area 24/7 with central monitoring from the TranStar Security Console.
Consider these stats:
From October through June 2005, we had 181 Park & Ride incidents. In the same period 2006, it declined to 152. In the same period 2007, it dropped another 37 percent to 95 incidents.
What happens when the camera captures suspicious activity? It triggers an alarm which displays the video on one of eight video monitors. A Watch Command Officer (WCO) at TranStar decides if the alert requires any action.
The WCO can remotely control the cameras to zoom in on the activity and if necessary, dispatch patrol officers. The WCO then documents the video of the event for a follow-up investigation.
From the TranStar Security Console, the WCO can remotely open and close entrance and exit gates at the Park & Ride lots; speak with customers through the public address system, review file footage of past incidents from the previous night; and later, once evidence is captured, work closely with the investigations division.
Here are some examples of how the cameras have helped keep the Park & Ride lots more secure:
* Townsend Park & Ride: Medical emergency, 6/26/07. WCO spoke with a woman customer, notified EMS and police, using the emergency call box talked with her until help arrived.
* Eastex Park & Ride: Burglary motor vehicle, 5/10/07. Video from the gate showed a suspect vehicle and license number. Suspect was identified, interviewed and a confession obtained. Suspect was arrested and charged with two vehicle burglaries on 5/21/07. A search warrant was executed on 5/22/07 at the suspect's residence, and additional stolen property was recovered.
* Spring Park & Ride: Auto theft, 6/15/07. Video revealed a suspect vehicle bearing a paper buyer's tag. Video showed suspect's vehicle, and then the stolen vehicle leaving the lot. Three suspects identified, interviewed and charged in this and other auto thefts and vehicle burglaries at Fannin South, Fuqua and South Point.
Several arrests have been made, thanks to our eyes in the sky.
"The system is only as good as it gives information to the boots on the ground - the officers who are on the ground and who are at TranStar," says Lambert. "We want to take a year and get more operating experience - and once we do that, we'll look at enhancements."
Check out this video to see just what the camera captures.