Today, one of the country's most innovative ports in terms of security measures, the Port of Los Angeles was not always ahead of the curve. Prior to 2006, the Port operated with a few analogue cameras across their expansive grounds. "We had just a few cameras run independently through an IP address operated by different departments," states Don Farrell, captain of the Los Angeles Port of Police. "There was no master plan or integration of the systems."
Prior to a new security system or plan, Port officials orchestrated a training exercise to determine how agencies would respond to a potential threat. The Port of Los Angeles announced that a container with radiological contents had exploded. Evaluating the amount of agencies that responded (Los Angeles Police Department, Coast Guard, County Sheriff, Los Angeles County, FBI and more), they concluded the need to design a phased approach to deploying an integrated security solution.
