Safe in the city

More than half of the world’s population now lives in urban areas, and in 2025 there will be 5 billion people living in cities. To find the right balance between urban growth and security, city authorities need scalable long-term solutions to share information and coordinate resources more efficiently.

Thales offers a comprehensive new urban security concept covering the broadest possible range of threats — crime, social unrest, terrorist attacks and industrial accidents and natural disasters.

The Thales solution involves deploying integrated systems to share and pull together information from multiple sources. A command-and-control centre systematically analyses all of this information and coordinates security services and emergency responders in the event of an incident or crisis.

Mexico City, a flagship project

Mexico City’s Ciudad Segura (safe city) project, the most ambitious programme of its kind in the world, has sealed Thales's reputation as a major player in urban security. With 22 million people living in an area of 5,000 square kilometres, Mexico City is the world’s third-largest metropolis. The Thales solution incorporates thousands of sensors (cameras, gunshot detectors, seismic sensors, UAVs, etc.) and the network is still growing. Since it was deployed, crime rates have plummeted by 32% and average emergency response times have been cut by a factor of four.

Scalable by design, the system has been expanded with new functionality, including machine learning capabilities, enabling it to automatically and autonomously detect unusual situations. 

Smarter cities

All around the world, Thales systems are making cities smarter. Combining recognised systems integration capabilities, key technologies including supervision, simulation, big data and visual analytics, and a hands-on understanding of the needs of cities and the processes involved, Thales is a world-class player in the smart cities market.

Thales is also a tier-one partner of local authorities needing to ensure maximum security for large-scale events. In 2014, for example, Thales provided security for the G20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia.

For more information:

Mexico City, the world’s most ambitious urban security programme
The interconnected city: improving the quality of life of citizens