(In NYC,) New Cameras to Watch Over Subway System

[steve2470]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/24/nyregion/24mta.html?hp&ex=1124856000&en=7281b59716e5f7b4&ei=5094&partner=homepage

By SEWELL CHAN
Published: August 24, 2005

Officials unveiled the high-tech future of transit security in New York City yesterday: an ambitious plan to saturate the subways with 1,000 video cameras and 3,000 motion sensors and to enable cellphone service in 277 underground stations - but not in moving trains - for the first time.


The Lockheed Martin Corporation was awarded a three-year, $212 million contract by the M.T.A. to create a surveillance and security system for its sprawling subway and bus system.

Enhanced Security for the Subways
Cellphoners Are Upbeat on Calling From Below (August 24, 2005)

Moving quickly after the subway and bus bombings in London last month, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority awarded a three-year, $212 million contract to a group of contractors led by the Lockheed Martin Corporation, which is best known for making military hardware like fighter planes, missiles and antitank systems.

The authority abandoned its earlier reservations about cellphone service, agreeing that the benefits of allowing 911 and other calls during emergencies outweighed the costs and the risk of a phone-detonated bomb. It invited carriers to submit proposals by Oct. 12. The winning bidder, which would receive a 10-year license, would have to pay for the installation of the wireless network and would be required to disable all calls at the authority's request. It is not clear how long installation, which will cover 277 of the 468 stations, will take.

The surveillance and cellphone strategies, together with a police campaign begun last month to check riders' bags and packages, are a step toward what some critics have long said cannot be done - putting the nation's largest transit system under constant watch, and fortifying it with enough obstacles to deter potential terrorists.

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[longship]

1. Future Headlines--"Cameras snag suicide bombers"

Let's see. Spend millions of dollars on video tech stuff. Now some terrists (* pronounciation) decide to bomb the subway. Fine. They go in, with explosives well hidden, sit down on a crowded car during rush hour and blow themselves up along with everybody around them.

So, what good do the cameras do when the perp is already dead? What are they gonna do, jail the remains?