Cities Revealed™ imagery helps to fight crime

January 2006: Cambridge – The GeoInformation Group, publishers of Cities Revealed aerial photography (http://www.citiesrevealed.com), is rapidly becoming one the major suppliers of aerial imagery to law enforcement bodies throughout the UK.

South Yorkshire Police have decided to renew its license of Cities Revealed Modern aerial imagery at 12.5 cm to cover the entire geographical area for which the constabulary is responsible. Using the latest digital camera technology, The GeoInformation Group will attain the images, during summer 2006. As the thirteenth largest of the 44 Police Services within England, Wales and Northern Ireland, South Yorkshire Police is accountable for policing an area of over 600 square miles, including Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.

South Yorkshire Police is currently incorporating Cities Revealed imagery to prepare evidential maps and plans of crime scenes to be produced in the Courts. They also utilise aerial imagery and mapping for both administrative and operational support purposes.

During the recent G8 Meetings held in Sheffield, South Yorkshire Police found the aerial photography particularly useful. The Service used a substantial amount of maps, detailed plans, layouts of buildings and aerial photography to provide an excellent overview and broad picture of the principal areas and venues concerned, enabling them to plan for and operate security measures with further confidence.

The Plans Manager for Scientific Support Plans Department at South Yorkshire Police comments, “The data provided by Cities Revealed has been both cost effective and beneficial within South Yorkshire Police particularly during the planning and decision processes.

As is common with other Police Services, we have an Air Support Team that can also provide aerial photography etc. in ‘real time’ although dependent on weather conditions. The aerial photography data provided by Cities Revealed enables South Yorkshire Police to supply images which are used for planning of operations by specialised units including Drugs, Task Force, Firearms etc. when it is not possible to deploy the Helicopter.”

Other examples of where South Yorkshire Police has incorporated aerial photography into the service provided by the Scientific Support Plans Department are at the football stadiums including Hillsborough and Bramall Lane in Sheffield, and Oakwell in Barnsley. Cities Revealed aerial imagery has been particularly effective in respect of planning and deployment of Officers on ‘Match’ days. Other Units including Drugs, Firearms and Task Force have increasingly found the use of aerial photography important when conducting their operations, more so for Officers who are not familiar with the geography of the areas concerned.

The GeoInformation Group is fast establishing a presence in the UK Policing market through work with other forces such as Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands and Strathclyde.

To download a sample of our 12.5 cm imagery or greater, visit the resource centre section at www.citiesrevealed.com or call 01223 88 00 77. Availability of air photos can also be searched and downloaded via the Cities Revealed Online service found at the same address.

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Editorial enquiries, contact Nikki Jones or Rachel Widdicombe on tel. 01223 880077
Reader enquiries to Sales on tel: 01223 880077

About the GeoInformation Group
The GeoInformation Group is a privately owned geospatial imagery company based in Cambridge, UK, with offices in South Africa and partners in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Ireland and Japan.
The GeoInformation Group is one of Europe’s leading providers of high-resolution ortho imagery products. Its aerial imagery products are published under the brand name Cities Revealed. Orthorectified aerial imagery is available on CD-ROM from over 250 cities including London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Tokyo, Johannesburg and many other major urban centres across Europe and Africa.
It also provides mapping services for specific client needs and has undertaken contracts to provide bespoke image databases across the world.
www.citiesrevealed.com

Contact Information

Rachel Widdicombe

citiesrevealed

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