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Rapid video reviewing

Right now, cameras worldwide are recording video. Yet, most recorded video is never reviewed due to time and manpower constraints, and potentially valuable information is often lost.

BriefCam is the developer and provider of video synopsis, a technology that summarises hours of events into a ‘brief’ that can be viewed in a few minutes, extracting maximum value from video, recorded and live.

BriefCam customers include police, military, border control and other homeland security agencies, as well as security operations at municipalities, transportation authorities, building and campus security offices, loss prevention and more. Current installations range from single-use sites to large-scale projects – including the Statue of Liberty in New York City. The technology was reportedly used in the Boston Marathon bombing investigation.

Here are 10 video review scenarios that demonstrate the benefits of ‘synopsising’ to public safety and security.

Rapid video review – At present, only a fraction of surveillance video (best estimated at 1% to 2%) is ever reviewed due to lack of personnel, time, adequate tools and/or funds. Implementing the review of all footage at the beginning and/or end of each shift would assist not only in locating reported events but also in uncovering types of events that previously would have gone undetected.

Undefined incidents – BriefCam presents all events as they happened, without pre-set or pre-defined rules. This feature is excellent in situations where the investigators don’t know exactly what they’re looking for.

Rapid investigation response – Many areas are heavily monitored by CCTV, but is this footage watched in a timely manner or only long after the fact? BriefCam can be used to monitor such areas for suspicious activity in a timely fashion. It also enables post-event investigation (for example, a car break-in) to be conducted in minutes rather than hours, significantly shortening the gap in time between when an incident is reported, and when it is investigated and responded to.

Video backlog – There’s no underestimating the pain of having reams of video that must be reviewed before an investigation can even begin. Because BriefCam ‘synopsises’, on average, 1 hour of video into 1 minute of review time, backlog can be shortened and video review can take place within a satisfactory amount of time. The synopsis can be further refined by parameters such as object colour, direction, speed, size and area of interest/exclusion, for additional time-savings and efficient video review.

Low priority crimes – Rapid video review means that incidents once considered not important enough to warrant the time and effort of investigation can be now followed up properly – and without the use of fast forward, as BriefCam displays events at their actual run-time speed.

Low frequency events – Criminals or terrorists may examine a location for days, weeks and even months before taking action. This can be done without engaging in any suspicious behaviour, e.g., approaching a fence and looking at it but never climbing over it. BriefCam displays individual events that happened over time, simultaneously, making such behaviour patterns evident immediately.

Dead zones – Although cameras monitor areas of low activity, such as stairwells, hallways, exits, etc., they are seldom watched (research has shown that operators tend to monitor busy areas only). Yet it is precisely in these quiet, out-of-the-way places where crime often occurs. Routine review of these so-called dead zones can result in the discovery of activities that had, up until that point, evaded exposure.

Streamlining on-site investigation – Crime scenes and other on-site investigations often require reviewing hours of video to determine the exact location of events. Using BriefCam, activity patterns can be revealed rapidly, resulting in fast action, on the spot.

False claims – Accidents resulting from persons slipping and falling can result in lawsuits costing millions. Using BriefCam, operators can perform routine fast review of accident hotspots (such as escalators, stairwells, etc.). BriefCam can also assist in investigating the history of claims that may – or may not – have taken place.

Speeding up lockdown – Security breaches or children gone missing often result in lockdown situations in which no one is allowed entry or exit of the premises. BriefCam speeds up the process by enabling rapid review of security video from the relevant cameras in seconds, and enabling effective real-time action.

BriefCam provides a cutting edge tool to complement any investigative toolkit, from a single-user product to an integrated/embedded plug-in that can support thousands of cameras on a single server and enables video synopsis on-demand. Collaboration between investigators is made easy with shared annotations and one-click export of either the synopsis video or the original video.

The goal is always to reach targets efficiently, use video effectively and derive maximum value from video by browsing hours in minutes.

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