Texas Police Department invests in IP CCTV

As is the case with most law enforcement facilities, that belonging to the Grand Prairie Police Department encapsulates a complex security environment, mixing all the normal policing operations with a short-term detection facility and areas that require public access.

A reliable CCTV system, delivering the very highest quality video images, is therefore an essential tool for the Police Department.

The 40 camera system was installed by IndigoVision’s local approved partner Metroplex Control Systems. Replacing an ageing and unreliable VCR/analogue system used primarily for video archive, the new system is being used as an active tool to help manage the facility.

Control Room configuration

Much of the original analogue CCTV equipment – including cameras and the video matrix – has been re-used. This allowed the original Control Room configuration to remain largely unchanged.

In addition, CCTV workstations running IndigoVision’s Control Center software were installed around the facility to allow users such as jail commander Sergeant Blaine Smith, the police chief and internal investigations staff to remotely monitor live and recorded video. In the event of an incident, this allows the jail commander to oversee the emergency response without the need to be in the cell blocks.

Commenting on the project, Sergeant Smith told info4security: “Moving to the IndigoVision system gives me the freedom to manage my facility in a whole new way. Its extensive features give us tools we never imagined were available. The forensic level video is phenomenal.”

Audio and video fully synchronised

Video from all of the cameras is continuously recorded for 30 days using four 1 TB stand-alone NVRs. Audio from five cameras is also stored alongside the video.

Audio and video are fully synchronised and guaranteed not to drop frames, even at maximum frame rate – an important benefit for law enforcement, as unsynchronised video and audio is not admissible as evidence in Court.

Evidential quality video can be exported from multiple cameras for use in Court or, as is the case with the Department, for specific incidents which they export onto CD for archive.

Documenting inmate disagreements

“The system has already proven useful in resolving issues with the bond desk clerk and disgruntled citizens over bond related payments and services,” added Sergeant Smith. “The system is also being used to effectively document disagreements between inmates.”

The Grand Prairie Police Department’s original CCTV was based on outdated analogue/VCR equipment delivering poor quality, low frame-rate video that couldn’t be remotely monitored. IndigoVision’s solution, on the other hand, provides the Department with a truly distributed system wherein DVD-quality video can be viewed on any Control Center workstation at any point on the network.