SEAPORTS

The Port of Key West

ATC™ is currently installing a port w ide city surveillance and communications system throughout the port and parts of the city in Key West. This system will eventually be incorporated with other Government agencies to be utilized for converged video and communications scenarios throughout the city and port.

FTAA Summit/Miami River Marine Group Project



ATC INTERNATIONAL™ ENABLES FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT COLLABORATION IN DETECTING AND RESPONDING TO REAL-TIME THREATS AT MIAMI’S FTAA SUMMIT

ATCI INTERNATIONAL

After September 11th, 2001, in an effort to safeguard our borders, the Miami River Marine Group (MRMG), a private port cooperative of cargo carriers and marine related industry dedicated to preserving the working status of the Miami River, recently employed a new technological weapon in its efforts to improve river security.  MRMG’s Security Committee secured a grant for its Miami River Project, which would provide a security surveillance system to monitor the river and mouth of the port.  The objective was to provide proactive rather than reactive security, utilizing intelligent video with the wireless transmission to remote sites, wireless access points at various locations to facilitate access for the various approved law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction, i.e. Miami Dade Police, City of Miami Police, U.S. Coast Guard, Drug Enforcement Agency, Immigration, Florida State Police, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, etc.

The timing could not have been better.  Just one month after receiving approval on the Miami River Project grant, the Free Trade Area of the Americas Summit (FTAA) was scheduled to take place in Miami bringing with it a credible threat.  MRMG wanted the surveillance system in immediate operation for the summit and so did the U.S. Coast Guard.  They had good reasons to be concerned.  In the beginning days of the FTAA conference, angry protestors arrived by the busload.  Caches of suspicious items were discovered and seized, and seven members of an anarchist group were arrested.

Although work on the Miami River Project was scheduled to begin in December, ATC International™ managed to set it up ahead of schedule.  Phil Gravino, ATCI’s Director of Government Services, directed and oversaw the project and was significant in the systems implementation.  Gravino sped up two months of engineering and training to complete the primary installation of the surveillance system, in two weeks.

Two particular events relating to the FTAA conference put the surveillance system to use.  At one point, cameras picked up the image of 2 individuals on the rooftop of the Arena where the protest rally was being held the next day.  Alerted to the possible threat, the Coast Guard was able to use the system and zoom in on the location, track the individuals and make the determination that they were not a threat.  At another point, the coast Guard performed an evacuation drill of dignitaries staying at the Intercontinental Hotel.  The cameras recorded the procedure and the boat used for evacuation.  Those photos were then e-mailed to Joint Law Enforcement Center (Multi-agency) (JLOC) to provide security information to be used in the event of an actual evacuation.

The product was well received by the participants in the operation.  The Coast Guard and other agencies anticipate additional uses for this system and look forward to the ongoing collaboration between them.  Systems Included thermal imaging cameras, CCD cameras, Cisco Wireless Solutions, and Guardian Solutions software for intelligent video.

The system set up for the FTAA summit included 3 special thermal cameras each mounted on existing structure rooftops one third of a mile away from the river.  They provided a 360-degree view of the river, mouth of the port and surrounding areas.  The information was monitored at the Maritime Operations Center (MOC) on board the U.S. Coast Guard

Cutter OAK.  Four large screens displayed an overview of the port and specific areas of focus.

ATCI INTERNATIONAL

Representatives from multi-disciplinary agencies in the unified security operation including the U.S. Coast Guard, City of Miami Police Department, Miami-Dade Police, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement, Collier County Sheriff’s Department and the Aventura Police Department all shared and analyzed information gathered from the surveillance system.  They surveyed the waterways and surrounding areas tracking anything suspicious.  Information was disseminate to approximately thirty mobile units and was provided to the FBI Joint Operations Center (JLOC), the Port Operations Center (POC) and the Joint Law Enforcement Operations Center (JOC) and the City of Miami Police Department headquarters.

The Coast Guard set regulated navigational areas in place with security zones protecting the area for the summit.  Prior to using the system, law enforcement relied on more traditional and hands-on security measures.  According to U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander John Totte, Group Operations Officer for Group Miami, “ Before this system, monitoring was basically vessel patrols, still digital cameras and verbal reports.  People would call and alert us to activity and we’d go check it out.  Now if someone calls and lets us know they see something, being able to move a camera there is a huge benefit.”

The completion of the system will include twelve additional cameras providing surveillance system from the mouth of the river up to 30th Avenue and the surrounding areas as well as views of the port and offshore to include the anchorage.  A multi-jurisdictional group controlling the security of the river including the City of Miami Police Department, Miami-Dade Police Department, City of Hialeah Police Department, U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement, U.S. Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will have access to the information via a secure internet connection and the mobile vehicles and vessels via wireless access points.  The FWC will manage the system and provide information among the other agencies.