Located in a suburban Los Angeles community with a high crime rate, Compton Unified School District (USD) is among the 75 percent of schools that have adopted video surveillance solutions, an important tool for ensuring safety on school grounds. Schools facing challenges, such as violence or vandalism on campus, find security cameras an indispensable aid to identifying and resolving issues as they arise.
The jungle of outdated and damaged cabling from a defunct analog video surveillance system that hangs from buildings throughout the grounds serve as a reminder of both the budgetary and technology challenges once facing the Compton USD Police Department.
Mario Benitez, an Authorized Dahua Dealer for Advanced Alarm in Santa Fe Springs, California began to explore building an IP surveillance infrastructure that would span the long-distance 2.5-acre grounds without the need for trenching cables.
This area houses the Compton USD Police Department buildings, police vehicles, evidence sheds, and other municipal structures. Benitez sought an economical yet scalable solution that would eventually allow officers to remotely monitor video feed directly from Compton school campuses, adding another layer of security to the department’s functionality.
Compton USD Police Department officials chose to work with Benitez, who approached the project with an innovative solution: incorporating the newest ideas and the most up-to-date surveillance systems available. Benitez designed a customised Dahua Technology security system that monitors the premises from the outside perimeter facing inward, a configuration that provides better views of the four buildings, three gates, and grounds of the Command Center. Partnering with Dahua sales and engineering staff, Benitez deployed a total Dahua solution that included 20 Pro Series 4MP WDR fixed lens Wi-Fi cameras, a 32-channel NVR, three smart switches, one surveillance management center, two 2.4 and 5.6GHz indoor access points, and four 5.6GHz wireless video transmission devices to create a locked wireless connection.
The first unit wirelessly connects six to eight IP cameras on the remote end. The second unit is connected to the NVR network and transmits a signal from the remote cameras. The bridge requires an unobstructed line of sight to create the link. The Dahua IP cameras and NVR proved to be beneficial because they offer a flexible solution that doesn’t require physical cabling to connect. The plan included leveraging a motor on the back gate of the property to access a 110-volt circuit for power to send a signal across a wireless bridge. With strategic placement of cameras elevated on support poles, the video surveillance cameras can capture both the perimeter and interior of the Compton USD Police Station grounds.
The NVR is housed in a rack within the police station command center, allowing officers to closely monitor the grounds, buildings, and vehicles at a glance to safeguard the facility and its assets. “I was determined to use only Dahua products for this project. They worked with me to deliver a unique, customised solution,” said Benitez.
Benitez worked closely with Dahua sales and engineering representatives to identify solutions that reinforced his problem-solving skills to design and deploy an innovative networked solution. He established a revolutionary new protocol for designing a video surveillance system with camera placement on the outside perimeter facing inward—a model that is gaining popularity with his customers, setting him apart, and increasing demand for his services. In addition, he was able to bridge the camera across long distances using wireless access points and smart switches to deliver seamless connectivity.
