Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 39
39
makes it immediately available to all other users of the · Hot spot ratio--the amount of time officers spend
system. This type of information sharing has assisted in hot spots divided by the amount of time hot spots
ETS police in apprehending assailants and other crim- exist during the officers' shifts;
inals, and bringing them to justice. The system utilizes · Reporting--the amount of time, in days, it takes to
a customized web portal to streamline its intelligence complete a report;
dissemination process. The intelligence disseminated · Officer-initiated reporting (street information checks
includes the daily forecast, daily security highlights, and trespass reports); and
Be on the Lookout For (BOLF) bulletins with infor- · Number of reports submitted by officers.
mation about missing and wanted persons, information
about individuals who have been banned from ETS Another transit agency currently using CompStat is the
and modifications to those bans, street information Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA).
reports with reports of suspicious activity, special duty Other agencies use selected elements of these crime manage-
calendar, special events calendar, special projects, dis- ment techniques. Incident mapping, for instance, is a com-
cussion board for officers, monthly security incident pelling and easily implementable way to understand the
summaries, and administrative links and forms. geographical location of crimes and is also used by transit
ETS CAD system--ETS Computer Aided Call-Taking agencies such as the TTC to map assaults and distribute the
and Dispatch (CAD) system allows security resources information to operators.
to be dispatched to incidents, viewing of unit status
updates, clearing units from incidents, and updating
incident type or location. The CAD "intelligent" map- VIDEO SURVEILLANCE
ping and data-entry system seamlessly integrates an
interactive, real-time map display with call handling, Video surveillance is widely used by transit agencies and is
dispatching, records and information management, believed to address a number of important issues, including
remote access, and mobile data. Front-line officers on crime and terrorism, accident and incident investigations, and
the street have remote access to the CAD system and passenger injury claims. Video surveillance was considered
have secure access to live information and the ability the most effective technology by survey participants in the pre-
to search for needed information. It is the same CAD vention of operator assaults. Although the capital expenditure
software in use by the Edmonton Police Service. to deploy video surveillance for a bus fleet can be significant,
Trespasser Tracker--There are, on average, more than its versatility and ability to meet multiple needs of transit agen-
125 persons banned from the system at any one time. To cies make video surveillance a desirable security measure.
assist officers in tracking and locating banned individu- Agencies have been moving toward wireless systems that
als, the Trespasser Tracker application was created. It enable easy uploading of video recordings. The systems also
provides photos of the individuals and information offer the ability to set up real-time transmission of video to a
about where the offender is likely to be, and when. This dispatch vehicle or police cruiser. However, this capability is
information is ranked by how reliable it is. not being widely utilized owing to the additional costs and
Scheduling software--ETS Security uses a custom-built complexity of adding this functionality. Intelligent video ana-
shift scheduling software application allowing peace lytics are under study by transit agencies for use by rail modes
officers to manage shift coverage and record time and for transit facilities; they have the potential to be used in
worked for payroll generation. ETS Security also uses onboard bus applications to automatically identify and alert
a custom-built employee database containing officer dispatchers or law enforcement of suspicious behavior.
information. In addition, a Fare Evasion Database
was developed specifically to address fare evasion Privacy concerns by operators have been successfully
monitoring requirements. addressed by informing operators of the primary non-
CompStat--ETS Security adapted the CompStat process disciplinary purpose of the surveillance or by configuring the
that was originally created by NYC Transit Police and system so the cameras are not directed towards operators. Many
subsequently adopted for use by NYPD for the entire disputes and incidents, however, occur near the operator's seat-
city of New York in the mid-1990s. To facilitate ing area and would not be captured with this configuration. Sev-
CompStat's crime management process, in 2004 to eral agencies noted that their operators and unions were initially
2005 ETS Security developed performance measures against the installation of video surveillance technology, but
that are presented in a dashboard format. The follow- after implementation, operators realized the usefulness of the
ing performance measures are used to motivate and system and have now accepted it. Privacy concerns by the pub-
monitor performance of their security unit, officers, lic can be addressed by placing appropriate signage visible to
and officer teams: passengers as they board the bus. Because video surveillance is
· Crimes per 1 million riders, percent difference from now prevalent in many public places, the public has become
previous year categorized into violent crime, prop- accustomed to video surveillance and many passengers wel-
erty crime, and other crime; come it. One agency noted that because only a portion of their
· Percent correlation between incidents and deploy- fleet is equipped with video surveillance, they assign buses so
ments; equipped to routes with higher incidences of crime.
