Technology Work@ HD VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SOLUTIONS
HD System Aids Investigations, Enhances Safety, Meets IT Needs
Over the past 10 years, school administra- tors across the country have had to rethink campus security because of the growing threat of violence. As public security con- cerns intensify, colleges and universities are adding new services to ensure stu- dent safety — a top priority for parents, staff and administrators alike. Focused on providing a safe and secure learning environment, Merced College, Merced, Calif., engaged a full-time, on-campus police department and also deployed the Avigilon high definition (HD) surveil- lance system as a strategic element of its crime prevention policy to monitor activ- ity across two campuses and to ensure the general welfare of staff and students.
THE MOVE TO HD SURVEILLANCE With 11,000 full-time students, 200 full- time staff, and 600 adjunct instructors, Merced College boasts two campuses — a 250-acre main campus and a 100-acre satellite campus in Los Baños, located 26 miles southwest of Merced. To help in the delivery of a professional and crime-free campus environment, Deputy Sheriff Jim Wilde of the Merced County Sheriff’s Office was appointed to head up the Merced Community College Police Department, with three full-time officers, two parking enforcement officers, and nine part-time security officers. Merced College initially deployed an analog-based surveillance system with pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras, but according to Don Peterson, director of IT at Merced College, “The analog-based system was inadequate, to put it mildly.” After seeing a demonstration of the Avi- gilon HD surveillance system, the college moved to the HD system. Security officers
at Merced College manage the Avigilon HD surveillance system using Avigilon Control Center network video manage- ment software (NVMS) with HD Stream Management, which was built from the ground up to manage HD surveillance video. The college installed four 16MP Avigilon HD cameras, six 11MP Avigilon HD cameras, and five 5MP Avigilon HD cameras to monitor activity across the campus grounds and parking lots. Storing up to 30 days of continuous
surveillance video onsite, security person- nel monitor the Avigilon HD surveillance system from control rooms located at both campuses while the food service manager monitors the cafeteria from his office.
AIDING IN INVESTIGATIONS “A key differentiator of the Avigilon HD surveillance system is the fact that it enables users to zoom in to examine specific details of an event while it is still
recording, a feature we initially thought was too good to be true,” Wilde said. The Merced Community College
Police Department has been able to cap- ture license plate details and facial attri- butes as a result of Avigilon’s zooming capabilities. “Since deploying Avigilon, we have
been able to successfully investigate and resolve numerous cases of crime, vandal- ism, and assault on campus,” Wilde said. “In all cases, we were able to bring the footage to court or show the perpetrators involved, leading to quick resolution, admission of guilt, and the possibility of conviction.”
Merced College’s 250-acre main campus.
Pictured here is the Interdisciplinary Academic Center on Merced’s main campus. To ease the transition from analog to digital and leverage its existing infrastructure, Merced College installed 11 Avigilon analog video encoders to improve the perfor- mance of its analog cameras, which monitor the interior of several college buildings.
November 2010 85
PHOTO COURTESY OF AVIGILON
PHOTO COURTESY OF AVIGILON
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