Citizen Snoopers could Win Cash and Prizes for Monitoring CCTV Cameras on the Internet - iWatch and Internet Eyes

[FastTadpole]

Combine that with Internet Eyes and 4.2 Million CCTV cameras in the UK testing zone and the new snoop powers being granted via NICE.

More on NICE:
Health and safety snoops to enter family homes
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk...917328.ece

[h3rm35]

latimes.com/news/local/crime/la-me-iwatch-20100604,0,3437714.story
latimes.com
Los Angeles police ask public's help in fighting terrorism threat
A program called iWatch lets people report suspicious activity and submit video and photos. If LAPD analysts find a possible link to terrorism, the information is forwarded to a regional task force.

By Joel Rubin, Los Angeles Times

June 4, 2010

In the years after the 9/11 attacks, Los Angeles Police Department officials trained officers to keep better watch out for activity that could be related to terrorism.

Now, they are working to get the whole city involved.

For months the LAPD has been rolling out the community involvement phase of its counter-terrorism efforts. Named iWatch, it offers a crash course in the types of activity the department deems suspicious and allows people to report questionable incidents to police.

At a news conference Thursday, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, Airport Police Chief George Centeno and community leaders announced the expansion of the campaign into the airport with fliers and posters alerting travelers to the program.

"Everyone has a part to play when it comes to keeping this city safe," said Deputy Chief Michael Downing, head of the LAPD's counter-terrorism efforts. "We felt people really needed to understand the nature of this threat and that they have a significant role" to play in countering it.

The iWatch program stems from an earlier revamping by the LAPD of the way officers report suspicious activity. The department was one of the first in the country to formalize a list of red-flag activities, such as bulk purchases of fertilizer that could be used in explosives and vehicles left unattended in unloading zones at high-profile buildings. Officers also fill out forms that describe any kind of potential terrorist-related activity, whether or not a crime was committed. Counter-terrorism analysts in the department put the information into a database and search for patterns and trends.

The LAPD has taken the message public through a sleek, Hollywood-style public service announcement and a short film in which police are able to disrupt a terrorist cell after a neighbor and others report the group's odd behavior.

Information is relayed to the department's counter-terrorism analysts through an online portal where people can provide detailed descriptions, including video or photographs of what they saw and descriptions of the people involved. If LAPD analysts find a possible link to terrorism, the information is forwarded to a multi-agency, regional task force charged with investigating terrorism.

Of the handful of reports that have been filed through the iWatch system's website, a few have been "substantial," Downing said. He declined to provide details.

Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said the LAPD has been mostly receptive to the concerns the group has raised, including a request to refine the list of suspicious activities and to include a Muslim on the public service video.

He added that the council is still assessing whether the safeguards built into the system that allow for outside audits of it and aim to prevent people from being falsely accused are strong enough.

joel.rubin@latimes.com

Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times

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LA police expand iWatch terror program to airport

(AP) – 1 day ago

LOS ANGELES — Police are expanding a citizen terror watch program to include travelers at the Los Angeles International Airport.

The iWatch program was launched in October for residents to alert authorities to suspicious activity by phone or Internet. On Thursday, police and political leaders are using fliers and posters to enlist help from people at LAX.

iWatchers are asked to be on the lookout for possible terror activities such as people buying bomb-making supplies or unattended vehicles near loading zones around high-profile buildings.

Tips are reviewed by anti-terror experts, then entered into a database designed to find patterns and trends.

The program was developed by LAPD and has been adopted by police departments across the country.

[FastTadpole]

Related threads:

LAPD launches Citizens Spy iWatch
http://concen.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=486

Snoopers could win £1,000 prizes for monitoring CCTV cameras on the internet
http://concen.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=603


.. more info on the related threads.

Thanks for the update. The UK Version is called Internet Eyes, creepy considering the amount of cameras they have on that side of the pond, 4.2 Million last they counted.

Big Brother Growing in Canada City by City

Canada just put $1.2B into security for the upcoming G20 summit in Toronto. The initial estimate was ~$167M to get it through the first round of red tape. You can bet a lot of that taxpayer loot went into the electronic surveillance and maybe provocateur training (see SPP summit exhibit left police issue boot).

The 2010 Olympics gave the excuse to install them in the greater Vancouver area and they certainly aren't taking them down after the 'threat' has subsided.

The farmer's market is right around the corner, does that mean Saskatoon is next!?

[52595]

That is so unsettling...

[TriWooOx]

Quote:A controversial new website which allows citizen spies to plug into the nation's CCTV cameras and snoop on shoppers from home has sparked major privacy fears.

Internet Eyes will pay keen-eyed viewers up to £1,000 to scour thousands of CCTV cameras across Britain looking for law-breakers.

The private Devon-based company, which launched on Monday, will stream live footage from shops, businesses and town centres to subscribers' home computers across Europe.

The video vigilantes who catch the most criminals each month will be rewarded with cash prizes.

