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ENFORCEMENT

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DigiTal DaTa

Digital data makes smarter citiesCiviltrafficenforcementandmanagementsystemshaveembracedautomationandthelatestdigitaltechnologiestodeliverhigherlevelsofproductivityandreducedoperationalcosts,asTimDanielsexplains

safety partnerships, to leverage availablebudgets and achieve extended coverageat a lower cost. The data can be simulta-neously disseminated to a wide range ofapplicationsincluding:• Real-timedatatoUrbanTrafficManage-

mentControl(UTMC)database• Real-timepoliceANPRdatatoBOF2• CSVdatatoSCOOT/Paramicstrafficmod-

ellingsystems• Unattendedcarparkmanagement• Community safety initiatives to reduce

fly-tippingandanti-socialbehaviour

This partnership approach is successfullyworking in Bristol where real-time datais captured by ANPR cameras located onmajor routes around the city. The camerasareconnectedusingthecouncil’scity-wideB-Net,afibreopticnetworkusedforrunningtrafficsignalsandothertrafficmanagementapplications. Videalert’s digital video plat-formdirectly linkstoBristol’scentralUTMCsystem, providing essential intelligence tooptimisethedesignoftransportschemesinandmodeltheimpactthatbusinessorretaildevelopments will have on future conges-tion levels. It also provides the Travel Westwebsite with real-time mapping updatesoncongestionhotspots,enablingdriverstoavoidunnecessarydelaystotheirjourneys.

Avon and Somerset Police’s command

localCouncilsthathavepreviouslyusedmanually operated traffic enforcementand management systems are now

actively upgrading to the new generationofUKDepartmentforTransport(DfT)Manu-facturer certified unattended enforcementplatforms. These systems automate theenforcement process by eliminating themanpower resource required to monitoreach camera location in order to identifycontraventions. Further savings are beingachievedbyautomatingthecreationofevi-dencepacksforreviewbeforesendingthemtobackofficePCNprocessingsystems.

Leading suppliers such as Videalert aremaking this changeover a simple process.Using an open-standards-based digitalvideoplatformallowsseamless integrationwith existing CCTV systems and infrastruc-tures. The platform is fully ONVIF compli-

and control operators can also monitor allANPRsitesaroundtheclockanddeployanappropriate response, linking with SaferBristol CCTV operators as required. Real-time VRM data is transmitted by the Vide-alertdigitalvideoplatformwithfastlinkstoPNC and intelligence systems, providing a

maximum2-secondresponsefromasubjectvehiclepassingacameratoaread/hitbacktothepolicedatabaseatthelocallevel.Thisdelivered an immediate improvement inresponsecapabilitybyenablingcrimeinves-tigationsandoffendertargetingtobemoreaccurate,calculatedandimmediate.

contraventions on the keep clears anddemonstrate they are taking action toreduce thenumberofaccidents involvingchildren. The number plates of vehiclesstopping in these zones are automaticallycaptured using a single PTZ camera with-out any manual operation. The creationand transmission of video evidence forreview before PCNs are generated is alsoautomated. Inadditionthesystemcanbeusedfor24x7recordingtoprovidearecordof incidents of interest outside the schoolgateswhichcanbesubsequentlyreviewedandappropriateactionstaken.

aCCuRaTE DaTaA major challenge facing councils is howto achieve accurate and reliable enforce-ment in busy traffic conditions withoutgenerating an unacceptably high levelof false reads and increasing the numberof appeals by drivers against their PCNnotices. The answer is to combine ANPRwith video analytics which provides anadditional layer of intelligence to auto-matically track moving objects and accu-ratelycaptureonlythosevehiclesactuallycommitting an offence. It also allows thecapture of VRNs of vehicles which havenumberplatesthataredirtyormodifiedtobenon-reflective–somethingthatcannotbe achieved with legacy ANPR systems.Thishelpscouncilstomaximisebothcom-pliance levels and income returns, ensur-ingbestvalueforlocaltaxpayers.

PaRTNERshiP sTRaTEgyThe digital platform approach facilitatesthe sharing of VRN data with other stake-holders, including the police, crime and

Fourtrafficoffences;oneresult

Four-waysplitscreenscombinetomakeasingleimage

ant, supports existing analogue camerasand allows a progressive migration fromanalogue to digital camera environments.Thisenablesourcitiestoeasilyexpandthesystems without being tied in to a singlemanufacturer. Going digital will also pro-videhigherqualityimagesresultinginfewerappealsfromdriversthatcommitoffences.

