IBM Global Services
Tyler, Texas, Police Department turns to
mobile video units from IBM and Coban.
Overview
 The Challenge
It took too long to search video
evidence since it was captured,
stored and managed using
manual processes; and it was
accessible only by the police.
Sometimes, officers forgot
to turn on the camera in their
patrol cars
 The Solution
End-to-end process automation
of video capture and management,
including Coban Research and
Technologies video capture solution
Rather than dealing with thousands of analog tapes and the administrative cost required to store them, the
Tyler, Texas, Police Department opted for a digital video capture, storage, management and retrieval system
from IBM and Coban.
deployed in 60 patrol cars by
IBM Global Services; IBM DB2 ®
Content Manager; IBM Tivoli ®
Storage Manager; IBM Ultrium LTO
Tape Library 3582; IBM ^ ®
xSeries ®
 The Benefit
Like many law enforcement agencies
today, the City of Tyler, Texas, Police
Department relies on technology
to help fight crime. For example, the
$50,000 saved annually in employee
200-employee department had been
time and tapes; more officer time
utilizing an analog video capture and
spent on the street; higher quality
tape-management system to help
video images which are projected
create potentially court-admissible
to increase conviction rates
evidence at the scene of an incident.
and reduce the risk of lawsuits
However, the manual system was
cumbersome and inefficient. Officers
sometimes forgot to turn the camera
on, and two full-time administrative
“IBM’s ability to plan and
deploy a system-wide
technology change with
little disruption to our
staff helped to make
the project a success.”
– Benny Yazdan Panahi, Chief
Information Officer, Tyler, Texas,
Police Department
staff members were needed to
“IBM has been tremendous as far as
installation services. The whole project
manage the thousands of tapes
helping us and looking at our strategic
took approximately one month, includ-
handed into headquarters. Finding
goals to see where we want to go,” says
ing hardware installation and training.
and retrieving a needed video clip
Benny Yazdan Panahi, chief information
“IBM’s ability to plan and deploy a
usually took many hours.
officer of the City of Tyler. “And since we
system-wide technology change with
are collaborating more and more with
little disruption to our staff helped to
Needing a more efficient digital video
other local law enforcement agencies,
make the project a success,” says
capture and management system,
we wanted a partner that was globally
Yazdan Panahi.
the Police Department turned to IBM
known and trusted to encourage other
Global Services for a turnkey digital
departments to join us in this project.”
video system that would help reduce
Video on demand
Now, squad cars have mounted video
the number of manual tasks and
Working side by side with the Police
cameras in their squad cars, which
increase the quality of the output. The
Department’s IT staff, IBM Global
record continuously as officers conduct
Police Department chose IBM Global
Services recommended a video
their patrols. When an officer switches
Services because of its proven ability
capture, management and retrieval
on the overhead pursuit lights, the
to design and implement systems for
system from IBM Business Partner
Coban system saves the preceding
public safety agencies, and its com-
Coban Research and Technologies.
two minutes — more video than was
petitively priced offerings that could
IBM — with Coban Research and
previously gathered. The camera
scale according to growing needs.
Technologies and MIT Global, another
continues saving to a hard disk drive
IBM Business Partner — provided
in a removable unit. At the end of the
project management, process and
shift, the officer drops the hard drive
design consulting, training, back-office
into a cradle at the police station,
hardware installation and in-vehicle
which automatically starts uploading
the stored video, audio and radar
readings and other data associated
“The IBM and Coban solution will pay for itself
soon in terms of lower administrative overhead
costs. And the excitement generated by the new
solution is having a very positive impact on
officer morale.”
– Benny Yazdan Panahi
with each incident. During the upload
process, any software updates to
the Coban system are automatically
retrieved, ensuring that every patrol
car’s technology is up to date, without
the police department having to
manage these upgrades manually.
Storage is managed by IBM ^
xSeries servers running IBM DB2
Content Manager and IBM Tivoli
Storage Manager. An IBM Ultrium LTO
Tape Library 3582 archives this data
for near-line retrieval. DB2 Content
Manager helps enable authorized parties to search the database of digitized
videos and retrieve the video they need.
Pleased with the results, the Tyler
Police Department expects that the
improved quality of video evidence
will help boost conviction rates, which,
in turn, will have a positive impact on
public safety. It is anticipated that it
will also save the department approxi-
The next phase of the IBM and Coban solution will enable officers to stream live video from headquarters
and officers’ cars.
mately $50,000 in employee hours by
drastically reducing the time spent
in storing, managing and retrieving
digitized videos. “The IBM and Coban
solution will pay for itself soon in terms
of lower administrative overhead alone,”
says Yazdan Panahi. “And the excitement generated by the new solution
is having a very positive impact on
officer morale.”
Police officers and district law enforce-
“Our new IBM system helps enable
ment officials are also excited about
us to deploy our resources more
the next phase of the project, which will
intelligently and do a better job of law
utilize wireless “hotspots” throughout
enforcement,” says Yazdan Panahi.
the city to enable officers on the beat
“We expect other agencies to copy
to stream video into department head-
our system, which will help to create
quarters, or even to other cruisers. This
a larger local area sharing the same
is expected to improve decision making
advanced law enforcement technology
by squad commanders, whose duty it
to help protect our citizens.”
is to ensure that officers on the scene
have proper backup.
For more information
To learn more about IBM Global
Services, contact your IBM sales
representative or IBM Business
Partner, or visit: ibm.com/services
®
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2004
IBM Corporation
IBM Global Services
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Produced in the United States of America
12-04
All Rights Reserved
DB2, ^, IBM, the IBM logo, the On Demand
Business logo, Tivoli and xSeries, Tivoli and xSeries
are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United
States, other countries or both.
Other company, product or service names may
be trademarks or service marks of others.
This case study is an example of how one customer
and Business Partner uses IBM products. There is
no guarantee of comparable results.
References in this publication to IBM products or
services do not imply that IBM intends to make them
available in all countries in which IBM operates.
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