Utah schools learn to stay safe with Axis

Searching for a centralized video solution across its 45-plus schools and utility buildings, the Weber School District in Utah needed a way to monitor its mix of elementary, junior high and high schools according to each campus' needs. With arbitrary analog equipment used across the board, the District leaned on the IT Department to determine a best-fit platform that could be used countywide.

Solution
Using fiber lines connecting all schools to a data center sitting with the IT Department, the District settled on a mix of Axis Communications' network cameras and video encoders. As they transition from failing analog products, new Axis cameras are being installed. In locations that previously required a cluster of low-resolution analog devices, the District is able to select as little as one 5-megapixel IP camera to cover the same space. After the initial design of one school, the IT Department has stuck to the same selection of 5-6 Axis camera models to duplicate the system between schools.

In outdoor spaces, the District decided on Axis' bullet-style cameras that help to monitor parking lots and playgrounds. Moving indoors to the common hallway spaces, Axis fixed dome network cameras helped to capture the interactions among students in order to deter from any negative activity. Centralized at a data center with the IT Department, each school has fiber infrastructure in place to transmit feeds.

The District trusts its licenses on Genetec Security Center 5.3 to process what amounts to more than three weeks' worth of footage from about 945 total cameras.

Result
With many administrators reluctant at first to build up video coverage at their schools, the District has seen a high level of success with principals exporting video as needed to resolve any conflicts. Storing two-plus weeks of footage from all cameras allows the school to draw from the most pertinent data while primarily using it in a reactive manner. The unified solution in the District has since brought other districts from across the state to check out their setup as plans to bolster safety plans with video coverage are on the rise.