Chillicothe High School, in north-central Missouri, has deployed 28 IQinVision HD megapixel cameras and Exacq VMS as part of their new IP video surveillance system. SMC is the designer of this system, which stores video recordings for at least 30 days.
Chillicothe High School, in north-central Missouri, has deployed 28 IQinVision HD megapixel cameras and Exacq VMS as part of their new IP video surveillance system. SMC is the designer of this system, which stores video recordings for at least 30 days.
Dan Nagel, the Assistant Principal and Athletic Director of the high school is responsible for the attendance and discipline of the school's 605 students. One of the tools at his disposal was the existing video surveillance system. “We had about 16 analog cameras and the images were not very clear at all,” said Nagel. “The DVR was hard to work with, and even if you did figure it out, getting positive ID on a student was quite difficult.” School staff could only identify students based on their clothing, which limited them to resolve incidents on the day.
Nagel secured funding in the 2012 budget to upgrade the school's video surveillance technology. “We wanted IP over the DVR technology,” Nagel recalled. “We discussed different camera resolutions and camera coverage strategies with each of the potential integrators.” They chose SMC's solution consisting of IQinVision cameras and Exacq VMS , since the school wanted to reduce the overall number of cameras needed by utilizing wide camera angles and deploying higher megapixel cameras, explained Nigel. The installation was completed in June 2012. The system is utilized once a day for minor incidents and once a week for major incidents.
The cameras are located in front of classrooms and banks of lockers, bathroom entrances, the cafeteria, and the commons. The school's resource officer wanted coverage of the school front entrance and provides long views down all the major hallways. Cameras also keep an eye on the parking lots. Nagel and staff use the video mainly for after-incident review, although there is a camera in the internal school suspension room, which is monitored live because staff cutbacks don't allow for a teacher in that classroom.
The new surveillance system has helped in various areas, including identifying traffic incidents, fights, theft, and student misbehavior, explained Nagel. The system has tripled the assistant principals' efficiency by saving investigation time required for student interviews. Video recordings now contain all the evidence needed.
“Now I don't have to worry about who is telling the truth and who is not telling the truth—we can figure things out easily and quickly,” said Nagel. “Our success rate in terms of justice served has tripled.”