Tag Archives: cameras

A crime threefer

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Houston on pace to post 20% decline in homicides in 2023 Houston’s homicide rate is down 20% compared to the year before, outpacing a historic decline in killings nationwide. The city logged 339 homicides thorough Dec. 18, down from 425 … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

City Council approves security camera ordinance for bars and convenience stores

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have mixed feelings about this. Houston bars, nightclubs and convenience stores must install security cameras outside of their buildings within 90 days in a citywide surveillance effort Mayor Sylvester Turner hopes will diminish violent crime in high-risk areas. City … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

More on the Metro security robot

Posted on January 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like this is finally getting rolled out. Typically, when a security guard weighs 400 pounds, it means they are not well suited for foot patrols. K5, however, was built for it. Soon the spaceship-shaped sentries will roll into action … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Metro’s robot security guards

Posted on February 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not a character from a dystopian action movie, I promise. Robot security guards are coming to a Houston-area transit center, park and ride lot and rail station in the coming months, after the Metropolitan Transit Authority board approved a $270,000 … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Abbott’s border surge plan

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A whole lot of not much here. Attorney General Greg Abbott, the Republican candidate for governor, said Tuesday he wants to nearly double state spending to improve security along the U.S.-Mexico border, proposing a “continuous surge” with 1,000 new boots … Continue reading →

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Police cameras

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s disappointing that Houston lags behind other cities in using dashboard cameras in police cars, but I am glad to see we are trying to catch up. Houston police have fewer dashboard cameras than any major Texas law enforcement agency, … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

More security cameras coming

Posted on December 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

You’re being recorded, like it or not. Houston is adding 180 downtown surveillance cameras despite shrinking national security grants and research showing that video feeds only sometimes improve public safety. By early next year, the Houston Police Department will have … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Going after the dumpers

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to see this. City Council District B will be the site of a pilot program in which five surveillance video cameras have been placed in undisclosed locations, [Mayor Annise] Parker announced. The cameras will be monitored in real time … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hall’s five point crimefighting plan

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Houstonians do not feel safe in their homes and their communities. Houston’s crime numbers remain dangerously high and criminals are victimizing us daily. The only thing we hear from the Mayor’s office on this issue is silence. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2013 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

No more RFID for Northside ISD

Posted on July 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Nortside ISD in San Antonio has quit using RFID trackers in student IDs to keep tabs on them, and has embraced an alternate technological solution to the problem of ensuring an accurate headcount instead. Northside Independent School District spokesman Pascual … Continue reading →

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Cameras everywhere

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Red light cameras get all the attention, but there are a lot more cameras in Houston. This story about the city’s network of surveillance cameras that have been installed by the Mayor’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security gives … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Video-enabled radar guns

Posted on September 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just curious what people think of this: Plano could soon become one of the nation’s first cities to equip police with laser speed guns that also capture video. Police say the handheld equipment would provide courts with indisputable evidence … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

How much would you pay for those border cameras?

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Remember all those border cameras Rick Perry wanted to install so ordinary citizens in the comfort of their living rooms could help catch people entering the country illegally? How have they worked out? Perry has invested a total of $4 … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Virtual border fence: Still a failure

Posted on July 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Our Governor in action. Gov. Rick Perry’s border Web camera program has run out of money, and in its first full year of operation failed to meet nearly every law enforcement goal. Last year, Perry gave the Texas Border Sheriffs … Continue reading →

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Mattress Mack is watching you

Posted on May 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Be sure to smile for the cameras if you visit the Westchase District. A West Houston nonprofit group on Tuesday applied for city permission to install the first of a dozen security cameras it plans to purchase to reduce crime … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The border camera boondoggle blues

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Your tax dollars at work, courtesy of Governor Perry. A virtual border surveillance program Gov. Rick Perry has committed millions of taxpayer dollars to fell far short of expectations during the first six months of operation. Border sheriffs, who Perry … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment