Safe Cities

It is our belief that keeping cities safe requires much more than installing cameras in a city surveillance project. Modern, comprehensive and truly effective solutions are built in several layers – operational and technological – a ‘system of systems’ solution for the urban environment that serves the population and the stakeholders incomparably more than the use of a large number of cameras. What we are offering is system-wide integrative security management solutions that meets the city’s daily needs’ and also prepares it to manage emergencies and disasters, should these occur..

The risks faced municipal authorities must be prepared to deal with are diverse, and involve a wide range of threats directed against the society, persons, property and critical assets. These risks include, among others:

• Crime – petty and serious crimes against persons and property, including public disorder

• Safety hazards – large-scale fires, dispersion of hazardous materials

• Natural disasters – flooding, earthquakes and extreme weather

• Terror – explosives (IED, VBIED), dispersion of non-conventional toxic agents, assault with weapons, multi-attack scenarios, cyber-attack and non conventional weapons (chemical, biological and radiological warfare)

The challenges municipalities face when confronted with these risks, include, among others:

• Securing city residents and visitors, such as tourists in public spaces, including in large events (e.g., parades, concerts, sporting events, etc.)

• Securing the critical infrastructures of the metropolitan area

• Ensuring an effective response to emergencies and crises, thus ensuring the continuity of core functions of the metropolitan area

MTRS has developed a ‘system of systems’ approach, encompassing the police, other responding bodies (fire services, emergency medical services, civil protection, healthcare services, environmental protection and more) and other stakeholders in the urban environment (public transport and railways operators, power & water utilities suppliers, civil aviation authority and more), to enable the municipality to better manage and respond to incidents, including emergency incidents and disasters within the city’s municipal boundaries and in its suburbs.

The ‘system of systems’ methodology for public safety management covers three elements – the organisation and management of public safety, security and communication technologies and the integration of command and control technologies.

• Organization and management: System-wide aspects of organization and management of public safety refer to the integrative concept of collaboration and coordination among law enforcement bodies, responding bodies, and also public and private bodies, under routine conditions and during emergencies, for the purpose of managing risks, protecting the public and effectively responding to emergencies and disasters.

• Security and communication technologies: Broadly deployed video surveillance systems operating on wired or wireless communication infrastructure, including advanced image processing applications (for example, LPR – License Plate Recognition), systems that detect traffic and crowd congestions, a variety of threat detection systems (whether gunshot detection or hazardous materials detection solutions), public safety management systems based on Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), that support effective and well-coordinated response of the public safety services bodies.

• Integration, command and control: From a technological viewpoint, ‘system of systems’ refers to the assortment of the task-oriented or dedicated systems that are integrated together to create a new and more complex system, which offers improved capabilities and functionalities, as compared with these systems in their individual configurations. Therefore, the intention is to combine and integrate the sub-systems and the capabilities under the roof of one or more integrative systems, which will enable operators on the operational level, as well as managers on the tactical and strategic levels, to effectively communicate, obtain a precise and updated situational picture, make decisions and better manage, command and control routine operation and emergencies.