Boom times head for city surveillance market

A new report from IMS Research, part of IHS Inc., is forecasting a tremendous growth in demand for security equipment related to city surveillance applications.

IMS predicts that global revenues for electronic security equipment in city security will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.8 percent from 2012 to 2017. The research firm said that by 2017, wireless infrastructure and CCTV and video surveillance equipment will amount to just over $3.2 billion, up from $1.4 billion in 2012.

Surveillance cameras have increasingly become a vital tool at the disposal of law enforcement agencies which use the technology to help them quickly and efficiently respond to a number of different events.

"City video surveillance systems have a key requirement to provide clear, useable images so that police departments can conduct effective investigations when needed," said Paul Bremner, market analyst for Safe Cities and Security Services at IHS. "If the video surveillance system can’t do that, then it is failing in its primary purpose."

Along with fast access for video surveillance systems, the requirement to push video streams out to various individuals and organizations across the city has increased. The mobility offered by these video systems is a key tool for police departments when managing city-center locations.

"For cities the focus has shifted from basic surveillance needs toward mobile surveillance," Bremner added. "Emerging technology can send the video to police officers on the street, streaming that video directly to the smartphones or laptops in their patrol cars. Such mobile surveillance technology will act as a force multiplier for the officers on the ground."

To learn more about best practices for implementing municipal surveillance networks and the various challenges that go along with them, check out the Secured Cities conference, which will take place on Nov. 14-15 in Baltimore, Md.