Birmingham is the largest city in the state of Alabama, spanning 151 square miles and boasting a downtown population of nearly 230,000. Like any major city, Birmingham has its share of crime and vandalism. To help combat this and provide a safe environment for residents and visitors alike, the city has taken a number of measures including provisioning the installation of 40 video surveillance cameras throughout the metropolitan area.
Birmingham is the largest city in the state of Alabama, spanning 151 square miles and boasting a downtown population of nearly 230,000. Like any major city, Birmingham has its share of crime and vandalism. To help combat this and provide a safe environment for residents and visitors alike, the city has taken a number of measures including provisioning the installation of 40 video surveillance cameras throughout the metropolitan area.
In early 2008, The Office of the Mayor hired systems integrator ION Interactive Video Technologies to install surveillance cameras in various outdoor locations across the city. ION specializes in IP-based security solutions for businesses and organizations of all sizes including municipalities.
The city also tapped ION for its trained professional agents who remotely monitor all of the installed cameras from the company's own control center. Agents instantly notify the Birmingham police department of any potential threat or suspicious behavior, and the police immediately step in to respond and handle the situation.
"ION provides solutions to assist in keeping cities, public-access areas and government facilities safe, secure and protected, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," said Ed Welden, CEO of ION. "Our monitoring agents help to facilitate a quicker response to nearly any situation, providing a high degree of security and safety on city streets."
As part of the installation, ION chose to work with digital camera manufacturer VideoIQ. VideoIQ is the inventor of an intelligent surveillance camera with built-in video recording. ION initially chose the cameras for its ability to monitor for and detect crowds, something the city wanted to keep a particular close eye on.
"A large crowd can often accompany trouble and the camera's next-generation analytics can automatically detect when a certain number of people are congregating in a specific area. This gives us warning of a potential problem and enables the police to respond before an incident takes place. Additionally, with built-in audio over IP, our remote guards can use loudspeakers to inform intruders they've been detected, driving them off and preventing crime," Welden said.
ION also chose the VideoIQ camera for its ability to capture images and store them at the edge network. The camera intelligently controls storage resolution based on what it sees; a potential threat such as a car in a restricted area or someone lurking near a store front is recorded at the highest possible resolution and quality, alerting guards and providing them with the ability to quickly ascertain the situation and respond appropriately. During times when nothing is taking place, the camera captures images at a lesser quality, allowing the built-in 80-GB hard drive to store one to two months worth of video and ultimately saving money.
"Because ION is using the VideoIQ cameras in addition to just installing them, we can be considered a customer of VideoIQ as much as the City of Birmingham. We are very pleased with the performance of the camera and consider it a cost-effective and efficient solution," Welden said.
The cameras have been up and running in the city since 2008. In early 2009 more cameras are scheduled to be installed in the downtown area, replacing the city's older cameras that have limited functionality. ION also has plans to layer some of the city's PTZ cameras with the VideoIQ cameras, giving ION's video technicians the dual ability to zoom in on an event or person of interest and view them with the exceptional image resolution.
"The City of Birmingham places the safety and security of its residents and tourists as its foremost priority. ION's approach to security combined with the power and accuracy of the VideoIQ cameras provides a level of security protection we are proud to deliver," Welden said.