Got my own call from my Bus Orphange yesterday

[RJ]

Tim -


Pelco?

I've also offered to help them with a "real" CCTV system (I used to install them for the likes of HP, Agilent, etc in the S.F. Bay Area).

[Barn Owl]

Close call.

[Tim Strommen]

Tim -
Pelco?

I've also offered to help them with a "real" CCTV system (I used to install them for the likes of HP, Agilent, etc in the S.F. Bay Area).

Probably not that "real" ...  I have a few 22x/35x Day/Night PTZ Pelco heads that I got on the cheap ($650 each) for my own stuff, but they will probably be getting fixed/hard-wired cameras even more cheap if they take me up on my offer.  Their Closed-Circuit-TV is about as minimalistic as it gets for now - a single "el cheapo" 2.4GHz wireless camera looking at the gate, powered by a wall-wart, that kinda goes into the office (just barely 10 feet, and struggling at that).  Also the watchman complained that the camera started acting up this past storm.  They don't even record yet.

I have a line on 8/16 channel "D1-realtime-H.264" recorders that are web enabled (even send video to 3G phones directly), and take 8x 1.5GB drives - all at cost.  Should be enough to record a few years of video without overwriting the old stuff.  For cameras, I've already pointed them at Super Circuits out of Texas, that's where I've been buying my odds-and-ends lately.  Entertainingly, I have a better CCTV system in my pickup truck than they have at the storage yard!

A good recorder would give them the ability to see and save more recon than they get now, plus with neat built-in features like video motion detection, schedules, (etc), it should reduce the workload while improving response-time, and providing valuable evidence.  I also talked to a few Officers here and they have the Panasonic ToughBooks with 3G and internet-access in all of their cars, so with the proper setup, the cops responding to a call would be able to quite literally see what they are responding to on the drive over (they already watch their station while on patrol).

-Tim

[RJ]

Tim -

Whew!  All that's a bit over my head!

I just mentioned Pelco because their main office is about 5 miles from me, and they're well-known here in town, being one of the biggest non-ag employers.

Oops, correction - Pelco was bought out by Schneider Electric, so technically it's their local main office, I guess?

At least Dave McDonald doesn't have to worry about where his next meal's coming from!  LOL. . .

[Tim Strommen]

This is a bit of a tangent, but for those who care:

Whew!  All that's a bit over my head!...

Allow me to clarify the lingo:

...22x/35x Day/Night PTZ Pelco...

22/35x = zoom.  With 35x, you can clearly read a driver's license on a counter 20 feet below the camera
Day/Night = Type. You can have three general types of camera: B&W, Color, and Day/Night (in "day" mode you get full color usually with an InfraRed filter over the sensor which reduces color blurring on each color by IR light, in night mode you get B&W without the IR filter to increase the light sensitivity and make it possible to use "invisible" IR illuminators)
PTZ = Movement.  P - Pan, T - Tilt, Z - Zoom
List on the SpectraIII (x35) was $2,500, but I found them Blow-Out/wholesale at a CCTV shop that was closing down

...I have a line on 8/16 channel "D1-realtime-H.264" recorders that are web enabled (even send video to 3G phones directly), and take 8x 1.5GB drives - all at cost...

1/4/8/16/32/64 channels - this is how many simultaneous video feeds the recorder can record (usually from different cameras)

1/4-CIF, 1/2-CIF, CIF, 4CIF, D1 - the is the total resolution that the recorder can capture from a givev video feed (1/4CIF is 176x144 or 0.025 MegaPixels, D1 is 720x480 or 0.345 MegaPixels - with Standard Definition cameras .3MP is as good as it gets).  There are HD-CCTV products sold now that record at 720p (0.921MP @ 60fps) and 1080i (2.073MP @ 30fps) - as well as multi-megapixel cameras.

1/2/5/10/15/30fps( 30fps or greater is considered "realtime") - these are common progressive frame rates for video recorders, the faster (higher) the frame rate the smoother the video is.  the lower the frame rate the jerkier the video (and you can miss thing that happen between frames = bad)

MJPEG/MPEG2/MPEG4=H.264 (compressed) or AVI (uncompressed) - this is the encoding method for digital recorders to take a frame of video and store it as data.  This is different than say directly recording to a VHS tape which is also possible...

Web-Enabled - Some recorders are local viewing only, meaning a video display is directly attached to the recording device or some other video processor (like a 4-camera "quad", which puts 4 separate images on one screen).  Web-enabled recorders have a network or phone connection along with a separate encoder that compresses the video to be viewed remotely.  Some recorers even allow both at the same time, or even better - many people logged on with different permissions and viewing remotely, backing up pre-recorded video remotely to DVD, viewing locally, backing up pre-recored video locally to DVD all at once without one user's task interfering with another's task.

3G-RTSP - This is the 3G mobile broadband "Real-Time-Streaming-Protocol" which allows video to be sent from a server (video recorder, computer, etc) directly to a client (3G phone with video support like iPhone, or any new Google android phone) while maintaining video quality based on the link quality and available bandwidth.  You don't need to know how is works, just that it does work

-Tim

[Hobie]

As mentioned the DA holds the cards.  Often these 'small' cases are assigned to new DA's that have an armload of cases and too often they plead out just to clear the own case load.   It's worth a try to urge them to go to trial.  Caught red handed-- easy conviction.  Or so it seems.

I have a similar story where I was an eye witness.  Took 2 days off work to help work up the case and testify.   Walking into court the DA offered a plea that was accepted and we were done.  My time wasted and the perp got off with a misdemeanor not the earned felony.   Cops were just as pissed as they had a long list of prior unsolved crimes tied to this individual.   Good Luck !!! and boy you are lucky.  Great job to the guard.

[Tim Strommen]

Update:

Final outcome - I pressed the DA and the few PD officers I knew in the department, I found out the guy was previously a badly delinquent tenant (had a lein-sale on two spots, lost a boat and a trailer with several custom motorcycles in it).  Apparently he thought it was a good idea to get his value back by ripping off other tenants (including myself).  He made a threatening call to the RV lot stating that he would get his stuff back from them one way or another, but left a message on their answering machine to do so - I was able to convince the DA to use this as evidence of intent (a big deal), which jacked up a theft charge to a burglary (2ND degree).

On the advice of his public defender he plead nolo contendere (no-contest, aka. guilty), and will now be serving 12 months in county jail.

Since I got 100% of my stuff back undamaged, I won't pursue him civilly, but the storage lot will for damage to the gate - with a guilty plea on the burglary charge they should have a fairly solid case on him.  I have since offered to design and install a decent CCTV system for them (either barter for rental-time, or they pay I install and labor is free...).  I gave the security guard a $100 gift card to a local steak house and a $100 CampingWorld gift card, he's been eating well and picked up a few toys for his s.s RV.

All told, a happy ending (for me at least).

-Tim

[gumpy]

Good for you. I'm glad this all turned out well for you, and am pleased you rewarded the guard for his attentiveness. One more puke off the streets, though it would not surprise me to see
him out in 3 months or less.

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Yup, i also applaud your actions......and good to hear the results too.

[PCC]

Good for you, my friend. It is so wonderful to see that both the bad guys get what they deserve, and the good guys also get something to show that their actions are appreciated.

Sometimes we have to stand up and be part of making a diffference, and I am certain you have done so here.

Keith
PCC