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Major Texas Mall takes the leap into digital CCTV.
A major Texas mall has begun implementing phase 1 of its digital CCTV strategy propelling the level of security and safety to a new level.
The mall, one of the top ten largest in the USA and a member of a major mall chain is also a major tourist destination (the mall cannot yet be named for security reasons) was recently hit by a few violent crimes in its (large) parking areas this with the abundance of “slip and fall” incidents with the inherent liability related issues were the main reason the mall needed to update its antiquated analog technology.
A retail and entertainment center like this mall presents unusual security challenges. A mall is a public place, which means access cannot be restricted or controlled to any great extent. Instead, the security force must find other ways to deter and prevent trouble. security patrols and a closed-circuit television system with visible cameras create a security presence that aids in deterrence, while allowing for a swift response should problems arise.
Actively managed CCTV systems play vital roles in both the service and security aspects of the job. After all, a CCTV camera can find a car as easily as it can spot an incident; it can scan a crowd for a lost child as efficiently as it can hunt for a suspect.
The mall set the following as the top criteria for searching for the best technology.
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Image quality: The areas to be viewed, night and day good and bad weather many times with bad lighting the mall requested to have an image quality that allow viewing of great detail (number plates, faces)
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Turnkey project: The mall does not have much CCTV experience and needed assurance that the vendors will bring it to a fully operating system without end user intervention
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Fully scalable: The mall is very large and the mall management plans to roll out digital CCTV to all parts of the mall and wants one single platform. In addition, as the mall is part of a larger chain a single platform will allow centralized management for multiple malls in the future
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24*7*365 mission critical uptime: As one of the largest malls in the country it is open year round. With its built in entertainment facilities and hotels it is open 24 hours a day any down time would entail the possibility of costly closures
Biocom LLC ( www.biocom.tv ) a FAST Video Security Partner was selected by Johnson Controls ( www.jci.com ) as the CCTV supplier for this prestigious project. The client spent 18 months evaluating several CCTV options before selecting FAST as the DVS technology of choice. The first phase of the system comprises of over 100 Day/Night PTZ cameras with additional fixed cameras to provide the mall security staff with 24/7/365 views of all entrances and parking areas within the expansive Mall Complex.
The system will be operational by late Spring 2005 and due to the design architecture based on a Gbbps fiber backbone, it is infinately scalable to cover all the Malls current and future security needs. ATS Computers ( www.ats-computers.com ), a Biocom partner, will be responsible for supplying all the computer and network equipment plus comissioning the CCTV system.
Full integration with other mall systems
To maximize its return on its investment the mall will be utilizing Alpha technologies open architecture to integrate with current access control and emergency phone systems. For example whenever one of the emergency phones is used an alarm will come on in the system and the relevant PTZ camera will automatically pan and zoom onto the phone So what is next?
The mall is gearing up for phase II of implementing the Fast system by installing the system within the mall’s internal spaces. Down the line the mall expects to integrate the CCTV system with POS systems. Fast’s Alpha Technology open architecture and open flexible SDK easily allow that type of integration In addition, the mall chain is beginning to expand its digital CCTV strategy to other of its many malls. Benedickt Schwartz, Director of Sales for Swiss based Fast Video Security says. “We have a lot of experince in many verticals especially retail malls and casinos where the specific need for image quality, scalability and uptime are an imperitave”
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