Bureaucratic Woes Can Affect Security

Usually when security cameras are mentioned in the news, it's because of what they recorded. However last month, several news reports centered around what they didn't record How could they? They weren't running, and haven't been for some time. Both situations point up the necessity of updating and maintaining IP camera surveillance systems.

Hoboken, NJ

One incident was, and continues to be tragic. On March 31, a young man went on a post midnight jog along the Hoboken waterfront. His fate has yet to be discovered. The police know his route through the business district because he was caught on several security cameras maintained by merchants and restaurants however once he approached the public riverside promenade, where at least two city-owned network

cameras are mounted,  the trail turns cold. The reason? Out of a municipal surveillance network of ten cameras, installed in 2004, none are working, nor have they been since 2010.

According to an NBC NY I-Team report, the cameras went offline four years ago when a contract the city had with the company responsible for system maintenance expired. Due to an irregularity in the bidding process it was never renewed. A spokesman for the mayor told reporters that an engineer was called in a couple of years ago and his advice was "this system is old and not maintained and the recommendation was that they really weren't usable."


Pittsburgh, PA

A similar situation exists in Pittsburgh, PA.  According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, nearly a quarter of the $1.4M worth of surveillance cameras bought in 2009 with a Department of Homeland Security Grant have

been taken offline because either they are not transmitting at all, or are providing fuzzy images. Why? Due to a bureaucratic snafu, the contract to renew maintenance went unsigned. When the contractor was never paid for work they had continued to do, work ceased.
However unlike Hoboken, 75% did continue to function, and fortunately so, since a combined surveillance video from public and private security cameras were instrumental in providing footage that led to the recent apprehension of a suspect in a double homicide.

The Foreseeable Future

In Pittsburgh, Mayor Bill Peduto's reaction, as reported by CBS Pittsburgh?  "It's a big concern. Anytime we spend a lot of money and buy equipment that's supposed to be used for the public, especially for public safety and  it's not being used or turned on, it raises a lot of questions."

At present the situation is on track to being remedied. Cameras  may soon be back on the job since the city council is expected to approve paying the contractor. How long that will take depends on the bureaucratic path the check must travel.

Meanwhile in Hoboken,  two weeks ago, the city received notification that it had been granted a FEMA Port Security Grant. The mayor's spokesman said the money will most likely go to purchase eight new cameras to monitor the waterfront.  Why most likely?  The city council must vote on whether to accept the grant!?!?

Let's hope when it comes time to replace what they have, both cities will select IP camera systems which

offer ease of maintenance and remote focus lenses and PTZ controls Also since IP camera security systems are network attached, they are highly scalable meaning cameras can be added or replaced without any effect on the whole system.



Kintronics can answer any questions you might have about security products. Call us at 914-944-3425 or fill out an information form and we'll get back to you with all the info you need.