Over 1000 high-definition cameras from Dahua – along with NVRs, XVRs and control and viewing equipment – have been installed in a mainly wireless video surveillance system covering a large London borough. The Dahua cameras are situated right across the borough at around 80 council properties, including libraries, parks and golf courses and housing estates, using some 110 wireless microwave radios spread across an area of 25 square miles.
The new system, designed and installed by DSSL Group, replaces a legacy analogue CCTV system that was around 20 years old and no longer met the needs of the borough. The system consists of 4K HD cameras, which provide greater coverage with vastly improved image quality and four times the resolution of 1080p cameras, enabling council staff and police to scrutinise footage more effectively and gather more compelling evidence.
The Dahua cameras are a mix of PTZ, bullet and turret cameras for extended IR performance. They feature vandal-resistant housing and provide effective image quality in full colour during the day, while at night, the cameras switch over automatically to night-vision mode. The cameras are situated right across the borough in both built-up and semi-rural areas. Most cameras are linked to a dedicated council control room, but around 150 of them are viewed locally using a Dahua keyboard and mouse control and other viewing equipment. Some of the cameras are set up for ANPR, which is used to monitor vehicles and auto-track people using facial recognition technology. These units are used to monitor people entering and leaving local council housing estates.
Benefits of the new system include clearer and sharper images – both live and recorded – for accurate identification of suspects, wider coverage per camera, easier sharing with and viewing images by authorised staff and powerful search and analytics tools. The new system, part of a £1.65 million investment by the council, generates savings of around £50,000 a year in leased line fibre costs alone.
The council’s stated objectives for the surveillance system include making the borough safe and clean; reducing anti-social behaviour, drug and alcohol misuse and providing reassurance to the public; identifying people who commit offences and gathering evidence for prosecutions; gathering evidence of vandalism, littering, fly-tipping and unlicensed street trading; and providing support during public events and to the emergency services.
The upgraded control room, furnished by Intech Solutions, features thirteen 43-inch and twelve 22-inch video screens. The control room uses a Genetec Security Center video management system to manage and control all images and alerts, with a 200Tb server to process and store video material.
Plans for the future development of the system include ANPR in town centres, remote video door entry and the addition of 30 mobile CCTV cameras. The entire 1000-plus camera system was designed, installed and commissioned on time and on budget by DSSL, within 12 months. “This has been a great and demanding project to work on, not least because of the sheer number of cameras installed across a wide area of operation,” said Aaron Stephens, Works Director at DSSL Group. “The high performance and intelligent features of the cameras have helped create an effective and responsive surveillance system for the borough. The integration of the Dahua cameras to the newly modernised control room has allowed the council to provide the added security of 24/7 HD coverage of a huge area, enabling local police to use the system in their daily operations. Images from the system have already successfully been used in court to secure convictions.”
