NOT THE SHARPEST KNIVES IN THE DRAWER: Crappy Subway Surveillance Cameras
Since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the U.S., Islamic extremists have attacked subways in Moscow twice, as well as in Madrid and London. Each attack underscored the need for a network of surveillance cameras throughout the tunnels and stations comprising the NYC subway system, but “one of the key tools the city has in deterring and investigating attacks of any and all kinds in the subways, remains a patchwork of lifeless cameras, unequipped stations and problem-plagued wiring,” reports The New York Times:
Moreover, nearly half of the subway system’s 4,313 security cameras that have been installed - in stations and tunnels throughout the system - do not work, because of either shoddy software or construction problems, say officials with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the city’s bus, subway and train system. …
About 1,100 of the inert cameras are part of a high-tech surveillance system that has been held up by litigation. The vendor, Lockheed Martin, sued the authority last year, claiming it could not complete the project because of problems with access and delays caused by transit officials. The authority countersued, claiming Lockheed had provided faulty technology.
Another 910 inert cameras are hanging near turnstiles, but are unable to capture video because their recording equipment has been plagued by heat, water or electrical problems, according to officials who have reviewed the agency’s security systems. …
The requisite wiring and electrical equipment, built for the air-conditioned sterile space of a server room, do not always withstand conditions underground.
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