For this edition XTS Corp. and the National Police of Ecuador present a new success story in which a novel system is exposed with which security is provided in Ecuadorian rural areas.
By Richard Santa
Although Ecuador has been characterized as one of the safest countries in Latin America, in recent years the levels of insecurity have increased. In this aspect, both large cities such as Quito, its capital, and the different provinces have been affected.
This can be seen in the Ecuadorian government's Criminal Report, which shows that reports of robberies and homicides increased in 2009 compared to 2008.
During the first half of 2009 robberies of people increased significantly, in January the growth of complaints for this crime reached 61.57%, going from 1,111 complaints in that month of 2008 to 1,795 in the same of 2009.
In terms of homicides, there was also an increase in that period, with peaks such as that of May that had an increase of 42%. But for the second half of 2009 this trend changed and the rates of robberies and homicides closed that year with slight increases of 0.42% and 0.69% respectively.
To achieve change and after recognizing this situation, the government and authorities of that country undertook a series of measures to try to prevent insecurity from continuing to grow.
One of the resources adopted was to present to Congress a bill of penal reforms to toughen the punishments in crimes of sicariato; the criminalization of the use of minors for criminal acts; tougher penalties for the illicit use of firearms; and the accumulation of penalties for the commission of several crimes.
In addition to the reduction of the measure related to the reduction of sentences for all crimes except those serious; the reform of the crime of usury and illicit enrichment, as well as the exclusion of the expiration of pretrial detention for the manipulation of the defense deprived of liberty.
State-of-the-art support
But this reform project, which is still being discussed in the Ecuadorian Congress, was complemented by the provision of state-of-the-art tools to the security forces to confront criminals. It was for this reason that XTS Corp. worked closely with the police of that country to create a group of mobile citizen attention units that began operating in the second half of 2009.
"High-quality CCTV with monitors, mobile DVRs that are designed for vehicles with state-of-the-art GPS-GPRS-WIFI communication technology, High Speed Dome cameras with integrated infrared for a night viewing range in full darkness with a range of 100 meters, internal cameras and controllers, were the equipment designed specifically for police vehicles that protect the population," explained Monica Ribero, marketing manager of XTS Corp.
He added that the first equipment evaluated for this project was the ViewXtation Mobile, a digital video recording system specially designed for automobiles because it features the high-quality H.264 video compression standard with minimal storage, ease of installation and anti-vibration design.
To this were added the Falcon day/night cameras that integrate a low luminosity technology that allows them to compensate for images in which there is a minimum level of light. It also has more than 20 protocols that have been programmed internally, which can be easily installed in video systems, both new and existing.
Falcon models include heater and fan, a back frame with its power supply and a terminal block connection for direct wire installation. It is constructed of aluminum with IP66 protection and can operate from -30°C to +50°C (22°F to 122°F). This series includes a windshield wiper fully integrated into the housing which gave it the perfect solution for the project.
XTS monitors were also selected for surveillance in remote areas of the country. Through Secatel SCC, XTS partner in Ecuador; the CCTV system was successfully evaluated, tested and implemented by that country's security officials.
Due to the implementation of this new system, the Ecuadorian government realized that it cost more money the actions to be taken after an incident than to invest in an established preventive measure, when it comes to crimes.
Success in the pilot plan
The mobile units are part of the strategic crime prevention project of the comprehensive Citizen Security plan, a program that depends on the Specialized Execution Unit of the Government of Ecuador and the police.
Mónica Ribero said that "this is a pilot plan, there were no similar experiences in other countries or within Ecuador, but it has been a success in meeting the objective of security control, which will be analyzed to be able to budget them and make more units of these, correcting certain facilities and giving them a better service."
He indicated that this experience is already being copied in other Latin American countries. In Colombia, systems with the same ideology were created; and in Argentina and Venezuela there are projects on the table waiting for the respective governments to start the bidding process.
Ribero said that the monitoring that is carried out with these equipment, in addition to surveillance and security, allows the police to control the city without having to leave the vehicle, thus giving better reaction and care to the personnel who work.
It should be noted that this surveillance system is integrated with other service subsystems such as the police monitoring center, 911 and firefighters. "Just seeing these mobile units walking the streets offers security and peace of mind."
Finally, he explained that for the second phase of the project in Ecuador they will have the complete communication applications and the new control cameras of XTS Corp, which will provide a better service to the community and a better tool to the members of the police.
This second phase, which will provide 120 new mobile citizen service units to Ecuador, was scheduled to take place in 2010, but because last year there were political problems that prevented the process from continuing, it was postponed and is expected to continue this year.
