Video Technology to Enhance Police Surveillance
The Cape Coral, FL, Police Department is receiving new technology that will make surveillance camera photos clear and allow detectives to perform sting operations from longer distances.
Video Detective is a self-contained, mobile video-processing lab that can record video, stills, and audio, and spruce up images and sound recordings handed over to investigators as proof. Police representative Dyan Lee notes that it means more cases will be solved quicker.
The $50,000 system is being financed by a U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant.
So far, around 250 law enforcement groups are employing Video Detective nationally. Instead of just enhancing a still image of a video, Video Detective can enhance the whole portion and replay it in a courtroom.
Recently, a bank surveillance tape captured a photo of an illegible license-plate number of a car that had been involved in a robbery. By using Video Detective, investigators were able to obtain an illegible license plate number, send it to the media, and receive a tip that resulted in the suspect’s arrest.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) from the Fort Myers News-Press (05/01/07); Myers, Rachel.