Inside View from Ireland: London Smarter

TIPPINST -- I used to dispatch airlift and air evacuation missions from a hardened concrete bunker buried deeper than Tony Blair's COBRA (Cabinet Operations Briefing Room A) and I depended upon simple C3i (command, control, communications and intelligence) sensors keeping me smart. Most of my sensor array was located in hundreds of wheel wells of operating aircraft. Parts of the array were toxicology sensors in the desert sand. Others were motion detectors inside drone camera. Some of this technology is civilianised now. If you listen between the lines of reportage following the London bombings, you can detect how parts of that city react quicker than any municipal authority in Ireland. The city reacts smarter because of some technology used to help the population survive events like terrorist attacks.

Smart CCTV. Around the prime business district and government offices stand intelligent CCTV displays. The closer you get to Canary Wharf, the more you can see--meaning there are many more in cloaked locations. If a bomber leaves the London Underground around the prime nodes of transport, industry and government, a smart camera will record the movement.
Smart Mobile Telephony Handovers. In London, one part of the response plan calls for the mobile phone networks to be shut down to customers because terrorists use mobile phones to trigger bombs. This can be invoked under the Access Overload scheme if directed by the command and control authority. Make a call on a mobile phone from a London street corner without holding the phone to your ear and a smart CCTV camera might notice your technique.
Smart Transport. London has no qualms about shutting down all transport during an emergency. If you use wheels to go anywhere--even a bicycle--you will be catalogued for future reference. Intelligent CCTV cameras recorded all traffic movement in centre city London and if you drove, you parked within a mile of turning on your ignition.

Roke -- "Video Motion Anomaly Detection"
Tetra is the smartest mobile telephony solution on the planet. From personal experience using it following aircraft mishaps, it worked better when the commercial mobile phone frequencies were squelched.
Technorati -- "london+bomb"
PBS interviews Tony Blair after his COBRA meeting. Forbes carries the summary.