The growth of Swindon owes much to the men of the Great Western Railway who, back in 1841, decided to site a new engine establishment in the area. At the time, Swindon was little more than a village on top of a hill in rural Wiltshire. Today, the Wiltshire capital has grown into one of the more important towns in the country, attracting some of the major names within the automotive, electronic and financial services industries. It has low unemployment, the highest GDP per person in the UK and, notably, one of the lowest crime rates currently recorded.
That’s not to say Swindon’s officials take their responsibility for crime prevention lightly. Since the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, all Local Authorities have been required to give due regard to crime prevention in everything they do. Crime reduction and community safety are now at the heart of their medium and long-term planning strategies, and day-to-day Best Practice.
As befits a town whose senior managers are constantly looking at new ways of bettering the enclave, it will not surprise you to learn that Swindon was among the first to trial and then successfully implement wireless CCTV as part of its crime reduction policy.
Mark Walker Swindon Borough Council’s policy and regeneration manager takes up the story. “With crime and anti-social behaviour patterns constantly changing,” Walker states, “the restrictions and extensive costs associated with conventional CCTV networks meant they were not a viable option. Key to the Council’s decision-making process was how to provide Best Value for the community.”
The Council was faced with a number of difficult challenges: how could it provide a pro-active approach to security for its tenants in community housing? How might the Council intervene in real-time to combat low-level, high cost crime such as graffiti, fly tipping and petty vandalism? How would it ensure any expansion of the system to provide surveillance in other areas of the city in the most cost-effective manner?
Fibre optic to wireless
After consultation with Initial Electronic Security Systems and 802 Global a value-added specialist in the UK wireless, security and IP CCTV marketplace the response was to move away from a ‘traditional’ hard-wired system (that is to say a fibre optic solution) to an IP solution using a wireless network.
“This delivered a number of benefits to the customer,” explains 802 Global’s technical specialist Tim Close. “It meant not having to undertake any unnecessary civil works, like digging up roads to lay cables. It also meant that the Council didn’t have any ongoing costs in having to lease the infrastructure from the network provider. In addition, the installation time was much faster, which again meant that the total capital saving was that much greater.”
The Council decided to take an holistic view of its security requirements, recognising the need to be able to expand the range and throughput of its fixed camera wireless transmission system. There is now an extensive ‘mesh’ network covering tens of square kilometres and supporting 200 camera feeds.
Swindon Borough Council hasn’t stopped there, though. Indeed, the existing infrastructure is only one part of the story. It’s what has been added since and what might be added in the future that is particularly exciting, for Swindon has become one of the first Councils in the UK to deploy wireless mobile cameras as an integral part of its crime prevention strategy.
“As well as a fixed camera system, we have recently provided a number of redeployable or mobile cameras that the Council are using for specific temporary events,” continues Close. “Being wireless, again no hardwiring is required. Deployable cameras can connect to any wireless node on the fixed camera network to provide real-time video feeds back to the central monitoring station. These cameras are proving to be an invaluable tool in preventing transient anti-social behaviour.”
Versatile and mobile network
The integrated approach provides Swindon with a versatile and mobile CCTV network that can be deployed rapidly into ‘hot spot’ areas where required without the need for expensive leased line installations on long lead times. Thus the Council is benefiting from a flexible, robust, scalable solution.
A main deciding factor for Mark Walker was that the latest digital wireless technology integrates easily with existing deployments. Walker wanted a system that fully-integrated with the existing Control Room, and could provide real-time live video (thereby broadening the usage of CCTV for traffic monitoring and special events security as required).
Enabling Walker to achieve his goals, 802 Global specified a range of technologies from Verint Systems’ Nextiva range. This portfolio of systems enables organisations of all sizes – from small and mid-sized enterprises through to major Government and commercial organisations – to capture video virtually anywhere, integrating with other security and enterprise data to enhance the safety of both people and assets.
Specifically, 802 Global is using Verint’s technology to encode signals from each camera to be sent (via the wireless unit) to a central collection point, and then via a high-speed link to a monitoring centre where the images can be viewed, recorded and managed via Nextiva’s security management software. The software is open standard, IT-friendly and scalable.
“Any legacy systems installed that may be analogue can be re-used, again saving the local Council money. The technology deployed enables analogue cameras, for example, to be converted to IP, and the signal transmitted wirelessly to a central monitoring station,” eschews Walker. “This gives us the complete solution set to build an integrated surveillance network for both fixed and mobile applications, and for both smaller and larger sites.”
Degrees of flexibility
Walker feels the encoders, in particular, deliver excellent performance in a wireless environment, and that the software affords the necessary degree of system flexibility. “Nextiva is, in effect, the ‘glue’ that holds the whole thing together.”
Walker continues: “When we discussed our need to provide mobile cameras around the Borough, we were fascinated to hear about what was available. When we were advised that we could have a completely compatible, integrated solution for our housing stock and for fixed and rapid deployment street cameras we could immediately see that it was ideal for any local authority like us.”
The net result is a facility where cameras can be deployed at a moment’s notice, anywhere in the town and the immediate surrounding area. It means that in areas of high volume, low-level crime involving gratuitous graffiti and littering, etc cameras can be used to deter would-be criminals and move them on. It also means that temporary events where crime may be attracted can easily be accommodated.
The wireless IP solution is yielding the Council a significant saving on its CCTV transmission costs compared to traditional wired analogue circuits. However, the potential savings and revenue generation opportunities have only just begun. As the infrastructure is IP-based and optimised to support voice, video and data across a common network, many additional opportunities are opening up.
‘Talking cameras’ are here
As if to demonstrate how tomorrow’s technology is already in Swindon today, at the time of going to press the Council had just implemented ‘talking’ CCTV, integrating PA over the Verint network to enable Control Room operators to pro-actively warn people acting in a suspicious or anti-social manner. The cameras are being deployed in the areas of Penhill and in the Railway Village, a local heritage site.
“If the Council is contacted about a problem in a certain area, then we will set up the camera there,” explains Close. Council CCTV operators can then not only see what is happening, but actually take a pro-active approach if they believe somebody is acting in a suspicious manner, issuing a warning to prevent trouble happening in the first place.
“The potential for such a system is obvious,” he continues, “not just in terms of security but also Health and Safety, helping the Borough Council to meet its responsibilities for protecting the public in the widest sense. Typically, response to the new cameras has been mixed, although the majority seem in favour. It’s important for the Council to educate and inform members of the general public as to its advantages, and explain how it will be used to combat crime.”