Would $24 Million Surveillance Grid Have Caught SUV Bomb?

The NYPD is using at least $24 million of federal money to expand the "Ring of Steel" surveillance network to midtown. But would it have caught the SUV bomb that was parked on 45th Street in Times Square on Saturday? Yes and no, say those with familiarity with the high-tech plans.

The midtown monitoring network, which would cover the areas between 34th and 59th Streets from river to river, is an extension of the surveillance system in Lower Manattan. Security cameras would transmit information in real time to a coordination center at 55 Broadway, while license plate readers record and track every vehicle in the midtown zone. (The plate readers are already in use.) But police officials tell the Times that "because neither the SUV used in the attempt nor the license plate on it had been reported stolen, it would not have raised any immediate red flags."

However, the SUV could have triggered the surveillance network's chemical, biological and radiological sensors. During a press conference yesterday, NYPD chief Ray Kelly said that so if there's a bag left unattended on the sidewalk for too long, the surveillance software would pick it up, and if a car circles a block many times, the software would also detect that. "There really isn’t a downside to it," Louis Anemone, the former head of security for the MTA, tells the Times. "Next time it may not get this far because of the technology." Until then, street vendors are our first line of defense.

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By John Del Signore in News on May 3, 2010 10:13 AM

Comments [rss]

wildone458

"Until then, street vendors are our first line of defense."

If that's the case, I hope they get better treatment from the NYPD.

emilydickinson

You can place as many cameras as you like, and cover every inch of NYC with CCTV coverage, and we still won't be any safer. You need people to watch those cameras. The classic who watches the watchmen conundrum coming into play.

kazubes

Not really, the point of the cameras is only partially about trying to prevent an attack. Two years ago or so when those car bombs in London were found, they caught the people involved pretty quickly because they had a relatively comprehensive video surveilance system that got a lot of the information. If anything, having good video surveilance would enable police to hopefully aprehend a suspect quickly enough to prevent a second attempt

kane

I think you're proving his point. The cameras don't really help to prevent an attack, only catch someone once the attack has been committed.

As far as a "second attempt" is concerned, I suppose the cameras could help prevent it if it were done by the same person, which I don't see as very feasible/realistic.

Gotham Extremist

A car loaded with explosive drives into TS, can someone explain how a camera or 1000 cameras is gonna stop it from blowing up? The guy is going to load up his truck in the middle of 42nd street, right.

Gotham Extremist

"$24 million of federal money to expand the "Ring of Steel" surveillance network to midtown"

Thanks for letting them know your plan, they will now set off bombs in downtown. Idiots.

theevilone

The ring of steel is already in place downtown.

Gotham Extremist

The point is how retarded are they to announce every single time their plans on how exactly they are going to defeat the terrorists. Fuckin BRILLIANT!!

verbal

Unfortunately the ACLU and every paranoid out there believes the worst; that these security measures will be used to invade citizens privacy. Sure I'd like to know what we're doing and how we're doing it, but if keeping me in the dark means achmed and mohammed don't know either - so be it.

Don't forget the extra money so Bloomberg can watch it from his iPhone in Bermuda. Figures he was out of town that night, lucky for him it was only Washington, he would have had to call some journalist stupid for asking where he was.

Jesse

I know what you mean. Its amusing at times.

They could be feeding us false information of some sort also.

kane

However, the SUV could have triggered the surveillance network's chemical, biological and radiological sensors.

For having propane and gasoline in the car? Really?