The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System implemented new video camera technology in its trolleys that allows agency personnel to monitor the entire rail system without sitting in the video control booth. Perceptrak software by Cernium Corp. provides security staff with real-time information about potentially dangerous activities occurring anywhere on the light rail system -- even if no one is watching the video screen.
Security cameras on San Diego's trolley network scan and identify "suspect" behaviors, such as a person lurking, a crowd forming, a person falling or even a package left behind. When these behavioral patterns are found, the software flags the footage for review and alerts security personnel to the activity via text message or e-mail. This allows for swift response to suspicious incidents, possibly even stopping crimes in progress -- and in the event that a crime does occur, it allows for a forensic review of the video footage.