The TransVu mobile CCTV system manufactured by AD Group is helping to trap car thieves in the Bristol area.
It’s part of a new Covert Capture Car initiative launched by Avon and Somerset Police in the city.
The product was supplied by AD to Inova Solutions who integrated TransVu with Inova patented system elements to allow CCTV images and audio to be captured. Jeff Berg, of AD Group who worked with Inova Solutions on the project, said: “Inova have considerable expertise in the area of Covert Capture Cars and we were therefore delighted that they selected TransVu – which has already proven itself in a wide range of mobile applications – to be part of this new system in Bristol.”
In practice, the Covert Capture Car created for Avon and Somerset Police, which externally looks like any other vehicle, is left in a known vehicle crime “hot-spot.” When movement is detected in the vehicle after it has been broken into, the direction, speed and location are determined via GPS satellite. Police units are then advised that the Covert Capture Car has been moved. When officers have sight of the vehicle and deem it safe to be stopped, the doors and windows in the “stolen” vehicle are automatically locked and the engine immobilised and an audio message played to say that police are on the way. Throughout the incident evidence can be gathered by the in-car TransVu mobile CCTV system and relayed to the pursuing officers.
What they say
Stephen Foster, Managing Director of Inova Solutions, said: “All of the elements of our Covert Capture Car solution, including AD Group’s TransVu, are at the leading edge of today’s technology. Undoubtedly it is a powerful weapon in the fight against car crime and given the positive response from Avon and Somerset we hope that other forces will soon be following their lead.”
