Security staff decided to update the surveillance system following fears the South London ground could become a target for terrorists.
“I knew that a video content analysis system could help our existing security setup become more proactive,” said Scott Carey, the ground’s senior operations manager and security officer.
The first content analysis system the venue trialled failed to perform and lacked good support so Beckenham-based installation firm IC2 CCTV, which has been supplying The Oval’s cameras for the last ten years, recommended a solution from London-based company Videalert.
“The analytics functions went live last year and it has enabled us to be more proactive in assessing potential threats,” Carey said.
“We use it for monitoring the main approaches to detect and alarm to any vehicles stopping on a red route or other restricted areas. We also use it to alert [us] to abandoned objects, unattended packages, overcrowding and various types of suspicious behaviour.”
Removable hard drives
The Oval is currently home to 54 cameras, the majority of which are Forward Vision’s latest PTZ domes. As part of the upgrade, IC2 connected these to four, 16-way Videoswitch 405 DVRs using a Cat 5 backbone infrastructure. The DVRs have removable hard drives, which allow them to continue operating if police make requests for footage. Data is sent and received via Network Video Transmitters and can be viewed on new flat screen monitors.
“I find the Videalert system very user-friendly,” said Carey. “It is easy to interact with and operators only need a limited amount of training.”
“We are very impressed with the system’s capabilities – and with the support – and are looking to extend its use in the coming season”.
The new CCTV system will have its first major ‘test’ on the 25th June, when England face New Zealand.
“There is a lot to prepare for but I am very confident that we now have a CCTV system which we and the police can use to its full potential,” Carey added.
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