Four police chiefs and commanders spoke on the importance of remote video surveillance video at the 2015 International Security Conference. They agreed that remote video surveillance led to both greater security and faster police response time.
The panel – Law Enforcement Explains Priority Response and Verified Alarms was hosted by SDM, the leading security industry magazine. SDM reports video surveillance and other electronic security news for commercial, business, and residential markets.
The police security presentation covered the following topics.
- Police Chief Chris Vinson, Highland Park (Dallas) TX: Remote Video Surveillance
- Commander Scott Edson, Los Angeles, CA: Wireless Surveillance System Credibility
- Deputy Police Chief Paul Calvaruso, Akron, OH: Priority Police Dispatch
- Police Commander Drake Massey, Kern County, CA: Business Surveillance
Police Chief Chris Vinson represented Highland Park Police Department. Highland Park was an affluent area of the Dallas – Ft. Worth Metroplex. The most common crime reported was Property Crime while the second most common was theft.
Highland Park’s crime rate was 43% lower compared to the national average.
Vinson also served as the chairman for the Texas Police Chief’s Association Alarm Committee. He represented 1,900 law enforcement agencies that ranged in size. Some were as small as a one man department, while some were as large with 5,000 personnel and departments.
He discussed how to define alarms and their priorities with the members he represented. This discussion led to a more uniformed response for the different alarms. Also, it helped set a standard for prioritization of alarms.
If they received an alarm that didn’t match their definition of ‘high priority’, it was pushed to the bottom of the call stack. This also happened if they received alarms for similar events.
What happened to those calls that required a higher response? Those calls were pushed to the top. It was these kinds of events that were necessary for a police officer to make an arrest. Vinson hinted that several crime incidents were done by repeat offenders. If you were able to arrest a criminal, it created a ripple effect.
If the criminal was arrested, it could have led to different outcomes. The police department may have been able to prevent future crimes. Also, the police department may have been able to solve several previous crimes that the criminal committed.
Events like this had an effect on the overall crime rate of a city or area of jurisdiction.
Vinson had an informal process of alarm verification. Because Highland Park is a high-end community, many homes and business had remote video surveillance. What happened when an operator reported an alarm with video associated with it? The alarm would have been classified as a crime in progress.
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