ISS Responds to Call to Reduce Contraband Smuggling in Prisons

WOODBRIDGE, N.J., June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Intelligent Security Systems, an industry leader in video management and image analytic software, announced today that it has responded to a problem with contraband smuggling in prisons throughout the United States, South America, and Europe.  With its comprehensive security system, the company has deployed Facial Capture and Recognition (FCR) and License Plate Recognition (LPR), and various kinds of video surveillance systems in prisons throughout the world.  

One of the biggest contraband problems has been cell phones, which can be used to bypass normal security measures around telephone calls, and can potentially have disastrous consequences.  Inmates can use such phones to direct criminal activity on the outside, to try to plan an escape, etc. Criminal enterprises devoted to this lucrative smuggling trade found ways around security measures, with pieces of the phone inserted into food items or even hidden inside one's body, to avoid setting off metal detectors.  In some cases, guards were complicit with the smugglers.

"Prison officials needed the additional security measures to address this problem," said Aluisio Figueiredo, Chief Operating Officer for ISS.  "When smugglers know that their facial image will be captured, and every movement of theirs tracked from the time they step into the prison, it creates a serious impediment for them.  It means we can stop smuggling from taking place or if a prohibited item does somehow get through, video evidence can be used as a forensic tool to identify and track down the culprit."

Prisons can tap into shared databases, so that a known smuggler's face or license plate can be tracked across the nation.  This puts the smuggler on the defensive, rather than the prison.

ISS, which has its roots in the space technology industry, has become renowned for its advanced algorithms, which provide highly intelligent analytic features, along with very clear images, and a very high rate of accuracy for applications such as FCR and LPR.  Such accuracy and intelligence in the civilian security sphere was formerly only available for government and military applications.

While for security reasons the prisons where such technology has been deployed cannot be named, ISS software has been used in over 2500 cameras in prisons throughout the world, and the demand continues to grow.  For prison security officials, the comprehensiveness of ISS solutions, along with their advanced features and intelligence, has allowed them to automate the security process in a way that has been hugely beneficial.  Relying simply on the eyes and ears of guards was not enough, and there have been more than a few cases where guards were part of the problem.  Now, both guards and smugglers know that electronic eyes are watching at all times.

For more information: www.isscctv.com

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SOURCE Intelligent Security Systems