Cameras Spreading in U.S. Cities

A primer on municipal security systems – focused on closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) – is offered by SecurityInfoWatch. Reasons for, and applications of, the spreading use of CCTV in U.S. cities are given in the piece by Mariann McDonagh, executive vice president of global marketing for video surveillance solutions and analytics of Verint Systems.

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CCTV has been growing worldwide in the past 10 years. “Currently, the UK has more video surveillance systems per capita than any other country in the world,” McDonagh writes, “and more than 89 cities in Latin America use citywide surveillance.

“Traditionally, municipalities in the United States have been more reluctant to deploy video surveillance solutions for public safety monitoring. However, recent spikes in drug trafficking and violent crime in certain cities have prompted police departments, community associations and local business districts to explore the deployment of surveillance technologies to reduce crime, increase property values and bring customers back into their businesses. In fact 36 cities in the U.S. have installed public safety networks, with most being used for CCTV, and more than 149 cities across the U.S. have plans to install public safety networks in the next five years.”