Big Brother Goes Mobile in Hyattsville

Hyattsville police could soon have the ability to monitor the city's network of closed-circuit TV cameras and emergency call boxes from the comfort of their cars, according to the details of a recently-approved contract. 

The cameras and emergency call boxes were first installed in 2009 by the AVRIO Group, which maintained the system as well. But, the city has been without a long-term maintenance contract with the AVRIO Group for about a year now. In that time, the quality of service provided by the AVRIO Group has declined, according to Hyattsville Chief of Police Doug Holland. 

"Often several calls needed to be made for the same service request, and occasionally cameras and call boxes remained inoperable for several weeks," wrote Holland in a memo to the Hyattsville City Council. "This change of service quality apparently occurred at about the same time the company expanded and there were several key management changes within the organization."

As a result of these concerns with maintenance service, the Hyattsville City Council unanimously approved a contract with another company, J&M Security Solutions, a newly formed company started by former AVRIO Group employees. 

The 5-year, $120,000 contract gives the city a new server and software package upon which the CCTV and emergency call box would be operated. It also provides an unlimited number of software licenses to the city, giving the police department the legal freedom to install CCTV and call box monitoring software directly into police car computer systems.