Massachusetts town utilizes ISS technology to enhance security

Founded in the mid-18th century and located about an hour outside of Boston, Spencer is a small town in central Massachusetts that is home to approximately 13,000 residents. Though the town doesn’t face many of the same challenges that their larger counterparts must contend with on a day-to-day basis throughout the state, safeguarding residents and protecting town-owned facilities in Spencer still requires the use of modern security technology.

In 2015, the Spencer Police Department, which employs 18, full-time sworn officers, sought to purchase a new video surveillance system to watch over its headquarters building and turned to systems integrator INNO4, LLC, for a solution that would fit the parameters of the project. After weighing several different options, the department selected ISS to serve as the software backbone for the deployment.

The system, which was also used to protect the fire department, included a total of 20 cameras that were tied together using a SecurOS server combined with our SecurOS Premium software. To help keep pace with the advancement of video technology and the shifting needs of the town, the department recently decided to swap out their existing server with the SecurOS 175 Series NVR.

Officer Stephen LeBrun of the Spencer Police Department discussing the ease with which they were able to deploy  SecurOS hardware and software from ISS said, "I pretty much just put it in the rack and forgot about it.”

The SecurOS Premium version of the ISS Video Intelligence Platform is designed for mid- to large-scale surveillance systems and can support up to 20 servers, 640 cameras and 20 channels of ISS high-trust video analytics, such as our facial and license plate recognition offerings or one of our various situational awareness and/or behavior detectors. The SecurOS 175 Series NVR is designed for small- to mid-scale video surveillance deployments and is optimized for up to 350 Mbps of throughput for continuous recording. These NVRs provide a complete video intelligence solution in a single unit, enabling users to deploy a unified system that combines video surveillance, access control, building automation, and other ISS video analytic modules.

Basic video functionality lacking previously

Prior to the project, Spencer police lacked basic video surveillance essentials, such as the ability to search and archive footage or even record and share video with other law enforcement agencies.

“We needed a system that recorded video for us,” explains Officer Stephen LeBrun, a patrolman with the Spencer Police Department who is responsible for overseeing and maintaining the department’s IT systems. “Even when we had arrests, we would use a standard, over-the-counter DVD recorder. That is what we wanted for the main functionality, so we could have a server that we could save everything to and provide us with building coverage that we did not have before.”

The department now has multiple network cameras watching over the exterior of their facility as well as various internal and sensitive areas, including: the booking area, interview room, inmate cells, garage, and building lobby.

Surveillance network modernized with SecurOS

Aside from providing police with the ability to streamline recording, searching, and archiving of video footage, the SecurOS system has also significantly enhanced their investigative capabilities. According

to LeBrun, as is typical with many security technology projects, the SecurOS system goes largely unnoticed by many in the town until it is needed for something.

“We’ve had vehicles drive by the front our station that we needed to identify and the SecurOS software helped us with that,” LeBrun adds. “We’ve also had people leave the building and say they did not have something with them… and things along those lines.”

As a jack-of-all trades who is also relied upon to serve as the department’s IT helpdesk and fleet maintenance manager among other duties, LeBrun was also complementary of the ease with which both the SecurOS server and software can be implemented. “I pretty much just put it in the rack and forgot about it,” he says.

Lebrun says that detectives have expressed interest in possibly expanding their surveillance network to include cameras that would be installed at intersections throughout the town; however, that is something that will likely be reexamined at some point in the future.