Expect even more video on the U.S.- Canadian and Mexican borders. Expect such an application to further encourage cities and towns across the U.S. to use security video on streets, at special events and to cover areas of high crime. Wireless mesh communications plays a crucial role in some of these city designs while longer-range communications works best on the nation’s borders.
     
For example, crime, loitering and disorder have decreased and residents’ sense of safety and security has increased, thanks to a video surveillance system that is part of a wireless mesh network installed in a public housing project by the Rockford Housing Authority, northwest of Chicago. Contained in bullet-resistant enclosures, the Rockford security video cameras and mesh network nodes can communicate with a monitoring center and also with police cars equipped with mobile mesh nodes. But even though this enables cameras to be installed in more locations, the availability of network ports and cabling is still a limiting factor.
     
While public use of security video on city streets has its detractors, there are controversies as the U.S. hardens its borders with use of video and other sensor and detector technologies. Just introduced in the U.S. House, the Unlawful Border Entry Prevention Act will give the Secretary of DHS complete discretionary authority to build as much as 350 miles of additional reinforced fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border. Under existing legislation, DHS had until last December to identify specific locations on the Southwest border for infrastructure and fence construction.