NY Municipality Future-proofed by Axis Network Surveillance

Mission
Following a US Dept. of Health and Human Services report on workplace violence, Oswego County (NY) legislators were compelled to examine safety and security in their own municipal buildings. The conclusion: more needed to be done. After examining 15 different system bids ranging from analog DVR to all-IP, Oswego's IT department selected a county-wide IP video surveillance system to give the Sheriff's Department real-time information it needed to protect employees, taxpayers and county assets.

Solution
Cedar Path Solutions Group, a NY-based engineering firm specializing in network surveillance and physical security, recommended an IP video system that piggybacked on the county's existing wired and wireless network. Michael Klapheke, Senior Engineer for Cedar Path and Axis Certified Professional, led the team that installed more than 50 outdoor-ready and ruggedized Axis PTZ and fixed dome network cameras, feature-rich Genetec's Omnicast video management software and reliable Hewlett-Packard ProLiant DL380 G6 archiving servers at each building.

Video is stored on archivers and accessed via individual Genetec client stations throughout the county as well as streamed to the Sheriff's Department's central monitoring station. Motion detection triggers recording to optimize bandwidth and storage while accelerating archive searches.

Result
The Axis IP cameras have helped the Sheriff's Department identify thieves and recover expensive assets, including rolls of copper stolen from county storage facilities. The system is also set up to alert law enforcement to altercations in the courthouse parking lot. The Highway Department even uses network video to monitor weather conditions across the county, dispatching snowplows and sanders as needed from the nearest municipal garage during a winter storm, which saves the town time and money on potentially wasted man-hours.