Vertical Markets

Cloud view of crime evidence

by Mark Rowe

Facewatch is partnering with Cloudview, enabling businesses to be able to upload footage captured by an analogue or IP CCTV system, for sharing with Facewatch subscribers and to provide associated evidence to the police.

Facewatch, established in March 2010, offers online crime reporting for businesses, public and police to tackle so-called low-level crime by sharing images for the prevention of crime and by submitting CCTV evidence and witness statements to the police.

Cloudview enables footage from a CCTV system to be stored in the cloud without impacting on local recording and monitoring arrangements, the firms say. To achieve this, a small Visual Network Adapter (VNA) attaches to each camera, connecting it to the internet for remote video capture and management via the Cloudview service. Footage is encrypted and stored on secure Cloudview servers where it can be viewed from any device with a web browser and internet access. A user can upload captured video into the Facewatch intelligence sharing and crime reporting system by clicking a button alongside the relevant Cloudview recording. The firms say that users could be shops, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, many already sharing crime information through ShopWatch and PubWatch schemes.

Simon Gordon, chairman of Facewatch, said: “The partnership with Cloudview will be of great benefit both to our users and to the Police. Facewatch users will be able to use CCTV images to identify potential troublemakers and quickly share that information with others, and to the police who will no longer have to send officers on-site to collect vital video evidence.”

James Wickes, Cloudview CEO, points to Cloudview’s ability to work with any CCTV camera set up and make footage available via the cloud. “Add Cloudview to a CCTV system and there’s no need to trawl through piles of DVDs or, in some cases, even VHS video tapes for the right recordings; it’s all there in the cloud, immediately accessible from a smartphone or tablet ready to share with other users via Facewatch.”

Similarly, for unattended locations Cloudview can be configured to issue an email or SMS alert in response to motion or other sensors being triggered, enabling recipients to view the associated clips immediately. Now users will be able to upload those clips direct to Facewatch, both for sharing with others and to inform police. According to Wickes, the integration of Cloudview into Facewatch streamlines and accelerates the whole process of getting images out to other businesses and the police. “No technical skills are needed beyond being able to use a browser and the footage is held in a secure industry standard format in the cloud ready for instant transfer to Facewatch – and all at the touch of a button.”

Visit www.cloudview.co/.

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