With Public Sector Violence on the Rise, How do you Get Help when Every Second Counts while Balancing Privacy with Public Safety?

We can show you how with just the push of a button, you can instantly alert a authorities and open “eyelids” on SITUCAM’s (www.situcon.com) Privacy Protecting Camera System allowing responders to see exactly what is happening. Then get you the help you need, while your privacy is guaranteed at all other times.

With violence on the rise in town buildings across s the United States, Marshfield, MA felt it needed to enhance its conventional 911 System to further ensure employee and public safety.  Because of privacy restrictions, likely targets such as the selectmen’s meeting room in the Town Hall were strictly off limits for a traditional video surveillance system.

Marshfield found its answer with SITUCON Systems’ innovative Privacy Protecting Technology. The SITUCAM enclosure system provides mechanical eyelids over the network cameras. In the privacy protecting mode, the eyelids remain closed, making it clear that the cameras are e not in use. In the awareness mode, the eyelids open to o allow the cameras to transmit video and other critical information to 911 dispatchers.

SITUCON’s wireless alert buttons allow town employees to instantly notify police of an incident and automatically initiate recording by the network cameras. Information about the person who pressed the alert button – including their photo, cell phone number and location – are displayed for the dispatcher with the video. Marshfield has also chosen to automatically activate the cameras after-hours, using embedded intelligent video motion detection to deter vandalism or theft.

 “This one-of-a-kind system solved our greatest challenge by allowing us to place cameras in sensitive locations where we never c could before,” says Bill Sullivan, Chief of Police for the town of Marshfield.” It also saved us the time and expense of continually monitoring cameras all day long.”

In another installation in Brookline, MA part of one of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) regions. In order to ensure the safety and security of citizens, the federal government funded a camera a system intended to monitor major thoroughfares and evacuation routes throughout the town of Brookline. Not only does Brookline have increased security concerns because it borders a major city, but the Boston area is also regarded as having the strictest privacy standards in the United Shortly after installation, the town became concerned that the safety benefits of these cameras did not outweigh their perceived intrusion on personal freedom and privacy, and voted to take the system down. Faced with this, Brookline struggled to retain the safety and security benefits of the cameras, which had aided police in nearly 80 investigations since their installation, while providing the comfortable environment their community desired. Brookline officials quickly realized that making video available only at specific times was the answer to providing both safety and privacy. SituCon Systems was called upon to deploy its Emergency Awareness Solution.

SITUCON's solution electronically and physically masks camera images at all times other than when camera use is needed due to safety concerns. To guarantee privacy, SITUCAM Privacy Protecting Cameras which are installed at important intersections throughout the town, were deployed.

Now, instead of 24/7 surveillance, Brookline's cameras are only active during high risk periods, such as at night. Brookline now offers its citizens the security and privacy they desire. In the event of an emergency, the Brookline Police Department can remotely activate the cameras using SITUCON's software, which simultaneously sends text messages and email to notify privacy advocates and town officials that cameras are in use.

As Scott Wilder, Technology Director of the Brookline Police Department points out, “SITUCON is the only technology that provides law enforcement with complete real-time video of an incident while protecting community privacy at all other times."

We have discovered applications in Schools, Police Stations, Libraries, Court Houses, Public Works Facilities, IT Rooms, Daycare Centers, Healthcare Centers and Long Term Care Facilities. Every day we discover many other public sector and private sector solutions where privacy is critical as well as liability, safety and security awareness. With SITUCON you can start with a focused program which addresses your immediate needs and build out to include additional areas as needs increase and budgets will allow.

To learn more about the SITUCON solution, designed to go where video surveillance can’t, call James E. McDonald, Government Contracts and Systems Integration Consultant at (508) 453-2731 or drop him an Email at jmcdonald@americanalarm.com.