CASE STUDY
Calgary Catholic School District
IP-BASED SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM LEADS TO COST EFFICIENCIES AND CRIME REDUCTION
The Premises: Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) in Calgary, Alta., is home to more than 45,000 stu- dents in 104 schools. The CCSD is second in size (by student count) to the city’s primary school board, the Calgary Board of Education.
The Challenge: CCSD previously relied on an analogue-based video system to in- crease security and aid in investigations, but it experienced regular component failures. Furthermore, the analogue cam- eras were limited in capabilities and effectiveness, and images were blurry. Faced with the opportunity to upgrade its existing technology, the facilities team was interested in implementing a newer, IP-based surveillance system.
“The security and safety of our students and staff are a priority for all of us at our school district,” says Al Berting, manager of operations, CCSD. “We knew we could accomplish much more with IP-based technology and the overall return-on-in- vestment would be much greater than with traditional proprietary systems.”
The Solution: The district was con- vinced it could enhance student and staff safety with a full-fledged IP secu- rity system coupled with the power of high-resolution cameras. The facilities team also wanted to standardize security technologies across its properties. This approach, Berting says, saves time and money as the maintenance team doesn’t need to have numerous or disparate sys- tems to manage. “That’s why we take the time to find a good solution, so we can stick with it,” he notes. Berting selected an IP megapixel camera solution from Mobotix to deploy throughout the CCSD. Mobotix solu- tions are built on the decentralized concept to surveillance. This concept
cameras had failed. During the process, the team monitored for bandwidth con- sumption, functionality and image quality. The cameras excelled during the testing process, according to Berting, and was chosen as the surveillance solu- tion for the school district.
CCSD deployment began with the
incorporates a high-speed computer and internal flash memory card (SD/Mi- croSD card) to enable all recording and storage to occur within the camera, re- ducing the need for a separate PC or DVR. Furthermore, all data is processed within the camera to lower network bandwidth to allow users to maximize features, such as virtual PTZ and 360- degree hemispheric technology.
The Results: Intrigued with the imme- diate and long-term cost savings offered by the decentralized approach, Berting tested the Mobotix cameras at its educa- tion centre, where previous analogue
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district’s high schools and although each has different surveillance needs, most have between 15 to 20 Mobotix cam- eras. The Mobotix Q24 Hemispheric Camera is used internally, while the Mobotix D12 and M12 cameras are used in outdoor applications. Prior to the Mobotix installation, the district experienced vandalism at some of its elementary and junior high schools. To monitor and address the issue, CCSD installed three, dual-head Mobotix M12 cameras on the exterior of the schools. The operations team no- ticed an immediate reduction in the amount of damage in these locations after the cameras were installed. “In nine months, we saved enough money in the reduction of graffiti and vandalism to cover the cost of the Mobotix technology,” Berting says. “We have seen numerous situations in which the system has proved to be more effi- cient, user-friendly and cost effective than originally expected.” To date, the school district has in- stalled more than 200 cameras across multiple campuses and plans to expand the use of Mobotix solution across its 115 facilities. “We will continue to upgrade our se- curity technology because we must make sure that we do everything we can to en- sure that our students and staff are being safeguarded,” Berting comments. “We use the necessary tools to accomplish this and we have chosen the best technology partners to accomplish this goal.”
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