OCR for page 40
40
Advantages depot. Currently, wireless uploading is not possible because
of bandwidth issues.
· Agency perspective--serves multiple purposes, includ-
ing the deterrence of assaults and crime, provision of
legal evidence, and facilitation of the disposition of Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation
cases/incidents. Significant savings can be realized by Authority, Rochester, New York
eliminating or mitigating fraudulent claims. Video is
also useful as a training and post-incident analysis tool. The video system installed in 2005 in most of the RGRTA fleet
Wireless systems are able to transmit performance is a mobile digital video recording system. According to
reports of equipment to the agency and can automati- the RGRTA risk manager, the RGRTA's video system is
cally save tagged video to the agency server. In addition, extremely cost-effective. Because 75% of its lawsuits are friv-
video systems are scalable--the number of cameras on olous, fraudulent, or exaggerated, the agency saves hundreds
each bus and the number of buses with cameras can be of thousands of dollars by using video evidence to eliminate or
increased as needed when budget allows. effectively address these claims. Video evidence has allowed
· Bus operator perspective--increased perception of secu- RGRTA to institute a no-pay policy for nuisance and fraudu-
rity; video recordings can support their version of an inci- lent claims, and has helped RGRTA resolve more than 50 false
dent, and can be used to support worker's compensation liability claims out of court and successfully defended itself
claims. If an operator is physically assaulted or verbally against another 25. One case alone can amount to $15,000 for
threatened, the video provides legal evidence of the attack defense, $7,000 for medical expenses, and $100,000 for a set-
and can be used to identify and prosecute the attacker. tlement in the absence of the video evidence. With regard to
· As noted by an agency, their bus operators who have the impact on the assault rate, the overall impact is unchanged
reminded aggressive or threatening passengers that they at this time because the routes that have not been equipped
are being recorded have been able to stave off the with video surveillance are the ones that serve Rochester
schools and have the highest assault rates.
escalation of disputes.
· Customer perspective--increased perception of security.
RGRTA had originally equipped its standard-sized
buses with five cameras, but added three more to capture
Disadvantages incidents occurring outside the bus. RGRTA operators or
staff tag video for uploading when there is an assault and in
· Bus operator perspective--feelings of invasion of pri- response to customer complaints, accidents, slips and falls,
vacy, feelings of unease about video being used for disci- and onboard incidents. The download process occurs at the
plinary purposes, and questionable effectiveness against depot and is efficient because it uses a wireless system.
assaults that are spontaneous in nature.
· Customer perspective--feelings of invasion of privacy. RGRTA works with law enforcement to locate and iden-
· Requires substantial capital investment and yearly tify the assailant and provides police with still images of the
operations and maintenance (O&M); requires time and assailant. Once caught, the assailant is aggressively prose-
effort to transfer video from a bus to a central server, cuted. Video recordings are provided to the district attorney's
especially if the system is not wireless; also, time and office. To ensure that the video recording can be used as legal
effort are needed to tag/store video and retrieve video. evidence, the video needs to be time- and date-stamped, and
· Other requests, including those for public disclosure, a chain of custody established for pulling and storing it.
may increase. RGRTA's transit staff are prepared to attest to the authentic-
ity of the video evidence and explain how the system records
and stores video.
Agency Experience
The new digital video system provides more coverage of
Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority, the operator. Initially, the union was concerned, but the
Bridgeport, Connecticut agency assured the union that video would only be pulled in
event of an incident. Operators now accept the video system
Greater Bridgeport Transit (GBT) provides local, regional,
and are open to using it as a training tool. Many who see
and express bus services in the Bridgeport metropolitan area,
themselves on video during an incident are shocked by their
including Milford, Norwalk, Derby, and Monroe. GBT uses
own behavior.
