New iPod, iPhone application can increase campus security

University police Detective Tim Hetrick shows off a new piece of technology for the force at the Public Safety Building on Monday. The iPod Touch application will allow officers to monitor safety and traffic cameras while on patrol.
Michael Stein The Daily Illini

The University Police Department is testing a new iPod and iPhone application that allows patrolling officers to access live security footage from virtually anywhere.

The purchase of the application, titled iRa C3, was funded through a $10,000 grant from the University’s Moms and Dads Associations and a $15,000 grant from Lextech Labs, said University Chief of Police Barbara O’Connor.

Alex Bratton, University alumnus and Chief Executive Officer of Lextech Labs, has been working closely with University Police since August 2009 to bring the technology to campus security.

“As an alumni, I’m very interested in making U of I the safest campus in the country,” Bratton said, adding that the recent crime spikes further prompted his donation.

The application runs through a series of different servers that take video as it is being recorded by licensed cameras, Bratton said. Authorized officers out in the field using an iPod touch, iPhone or a Web browser can access the footage through a wireless Internet connection.

O’Connor said each individual camera on campus has to be licensed and programmed to run with the application before an officer can access it.

Detective Tim Hetrick of University police said not every camera on campus will be programmed to run with the application. He said about 15 cameras will be accessible through iRa C3, with most of those cameras located in areas of recent increased criminal activity, though specifics have not yet been determined.

“The one thing we need to keep in mind is that [it] will have the ability to change from time to time,” Hetrick said. “We will switch the cameras to those areas having more problems.”

Lextech’s gift allows for the purchase of six or seven applications that will be installed on police-owned iPod touches. Based on necessity, a patrolling officer can borrow the iPod touch for his or her shift.

Hetrick also said the application comes equipped with features such as pan-tilt and zoom. However, the live footage cannot be recorded as it is being watched.

Any officer accessing the application requires a login username and password as well.

“CITES (Campus Information Technologies and Educational Services) spent the last six months testing the application making sure it’s safe and secure so that we didn’t have to worry about anybody going in through a back door somewhere and looking for a way in to our recording servers,” Hetrick said.

Hetrick said he is hopeful that the technology will give University Police an edge over other departments, as well as increase campus safety.

“Everyone is aware that we’ve had several assaults lately on campus,” he said. “We want to combine this (application) with a group of cameras on exterior locations around campus to combat that problem.”

Bratton’s gift covers future upgrade costs as Lextech Labs adds new features to the application, Hetrick said.

“Most of the surveillance industry has been focused on what happened yesterday, as opposed to what’s happening right now,” Bratton said. “We’re focusing on what’s happening right now, and how first responders can use that to make critical decisions better.”