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| A Prism Business Media Property | |
| January 26, 2006 | Vol. 2 No. 2 |
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Table Of Contents Grant funding brings high surveillance to small towns Worldwide testing of electronic passports begins Expert offers five fixes for Homeland security DHS to create guard dispatch system ADVERTISEMENT Hirsch's reputation for reliability and high security is legendary. Hirsch's Velocity Security Management System delivers access control, alarm monitoring, video, badging, and interoperability into a single, integrated solution. Please contact Hirsch today to learn why Velocity won SIA's Product Achievement Award a remarkable five times. 1-949-250-8888 x140 or www.WeSecureBuildings.com In the News Grant funding brings high surveillance to small towns So far, the growth of small-town surveillance camera systems has not received much national notice, but according to a recent Washington Post article, the cameras already seem to be changing the way police operate in small towns. Large police departments have only started to embrace public surveillance in the past six years or so, long after privately owned cameras became commonplace at banks, ATMs and retail stores. Despite the popularity of these systems, some critics still question whether they are any good at stopping crimes in progress. Now, some smaller police departments are using surveillance cameras: An informal search turned up 17 with 100 or fewer officers that either had a surveillance system or plans to install one. In several cases, funding to buy cameras appears to have come from the federal government, either for community policing or Homeland security. Spokesmen for the departments of Justice and Homeland Security said they were unable to compile information about how many small-town camera programs the agencies had funded, or how much had been spent. Many of the police departments had success stories -- license plates spotted, witnesses located or suspects caught through the new camera technology. In Newnan, Ga., for instance, Chief D.L. Meadows recalled a case in which one of his 20 cameras spotted a drug suspect sitting on his front porch, then provided the chief with an electronic view of the arrest. But others say too few officers are available to have anyone watching the cameras full time. "It costs you virtually $100,000 to put an officer on the street, versus $5,000 for a camera," says Capt. William Zbacnik, of the Pittsburg, Calif., Police Department. "I'd put as many cameras out there as you can." ADVERTISEMENT 
Worldwide testing of electronic passports begins As part of the Department of Homeland Security's US-VISIT (United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology) program, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore have initiated a live test of electronic passports at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Changi Airport in Singapore, and Sydney Airport in Australia. The test, which runs through April 15, aims to assess the operational impact of the equipment used to verify biometric information embedded in the e-passports. Equipped with contactless integrated circuits that store biographic and biometric information, e-passports will support the identification and verification of individuals entering and exiting the United States. Biometric applications allow for the encoding of a unique physical characteristic of an individual such as a fingerprint into a biometric identifier that can be verified by a machine. "This test provides an important opportunity to work with our international partners to further the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to put in place an e-passport reader solution by the fall of this year," says Jim Williams, director of US-VISIT. Designed to reduce fraud, identity theft, and terrorism, electronic passports are one of several steps taken by the DHS to strengthen document integrity under US-VISIT's Visa Waiver Program (VWP), and will become mandatory beginning October 26, 2006. Twenty-seven countries currently participate in the VWP, which allows non-immigrant visitors to visit the United States for up to 90 days without a visa. The live test is being performed to help countries develop and implement electronic passports that are compliant with standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency which sets standards and regulations necessary to enable safe and efficient international civil aviation. A previous live test of e-passport technology, which began in June 2005 and ran throughout the summer, was conducted at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Sydney Airport. The results of the first test indicated that additional testing would be beneficial to the development of a fully operational system. Expert offers five fixes for Homeland security James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., senior research fellow for national security and Homeland security at The Heritage Foundation, a right-leaning think tank, says that while there has not been a successful terrorist attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001, the agenda for Homeland security is still unfinished. "There are five steps that should have been taken within a year of 9/11 that are still not complete. These steps are fundamental to building the security infrastructure that the nation needs for the long term," Carafino says. "The coming anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is a reminder of the urgency for the administration and Congress to act." Here are Carafino's five fixes: 1. Create an undersecretary for policy at DHS to conduct program analysis, perform long-range strategic planning, and undertake net assessments. Congress must elevate Assistant Secretary for Policy Stewart A. Baker's position to the undersecretary level. 2. Reform grant formulas so that 40 percent of the state grants are not simply "entitlements." As the 9/11 Commission's report accurately stated, the current system is in danger of turning Homeland security grants into "pork barrel funding." Grants should not be based on past funding or state population, but based on risk, vulnerability and national priorities. 3. Increase Coast Guard modernization funding. Since 9/11, increased activities are wearing out Coast Guard equipment much faster than anticipated. The Coast Guard needs at least $1.5 billion per year for modernization. 4. Enact comprehensive immigration and border security reform that must focus not only on curbing illegal entry through stronger border security, but also on internal law enforcement, economic factors, individual liberties and international cooperation. 5. Create regional outreach offices in DHS that mobilize state and local governments and public safety officials as partners in intelligence, emergency response and domestic counterterrorism, as required by the Homeland Security Act of 2002. DHS to create guard dispatch system The Homeland Security Department unit that supervises 12,000 security guards at federal buildings is looking to create a comprehensive electronic dispatch system for the first time, Government Computer News reports. The Federal Protective Service, part of DHS' Immigration and Customs Enforcement division, has published a request for information seeking off-the-shelf IT systems that would dispatch its officers and maintain electronic records of their activities. The federal protective service currently performs dispatch and incident management manually, according to the request. The new automated system must be "comprehensive, convenient, secure and easily accessible" and will be used to dispatch personnel; manage, track and prioritize patrol activity for 12,000 officers in multiple time zones; provide real-time incident reporting; maintain case records; and interface with state and local government systems, the RFI says. The solution must have geographic information systems software and include a comprehensive application customization, implementation, training, maintenance and support, GCN reports. Procurement Watch
Events Feb. 2-3 AAAE 15th Annual Airport Emergency Response School Dallas, Texas Organizer: American Association of Airport Executives www.airportnet.org aaaemeetings@airportnet.org Feb. 3-4 Feb. 6-10 Feb. 7 & 9 Feb. 16-17 Feb. 22-24 Feb. 27-March 1 Feb. 28-March 2 Feb. 28-March 3 Feb. 28-March 3 March 1-2 March 7-9 March 7-9 March 20-22 March 20-22 New Announcements from GOVERNMENT SECURITY magazine Now available on www.govtsecurity.com: December 2005 issue Cover story: Government Security Technology Roundtable Coming to GOVERNMENT SECURITY in February: Securing Critical Infrastructure What is the federal government's role? |
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