But civil liberties campaigners say the idea is 'distasteful' and encourages private citizens to spy on one another.

Internet Eyes provides a subscription service for businesses and shops.

Shop owners pay £20 per week, or £1,000 a year, to have their CCTV wired up to the site.

Cameras show CCTV images in real-time with different scenes being shown on rotation every 20 minutes.

Viewers can click a button every time they see something suspicious taking place.

Each viewer is allowed a finite number of alerts per month to prevent abuse of the system.


Managing director Tony Morgan said: 'The subscribers will have access to four screens at the same time and if they see anything suspicious, they can press the alert button.

'This then sends an instant text and picture message to the shop assistant or manager - who then makes the decision about what action to take.'

People have no control over the source of the CCTV footage they receive.

Sources are randomly switched every 20 minutes and the system is set up so that viewers never receive footage from their local area.

Although the CCTV cameras are based in stores across the UK, the rewards are open to anyone from the European Union who is registered with the site.

Mr Morgan added: 'The cameras are already there - we just link to them so people can watch them. All you see is the tops of people's heads.'

'It is not entertainment but a tool for crime-fighting.

'Internet Eyes has been set up to reduce shoplifting and street crime in this country.

'We are just helping small shop keepers who can't be watching their CCTV systems 24/7. We are not doing anything wrong.'

He added: 'The whole point of this is that it is a deterrent. People watch Crimewatch and that's not entertainment. We just want it to help people out.'

More than 13,000 people have already indicated their interest in the project but more people are expected to join once it has launched.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has allowed the company to launch its beta site after it agreed to a number of changes including only recruiting subscribers aged 18 and over to access the site.

The company had also planned to offer the service for free but the ICO also requested it make people pay an annual subscription of £12.99 or a monthly fee of £1.99 to join so that their details could be checked and to prevent any voyeurism or misuse of the system.

A spokesman for the watchdog said: 'Our practice makes it clear that CCTV operators should use appropriately trained staff to monitor images.

'We have provided advice to Internet Eyes on its own data protection compliance. We will be checking to ensure it has followed this and investigate any complaints we receive.'

Costcutter in Newton Abbot, Devon, operated by Stephen Adams, is one of several stores across the UK using the service during the trial period.

Mr Adams said: 'I am very excited by the prospect of this service which I feel meets my requirements to help me reduce shrinkage, further protect my staff and save me money.'

But campaign organisations No CCTV and Privacy International, which joined forces to oppose the scheme, say they still have major concerns about it.

Charles Farrier, from No CCTV, describes the scheme as a the scheme a 'profit-making gimmick', said: '[The subscribers] are not going to spot crime - these are shops and businesses under surveillance, not crime dens.'

He said he feared that people would take copies of the live stream and upload them to file-sharing networks.

'There are not enough checks and balances in place. We will be looking for instances where they may potentially breach the data protection act.'

He added: 'This is encouraging a growing trend of citizen spies. If people are so concerned about crime they should contact the police.

'They are hiding behind computer screens and willing crime to happen so they get a prize. It is a game.'

Mr Morgan said posters would be in place to warn people the business was taking part in the scheme.

One subscriber, Paul from Hammersmith, said he thought it was his civic duty to sign up.

'We're in a time of austerity and there has been a reduction in the budgets of police and local authorities but by doing this, I feel I can help.'

'It will help people feel safe and secure and it's not like putting a camera in your house, these are in public places. I hate criminality and if I can help stop it, I will.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...meras.html

[Deathaniel]

meh if it keeps stupid people from stealing and one little shop in biz against the big guys who really cares... i mean we all have traffic cams automated, whats the diff, and everyone knows there under a camera when in a shop!

I like it's giving incentive to folks to do the crappy part of watching boring silent mostly grainy vid... kind of like using mexicans to pic fruit. but this time it can be any fat diabetic computer addicted European who needs to supplement there income. and what good is a street cam no one is watching so... "sure we know what the guys looked like who took your daughter Mr Jones, but it's been 2 days and well..." Or some shit in his study can click an aware button it goes to the cruiser just down the street, he pulls over the van as it passes him, and Wolla! your little girl is not violated or worse and is home for dinner, bit shaken but not stir d!

Make a heck of a biz plan for on this side of the pond! I know a few shitty little towns that would prosper plugged in doing this where there is no work, almost sounds like a home biz

[FastTadpole]

More threads on Civilian Net Spies: iWatch LA and Internet Eyes:


LAPD launches Citizens Spy iWatch
http://concen.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=486

Snoopers could win £1,000 prizes for monitoring CCTV cameras on the internet
http://concen.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=603

"iWatch" lets people report suspicious activity and submit video and photos
http://concen.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=33272

"Know your Customer" (KYC) and Mandatory Carding is also a part of this initiative but I don't want to get too off topic we could open up a whole BIG can of worms like net spying, GPS cellphone pings, Smart Dust, planted undercover student spies and the entire marketing angle.