Covert Surveillance with NiteDevil Cameras

The latest installation of covert surveillance cameras tested the latest NiteDevil night time surveillance cameras.

location was the UK and the primary goal was to get 24/7 surveillance on a particular target, the cameras were installed as part of a “building maintenance” cover and were then “Cammed Up”  so they were completely covert.

Even the neighbours were not aware of the deployment, the target merchandise was worth £65k and the threat was between the hours of darkness. Images were sent to a 30 day recorder that saved the data to hard drive with a 9 inch digital monitor. Laptop functionality was enabled for easy edit and the setup was on permanent record. Read the rest of this entry »

World Cup Security – South Africa 2010 Close Protection News

There is unprecendented demand for close protection and body guard services in the lead up to the 2010 World Cup.

With South Africa having such a high and fast rising crime rate and especially with violent crime top of the list there is now a stampede for services offered by security agencies. Many of the top agencies are now close to capacity and even some high networth individuals are being turned down and are having to look further for their needs.

Remembering that there is now a mix of these people that encompasses celebrities, industrialists, government officials, sports stars and that they come from a wide range of countries the demand is at a level that it is becoming hard to meet.

Into this is the growing threat of terrorism and its easy tounderstand that the close protection agencies are operating beyond normal capacity.

Well connected agencies such as Robin Hood Solutions are able to draw on their networks to continue meeting demand so if you need more information then please call them on – 07565 490210

Chicago, USA, contains crime hot-spots that law enforcement officials want to eradicate. With this in mind, they installed surveillance cameras all over the city. With hundreds of these ‘blue-light’ cameras erected, many criminals were caught in the act. Quickly becoming wise to the presence of these police cameras the drug dealers and other criminals simply moved to a different area to carry out their activities and the surveillance is no longer as effective as hoped.

Stepping up to this problem, authorities are now looking to change some of these cameras to covert surveillance cameras. The aim is to use the high tech abilities of this equipment to trap the wrong doers in Chicago society and clean up the streets. Read the rest of this entry »

If personal security is one of your top priorities, you could do worse than look at the trend of criminals in your residential surroundings.

According to reports out today, Greater Manchester and London have the highest numbers of prolific offenders in the country. To be classed as ‘prolific’ the offender must have carried out more than six acts of criminal activity in teh last year and be causing widespread misery. More than a thousand criminals living in these areas are repeat offenders and still at liberty. Surely this says something about the justice system and internal security in our country?

To highlight the problem, offender Stuart McCormick is being held up as an example. After finally being jailed for burglary he then decided to own up to over 500 other crimes that it has taken the police a year to verify.

Up and down the country, criminals re-offending is becoming a huge issue. The Home Office have rolled out programmes to offenders such as intense supervision as well as working with other authorities to try to rehabilitate repeat offenders. Something tells me it’s not working!

Not only are the general public being repeatedly subjected to the violence and theft of these people but we also suffer higher insurance premiums if we live in a known area for repeat offenders. It is widely known that many of these repeat offenders are driven by living drug fuelled lives – maybe it is this aspect that needs addressing?

However, if you want to keep your family and yourself as safe as possible, move to Wiltshire. This has the lowest amount of repeat offenders in the country and will come with lower household insurance premiums as a result.

Amid all the confusion that has surrounded the security of five year old British boy, Sahil Saeed, his family say he has been released from his captors and is now thought to be in the care of local police in Pakistan before he heads home.

The kidnap case came to light on March 3rd when, at the end of a holiday in Pakistan with his father, the pair were preparing to fly home to Manchester. Armed robbers broke into the house where Sahil was staying and reportedly subjected the family to an ordeal lasting six hours before they disappeared with Sahil the following morning, demanding a ransom of £100,000 for his safe return. On the same day, a man is arrested in connection with the kidnapping and Sahil’s mopther pleads for his release, saying the family cannot afford the ransom.

By the following day, Pakistani police are investigating several suspects but rumours of the family being involved are strongly denied by them. March 6th and Pakistani prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, claims the government is doing all they can to find the boy.

Despite the boys father being asked to stay in Pakistan as a witness, he returned to his family in Olham on March 8th.

The confusion begins on March 11th when the British Government receive conflicting reports that the boy has been found and then that the search continues. It wasn’t until today that the British High Commission in Islamabad confirmed Sahil has been found safe and well.

There is debate about whether the ransom was paid, some suggesting that Sahil’s father paid the ransom from a third country, others declaring no ransom has been paid at all. A Punjab minister also claims that Sahil has been safe for several days.

So, who were the kidnappers? Why did they kidnap Sahil Saeed? Why did they release him? Was ransom money paid or not? Were the family involved? Are the Pakistani police close to arresting the gunmen or not? Many question still remain unanswered.

Security guards were taken by surprise yesterday at Germany’s biggest poker tournament at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Potsdamer Platz, Berlin.

The European Poker Tour began on Tuesday with celebrities such as Boris Becker in attendance, although he was out of the running for the £1 million prize money by Thursday. Despite heavy security, four masked gunman entered the building at around 2.15pm armed with machetes, hand grenades and machine guns while two more kept watch outide.

Panic swept through the event as staff and attendees realised the raid was more than a PR stunt and were sent running for cover. Minor injuries occured in the rush to escape the building but no serious injuries were reported. One security guard was able to wrestle one raider to the ground, knocking his weapon from his hand in the process, but was overcome when two of the masked men came to his aid.

It is expected that the gang made off with up to £700,000 of the prize money after forcing employees at gun point to had over the cash. Running from the hotel, the gunmen pulled off their balaclavas and made their getaway in a black Mercedes. Clips of the raid have been posted on YouTube as the tournament was a live televised event.

It is expected that the tournament will resume tomorrow with the added security of armed police to prevent any further raids.

Covert Surveillance has arrived in Chicago

The first official covert surveillance cameras have been launched in Chicago and are set to replace many of the Blue Light cameras that have been installed in the crime ridden areas of the city.

The existing cameras are highly visible and easily spotted, this puts criminals on their guard but also allows easy targeting for damage and vandalism. The new covert surveillance cameras are tiny, small enough to fit into a matchbox says Police Superintendent Jody Weis.

Covert cameras have long been used to ensnare corrupt politicians and government officials in the city, currently the police force is down 2,000 officers due to budget cuts and it is hoped that covert cameras will enable some of that gap to be bridged. The cameras will be so discreet that drug dealers and gangs will be filmed without realising where currently they can easily spot the blue light cameras.

There has been some opposition to the covert surveillance from some quarters and allegations that rogue officers could abuse them have been levelled at the police department.

Kidnapping in Nigeria – Close Protection Requirements Imperative

News just breaking that 5 people have been kidnapped in the Niger Delta – the oil producing region for Nigeria, it is unknown at present whether the five people were under security supervision and close protection at the time.

The five are all journalists and South African news reports are quoting 3 of them as being Sports Journalists from the satellite SuperSport channel. The three journalists were kidnapped along with 2 Nigerians and it is possible they were en-route to the airport at the time.

the Niger Delta is attracting increasing attention from former rebels, it is recognised now that the presidential amnesty which pardoned many criminals and former rebels will fuel a rise in this type of activity. It is strongly recommeded that all foreigners should utilise close protection teams when travelling to and from the oil producing complexes from other locations especially airports.

The increase in this type of activity is driven by the need for the former rebels to supplement their former activities with other sources of income.

The Niger Delta is now a very high risk area for foreigners and advice on close protection is a must for all travellers in that region.