Thursday, September 23, 2010

Real-time Security Cameras in the NYC Subway


Since their very creation, subways have been dangerous places. The large underground train stations became breeding grounds for crime, a weigh station for the homeless, and more recently, an ideal target for terrorists. Security cameras have been in place in subways for many years, but these cameras were only useful for seeing what took place after the fact. As frightening as this all is, subways are still an extremely useful form of transportation used by thousands of people a day, and because of their consistent popularity, New York has decided to install real-time security cameras in their subway systems. With these cameras in place the New York Police Department hopes to stop crime before it starts.

While over 3,000 security cameras monitor the whole of the New York subway, only cameras from the three main stations broadcast in real-time. The Grand Central, Time Square, and Pennsylvania stations are the main hubs of the subway and therefore have the most traffic. Because of their size and importance to the subway system these are also the three stations that are the biggest targets to terrorists. The hope is that the knowledge that the authorities are always watching will eliminate the temptation to commit crimes.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly states that "Around the world, we've seen subway and rail lines attacked. In London, in Madrid, in Moscow, in Mumbai," Kelly said. "Having access to these MTA cameras gives us another crucial tool with which to protect New York's transit system."

The cameras are connected to the police station via a high-bandwith fiber optic network. Once broadcast to the police station, the real-time images are displayed on computer screens and can be used to analyze images with tools like license plate readers and environmental sensors. The goal is to eventually have 3,000 real-time cameras up and running. There are currently 1,159 functional cameras. The cost for these cameras is a whopping $200 million dollars, paid for with grants from Homeland Security. Mayor Michael Bloomberg assures the city that these costs are necessary, and that technology is the only way to continue making the city safer.

Eventually New York hopes to mimic the London subway's "Ring of Steel" security camera network, which has more than 12,000 cameras up and running. London security officials say they plan to add even more cameras, enough to record the face of every person who enters the subway. With the recent arrest of a Colorado man who planned to bomb three New York subway stations, the camera system couldn't come at a better time for New York.
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