On 22Sept2022 0041, Jim Vassilakos - jim.vassilakos at gmail.com (via
tml list) wrote:
> TL15 Navy Cruiser (50,000-100,000 tons). How prevalent are cameras and mics
> for internal surveillance? I could see it being rather useful during a
> boarding action to know what's going on. Also, in case a fight breaks out
> amongst the crew, it would be nice to have video evidence of who started
> it. Also, employers in general like to monitor their employees, and I'm
> sure the Navy brass is no different in this regard.
>
> So IYTU, are navy ships decked out with mics like KGB-monitored hotel
> rooms? Is every last snippet of audio recorded and analyzed by the ship's
> computer, processing it into text to make it easily searchable?
>
> To put it more specifically, if the Captain wants to know if a particular
> phrase was spoken in or around, say, the Marine Gymnasium, during a
> particular span of hours, how easy is that to accomplish?
>
> Easy: The computer can handle it automatically in a matter of seconds
> requiring only a simple verbal command.
>
> Moderate: A staff member with computer skill can perform the task in a
> matter of minutes.
>
> Hard: Requires a staff member to manually listen to the captured audio.
> This will take hours.
>
> Impossible: It's unlikely that the audio was even captured unless it was
> yelled or whoever spoke it was standing particularly close to a
> surveillance mic (or speaking into a radio).
Standard intercom panels are common throughout a ship, as well as mics
and video cameras at workstations. These are 'on' all the time, and
record everything, usually on about a 48-hour 'loop'. Large common areas
often have an extra camera or two as well. The pickups are not always in
the best spots for surveillance, and ceiling-mounted ones tend to be
wide-field and thus don't have great resolution. Generally shower and
toilet areas will not have cameras, and fitting and running cameras
there without a very good reason will get a Captain in a lot of hot
water. The Captain or (on larger ships) a divisional officer can review
the footage by having a security officer/NCO send it to their logon, but
doing so requires paperwork showing that it was for a lawful purpose,
etc. (e.g. determining the particulars of a fight in the mess or the like).

Solomani ships have more cameras and less respect for privacy, but the
data goes to the on-board SolSec presence, and their interests are not
always the same as the Navy's, but they are supposed to co-operate
should the ship's commander need footage for disciplinary purposes. OF
course the reality isn't always like that - SolSec doesn't always
co-operate, and the ships run by some groups within the Confederation
are set up so that the commander's people get the footage as well as
SolSec, and possibly even have ways of shutting SolSec out (assuming
SolSec hasn't found out how to bypass such measures). All one big happy
family, the Solomani.

--

Rupert Boleyn <xxxxxx@gmail.com>