On May 7th 2016, NYPD responded to a disturbance in the South Bronx on East 151st Street. Multiple people were stabbed in what seemed to be a drunken street brawl. By the end of the night, Roberto Rodríguez was dead and Lázaro Martínez was in surgery fighting for his life. As the police investigated and the New York Times reported on August 24th, this crime that seemed to be a simple street fight turned out to be much more complicated. Video surveillance of this dangerous section of New York City played an important role in the investigation and illustrates how visualization systems can be the critical force multiplier in the battle to prevent crime and solve cases.
One of law enforcement’s biggest challenges is figuring out how and why a crime was committed and video is often at the center of every case. Officers struggle with harnessing all the sources of information available to solve cases. Obtaining the relevant video footage is a cumbersome and time-consuming process, requiring officers to identify the relevant cameras, visit each location, gain access the stored video, and then review the video for usable evidence. It’s a process that consumes many hours of labor—and presents a myriad of frustrations to law enforcement teams.
The NYT article and associated video illustrates how difficult the problem can be. What first appears to be a murder in the midst of a brawl, later reveals the victim may have actually been the instigator – a fact only gleaned from a combination of video sources. This evidence is the key to understanding the whole story – if investigators can capture and quickly analyze the available data.
But what if the process could be automated so that officers didn’t need to track down each piece of video and could view the evidence in a single interface? And what if it didn’t require a New York City Sized budget to do it? That is the promise of Hitachi Visualization.
Hitachi Visualization (HV) is a software solution that allows law enforcement officers to “see the big picture” more quickly and easily. It simplifies evidence management by uploading digital media, including video, audio, pictures, text and documents into one place. It can bring together multiple video feeds—as well additional information from sources like license plate readers, gunshot detectors, 911 calls, social media, and traffic and weather data—into a single pane of glass.
The NYT article makes clear how important video surveillance has become as a tool police use to maintain public safety, but also shows how many different data sources are available which can cause confusion if not managed properly. With HV, officials can combine all of the information into one user-friendly interface, gaining full situational awareness and accelerating response times. First responders have real-time actionable intelligence on the scene as well as improved command and control. Multiple organizations can coordinate and determine the best course of action, enabling a rapid response and increased public safety.
Hitachi Visualization is a force multiplier, helping law enforcement organizations maximize their resources, automating processes that can be performed by technology and allowing officers to focus on more critical tasks. Many law enforcement organizations are surprised at how small an investment can get them started with HV. Click here to download a whitepaper about the State of Video Evidence Management and Adoption of Predictive Policing solution and talk to a ViON representative today about what Hitachi Visualization can do for your agency.