Blue Line Invited to Participate in VQips Conference
At the end of this month, Blue Line Technology will take part in the VQips conference. VQips, otherwise known as Video Quality in Public Safety, is a workshop designed to help public safety representatives communicate and collaborate with federal partners and industry leaders about video technologies and advancing practices. In the website’s own words, the initiative “empowers practitioners with the tools and information needed to purchase and deploy the appropriate video technology solutions to support their mission. Among its most recent knowledge products, the VQips Working Group has developed Policy Considerations for Video in Public Safety, which assists practitioners by providing guidance for government agencies crafting written policies and procedures for the use of video in a variety of public safety applications”[1].
As technology advances and becomes more complex, BlueLine’s goal in attending this workshop is to become more engaged with the video analytics’ community with the long-term goal of providing value through direct information and aid in developing solutions. Blue Line is a tailored alert system that can be used as a biometric option to enhance video quality of existing systems; thus, answering one of the greatest questions during security breaches: who.
While identifying the individual involved in a crime is vitally important, a major issue addressed in the Public Safety Goals section of the June 2016 version of the policy is that “communities expect that cameras should only be used for certain approved government purposes”[2]. Since Blue Line is a system created to tailor to a company’s exact needs, surveillance is limited to tracking and storing specific information. Blue Line has the capability to respond immediately to threats, manage domestic problems and visitor entrances, track and control unauthorized personal, and provide instant alerts to dedicated people. With First Line in mind, Blue Line mitigates security issues rising in communities through providing a viable, reliable, and affordable solution to implement in areas of need.
Blue Line’s pilot program was implemented in St. Louis convenience stores because convenience store robberies account for about six percent of all robberies known by officials [3]. Convenience store robberies are costly to not only the workers but also the store itself. Costs include loss of income from reduced customer sales, and increase in workers’ compensation cost and insurance premiums due to the robbery. For independently owned stores, losses are more severe due to the inability of many small operations to afford insurance coverage [4]. In addition to preventing and reducing convenience store robberies, Blue Line believes improved security has the potential to shift non-violent crimes such as loitering and trespassing off-property away from these locations. This biometric solution gives an advantage to human guards that they didn’t originally possess.
[1] “2016 Video Quality in Public Safety (VQiPS) Workshop.” Cvent. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Aug. 2016.
[2] U.s. Department Of Homeland Security Science And Technology Directorate, First Responders Group. “Policy Considerations for the Use of Video in Public Safety.” VQiPS Report Policy Considerations for the Use of Video in Public Safety (n.d.): n. pag. Homeland Security. June 2016. Web.
[3] “Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics.” The Concicse Dictionary of Crime and Justice (n.d.) :n. pag. Web.
[4] “Center for Problem-Oriented Policing.” Center for Problem-Oriented Policing. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Aug. 2016.