video surveillance but does not record audio, because Con-
necticut state law requires consent of both parties to record
audio. The video surveillance system was installed 6 to 7 King County Metro Transit, Seattle, Washington
years ago and has been very beneficial in reducing false lia-
bility claims and deterring assaults. If there is an incident, the Metro Transit serves King County residents with a fleet of
operator tags the video by pressing a button. The video is then 1,300 vehicles within a 2,134 mi2 service area. Currently,
uploaded manually onto a PC after the bus returns to the Metro Transit has 275 buses with cameras and is expecting to
OCR for page 41
41
have another 100 buses equipped by end of 2010 and another the original hard drive and retains a copy of it. Additionally, the
200 in the next few years. Therefore, by end of 2012, over half system data is "water-marked" so IndyGo can prove that video
of the fleet of 1,400 buses should have video and audio sur- and audio have not been altered. Each bus has signage inform-
veillance. Metro Transit's video surveillance system consists ing passengers that video and audio recording is taking place,
of four to eight cameras per bus--on 60-ft buses, six to eight and that passengers who do not wish to be recorded can choose
cameras and on 40-ft buses, at least four cameras. Rapid Ride not to use IndyGo. IndyGo has also extensively communicated
System buses have 10 cameras. The system has been useful the existence of the video and audio recording technology to its
for multiple purposes, including capturing and prosecuting riders and to the general public. Public perception of the tech-
assailants who attack Metro Transit operators and the mitiga- nology has been excellent. The cost was about $6,000 per bus,
tion of purse snatchings. Instances in which it has been used and O&M cost is $170,000 per year for 220 buses. The O&M
include the following: contract provides for the complete replacement of defective
parts and a full-time on-site technician.
· An intoxicated person boarded the bus and took a seat
without paying and was asked for the fare by the opera-
tor. By the time he located his fare, another passenger MiamiDade Transit, Miami, Florida
was boarding. The intoxicated individual became impa-
tient and belligerent, and when the operator asked him to MDT operates more than 1,000 buses and started deployment
exit the bus, he punched the operator on the side of his of video surveillance on its buses in 1999 as a response to
head. When the photo of the individual taken from the the increase in assaults that had occurred in the early to
mid-1990s. About 80% of the bus fleet now has digital video
video camera was provided to the Department of Cor-
surveillance--there are five cameras on each bus; new buses
rections, they immediately identified him. He was taken
have six cameras. There are also three cameras on the outside
into custody and is now serving 41 months in prison.
of the bus. Concurrent audio recording also takes place from
· One night in January 2010, the operator was following
one of the channels from the DVR in the bus operator's com-
the policy of keeping the back door of the bus closed
partment. The most recent 75 buses and future purchases have
during evening and late-night hours. When she refused
cameras that face the operator. Concerns about the surveil-
to open the back door, teenage passengers on the bus
lance system were voiced by the union some time ago, but
became angry and beat her to unconsciousness. The
now the union and operators acknowledge the effectiveness
video recording of the assault enabled police to identify
of the cameras in deterring assaults against bus operators and
and capture her attackers. other crime. In 2005 to 2006, MDT began installing a new
video surveillance system in its new buses and started replac-
ing its older devices as warranties expired. MDT also pur-
IndyGo, Indianapolis, Indiana
chased a GPS option that allows it to identify the location and
IndyGo provided more than 8 million passenger trips in 2009, speed of the vehicle for tagged video. Legacy DVRs had
has 481 employees, 28 fixed routes, and more than 5,000 bus required MDT staff to board the bus to upload video and make
stops within the city of Indianapolis. IndyGo utilizes both changes at the start and end times of Daylight Savings Time.
video and audio recording devices on each bus. The equip-
ment has wireless functionality, allowing wireless uploading For MDT, the primary issue concerning the video systems
of recordings. IndyGo has had several instances (supported by revolves around the amount of additional work and effort
needed to make good use of the video. The effort involves a
video evidence) where the operator has reminded trouble-
considerable amount of labor in terms of staff to burn, store,
some or unruly passengers that they are being recorded, and
track, view videos and write reports on a daily basis. In addi-
the hostile threats from the passengers have stopped. In the
tion, further investigations of some of the incidents need to
last year, IndyGo has had only two operator assaults. IndyGo's
be conducted, and copies may need to be made for local law
union grieved the installation of the equipment and the use of
enforcement or for departments within the agency for inter-
the equipment to be used in matters of discipline after the fact.
nal use. The newer buses have wireless uploading capabil-
Significant time and effort was expended on this matter. The
ity that reduces the workload on the staff. As the buses pull
arbitrator ruled in IndyGo's favor, noting that the agency man-
into the depot, the video recordings for the day are automat-
agement has the full right to pull video at any time, and any ically uploaded onto a main server. MDT is working toward
operator can be disciplined based on findings from the video. the ability to view video from its surveillance cameras in
However, IndyGo management decided to pull video only to real-time.
investigate customer complaints, accidents, and other reported
problems; IndyGo managers still keep a log showing the rea-
son each piece of video is pulled. In general, bus operators Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority,
have now accepted the video surveillance system. St. Petersburg, Florida
IndyGo has not had any chain-of-custody issues. When the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) serves 12.2 mil-
police request video for evidence, IndyGo provides them with lion riders a year. Pinellas Transit's entire bus fleet has four to
