Barbara Pash
JULY 29, 2005

The Hippodrome Theatre is being watched. So is the University of Maryland Medical System, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the Baltimore Convention Center and the Inner Harbor.

As part of an anti-terrorism project code-named Citiwatch, a 40-square-block area on Baltimore City's west side is being monitored around-the-clock.

The camera system, the latest in high-tech surveillance equipment, was produced and installed by an Israeli-based company, NICE Systems. Barry Bogage, executive director of the Maryland/Israel Development Center, said of Citiwatch, "Here's another example of Israeli homeland security technology finding a market in the United States."

MIDC is an agency of the Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore that is tied to the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.

Citiwatch became operational in May. It is intended, said Elliot Schlanger, the city's information technology director and a member of Mayor Martin O'Malley's Cabinet, "to enhance the safety and security of residents, visitors and workers [in the area]. Sept. 11 changed the world, and we need to leverage new technologies."

Mr. Schlanger is project manager for the Baltimore Region Anti-Terrorism CCTV (closed-circuit TV) project on which Citiwatch is based. In addition to the city, the region encompasses Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties, as well as the city of Annapolis and Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).

Working groups in the region decide how to spend the federal homeland security money that is funneled to the state. There are already a variety of projects in place, from backup emergency power generation to emergency radio equipment, from decontamination contingencies to emergency management software. Some projects are jurisdiction-specific, some can be shared by multiple jurisdictions.

While several other public safety surveillance camera projects exist in places like Pennsylvania Station and the Port of Baltimore, Baltimore City is the first jurisdiction in the region to install the cameras as an anti-terrorism tool.

Mr. Schlanger said a $2 million federal homeland security grant paid for the construction and equipment for Citiwatch. The city is paying the $700,000 annual operating costs itself.

"The city is establishing itself as the backbone for a regional network of surveillance cameras that view and record activities in public areas," said Mr. Schlanger. "We're the first out of the gate."

Mr. Schlanger said other jurisdictions in the region are likely to hook into the Citiwatch system. This is possible because of the advanced technology.

If a jurisdiction sets up cameras, he said, images from its cameras could be viewed on the closed-circuit TVs in the city's control room. The control room is located on North Howard Street and is manned by two operators per shift 24/7.

In preparation for Citiwatch, the city ran 50,000 feet - about 10 miles - of fiber optic cable. Bordered by Greene, Centre, Liberty and Pratt streets, the west side revitalization area includes public and private buildings, two hospitals, a light rail station and several popular tourist attractions.

Mr. Schlanger said 50 cameras have been mounted on poles at intersections in the area. The cameras pan 360 degrees, "see" for two blocks, and contain mini-heaters so they don't fog up in summer or freeze up in winter. The cameras are connected by fiber optic cable to the control room.

"It's the largest single camera project for the city," Mr. Schlanger said of the 50 cameras. "And one of the largest monitored camera projects in the country."

Ian Ehrenberg is vice president and general manager of NICE's digital video security division, officially named NICE Vision, which is headquartered in Rutherford, N.J. NICE Systems, a nearly $300 million company that is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, is based in Ra'anana, Israel, outside of Tel Aviv. It has 1,600 employees, of whom 500 are in the United States.

Both Mr. Schlanger and Mr. Ehrenberg make clear that Baltimore did not deal directly with NICE, except for some training near the end of the camera installation, said Mr. Schlanger.

Rather, NICE was a subcontractor to the project through M.C. Dean Inc., a private company in Virginia that is a system integrator and installer whom NICE has worked with before.

But the city team was aware that an Israeli company was involved and that "some of the best closed-circuit TV technology has been developed in Israel," said Mr. Schlanger.

"There's no question that being Israel-based means something to a lot of our customers. We have that reputation in the security field," said Mr. Ehrenberg.

Like so much of Israel's high-tech, NICE's technology was originally developed for a military application. NICE was founded about 20 years ago based on audio recording and monitoring for Israeli intelligence.

This technology remains the largest portion of its business. In civilian use, customers who telephone businesses would recognize it as voice recordings and quality assurance monitoring.

Eight years ago, the company initiated NICE Vision, using digital video recording technology to monitor and store data as well as real-time detection and alarming.

In other words, Mr. Ehrenberg said, in a control room, after monitoring closed-circuit TV screens for four or six hours at a stretch, "people's eyes glaze over. So we have software that does the monitoring for you. It tracks crowds that are gathering where they shouldn't be, bags left unattended" and alerts the appropriate officials.

Like the Baltimore City system, NICE Vision usually subcontracts through a system integrator. Its equipment is sold throughout the world, from casinos in Panama and utilities in Brazil to jewel mines in Canada and sensitive government buildings in the United States.

"We're on top of the Statue of Liberty. We're on the New York Transit [PATH commuter] trains," said Mr. Ehrenberg.

Mr. Schlanger said the Citiwatch cameras have "seen" boxes, packages and vehicles "where they shouldn't be," and control room operators have brought that information to the attention of the police.

Similarly, the cameras have seen people "taking repeated photographs of city infrastructure," and again the police were alerted.

While the operators are not public safety officials, Mr. Schlanger said, "if they see a potential for an event occurring, they can share images with them. In case of an emergency, the monitors will call 911."

Even though Citiwatch is only 2 months old, Mr. Schlanger said he is already getting inquiries from other cities and states.

"New Orleans is interested. So is Jersey City," he said. "Philadelphia brought down the members of its City Council to observe our control room."