A new surveillance system that collects and records information in real-time — and then lets trackers rewind, zoom in and follow certain targets — has hit the test market streets of Baltimore, Md., and Dayton, Ohio, and in at least one crime-fighting unit in California.
More test markets are in the works, Breitbart reported, saying the system is being hailed as a sort of “God’s eye” for intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
It’s like a “live version of Google Earth, only with TiVo capabilities,” said creator Ross McNutt, president of Persistent Surveillance Systems, according to the Center for Investigative Reporting.
The PSS system basically puts super high-resolution cameras aboard planes. The pilot can then capture a 25-square-mile segment of Earth on a live, ongoing basis for up to six hours, Gizmodo reported. Coming up next is a larger system with more information and data inputing ability that won’t even let people drive out of the system’s frames — because there won’t be any frames, Gizmodo reported.
The system’s already been used by Compton, Calif., authorities to track a suspect who walked up to a female victim, grabbed her jewelry and fled to a getaway car. The vehicle eventually drove out of the frame of the spy device’s eye — but police were able to capture the make and model of the vehicle.
The system cannot yet identify faces or peer into homes and buildings, the media outlet reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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