A school in London has been one of the first to replace its analogue security system with web-based digital CCTV.
The school, based in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, has replaced its VCR-based CCTV system with two LookC Pro ix servers from Applied Technology Monitoring (ATM).
The system can support up to 16 cameras per server and provides high resolution digital images which can be viewed via the Internet in real-time or historically. Rush Croft School has installed 20 cameras internally and externally to monitor internal student activities and external intruders.
The system went live in April of last year and it enables the school’s staff to view images from up to four cameras at one time within a standard Windows interface.
False alarms danger
The school was particularly concerned to prevent false fire alarms, which had been increasing and which the previous system had been unable to monitor adequately.
Therefore, cameras have been installed in major pedestrian traffic routes within the school where fire alarms had regularly been triggered unnecessarily.
Since LookC went live, false fire alarm incidents have been reduced dramatically and the culprits identified. “We now have no incidents of false fire alarms and the system also provides protection against vandalism and trespassing,” said Patricia Cutler, Rush Croft’s Headteacher.
LookC Pro ix allows real-time, high-resolution images from up to 16 cameras per server to be viewed by accessing any Internet browser at any time, in any place, using any device. It has already been adopted by organisations such as the Carphone Warehouse and Sefton Council, Merseyside.
One frame per second
The system records at one frame per second on all cameras so that pre and post capture of significant frames can be quickly found. For Rush Croft, this feature is especially useful for school break-times when student incidents tend to be more frequent.
ATM says the system is particularly appropriate in the light of the ACPO Policy that states all police call-outs to investigate intruder incidents must be verified. With LookC, images can be sent off-site to an alarm receiving station, which will then carry out a visual assessment and, when validated, provide a confirmed alarm status to the police.
Giving his verdict on the system, the Rush Croft School’s Premises Manager, Peter Curry, said: “LookC Pro has been very easy to install and requires minimal training, as any member of staff who is familiar with a Windows format can access the system in a simple and intuitive manner.
“The system is easier to maintain than the previous system as there are no cumbersome tapes to install and store. Digitally stored images are crisp and clear in replay compared to images stored on tape, which are at a lower resolution and deteriorate with a number of replays.”