FlExiblE ENFORCEMENTThe new generation of digital video plat-formsprovidecouncilswithhigherlevelsofflexibilityandfuture-proofing.Theyenablecouncilstocosteffectivelyextendenforce-mentactivitiestoincludestaticandmovingtrafficoffencesincludingbuslanes,bannedturns, yellow box junctions and restrictedaccess areas without requiring specificequipmentforeverypointsolution.

Councilscanalsodeploycamerasoutsideschools to monitor and enforce parking

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ENFORCEMENT

councilstorapidlydeploythelatestunat-tended digital systems. This new hostedsolutionrequiresnoICTinvolvementfromcouncils and can be delivered through avariety of flexible commercial models toimprove efficiency, increase income anddelivergreatercontrolovercosts.

Fully managed Civil Enforcement as aService (CEaaS) solutions are the latesthosted offerings. They enable CCTV trafficservices to be procured on demand withinstallations taking place in weeks ratherthanmonths.Availablefora fixedmonthlycostperlocationoronafee-per-PCNbasis,CEaaSincludestheplanning,supply,instal-lation,commissioningandongoingmainte-nanceofallnecessaryon-streetequipment

sMaRT PROCuREMENTToensurethatbestvalueisachievedwhenprocuring the latest digital CCTV-basedenforcement systems, councils need toevaluate the ROI from issuing PCNs thatcan be achieved by different systems. Thefactisthatnotallsystemsarethesame,andthedifferentlevelsofintelligencetheypos-sesshaveadirectimpactonthenumberofcontraventionsthatcanbecapturedinreal-worldtrafficenvironments.Thiswillvarybyvendor, sometimes very significantly, andevensmalldifferencesincapturedetectionratescanhaveamassiveimpactonthetotalincomegeneratedandROIachieved.

Including a Proof of Concept stageis common practice within the privatesector, where it is often referred to as atechnology“bakeoff”.Adoptingasimilarapproach in the public sector when pro-curing enforcement systems will enablecouncilstoensurethattheirprocurementstrategies are based on selecting the“most economically advantageous ten-der”orMEATforshort.

hOsTED sERviCEsCouncilsmustalsoevaluatethedifferencesbetween the different hosted servicescurrently on offer from different suppli-ers. The more innovative suppliers havemovedseveralstepsforwardwithhostedsolutions that do not require hardwareandsoftwaretobeinstalledontheclientpremises,makingitsignificantlyeasierfor

TimDanielsisSalesandMarketingDirector,Videalert

with the latest digital cameras and associ-atedcommunicationsconnectivity.

ThE FuTuRE is DigiTal Thedaysofbuyingpointsolutionsforindi-vidual traffic applications using CCTV arelong gone. Councils that deploy the lat-est multi-purpose digital platforms enableenforcement,traffic,publicspaceandpoliceactivities to be carried out using the sameinfrastructure.This ‘joinedup’ thinkingcanleadtothedeliveryofanimprovedserviceatlowercosttothepublicpursewhilstmakingourcitiessaferplacestoliveandwork.

“Including a Proof of Concept stage is common practice within the private sector, where it is often referred to as a technology bake off”

TrafficcongestioninBristolcitycentre;monitoredbythecitycouncil’strafficcontrolcentre

Does your CCTV Enforcement System pass the ‘intelligence test’?

www.videalert.com

3 Fully digital unattended solution supporting latest ONVIF standards

3 Single platform running multiple civil traffic enforcement, traffic management, school safety and Police ANPR applications simultaneously

3 Flexible deployment options - LAN Server, WAN RDS and CCTV Vehicle

3 Reduced infrastructure costs

3 Sharing of data between multiple stakeholders - Parking, Highways & Police

3 Combined ANPR and sophisticated analytics

3 Higher and more accurate capture rate of contraventions in busy traffic conditions

3 Support for attended operations

3 Fully hosted solution available with no hardware or software installed on client premises

Videalert’s Digital Video Platform does – it provides:

Videalert LtdCanada House, 272 Field End Road, Eastcote, Middlesex, HA4 9NATel: 0800 612 8612 • Email: info@videalert.com

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