The Department chose Raytec’s IR Illuminators to improve CCTV image quality for ensuring public safety

The Illinois State Police Department has chosen Raytec’s award-winning VARIO Infra-Red LED Illuminators to provide high performance surveillance lighting for an urban concert park. With large public events regularly taking place in the park, good lighting was required to improve CCTV image quality for ensuring public safety and reducing crime.

The previous street lighting along the park’s pathways did not provide optimal illumination for night time surveillance. It produced a highly uneven spread of light and was not aligned with the camera field of view, leading to poor quality, unusable images with insufficient detail and dark areas. This resulted in some areas of the park being unmonitored and open for vandalising.

Furthermore, the park surveillance system requires regular modification for different events, so a lighting solution was needed that could be quickly adapted. This led to the Police Department approaching Illinois based security integration company Mobile Pro Systems, specialists in mobile and rapid deployment surveillance solutions - they didn’t hesitate to recommend Raytec Infra-Red LED lighting!

“We had previously carried out extensive trials with illuminators from several different manufacturers,” comments Joe Anaya, Project Manager from Mobile Pro, “and we selected the Raytec VARIO Infra-Red illuminators as the clear winners.”

“The VARIO IR illuminators produced crisp and clear illumination and excellent CCTV images at night without bright or dark spots, with an illumination range that spanned further than its opponents while requiring less power.”

VARIO holographic lens technology with Hotspot Reduction Technology provided the even light distribution needed for the camera system to provide clear, sharp and detailed images of the scene at night. Choosing an Infra-Red LED solution also meant that there would be zero light pollution and no disturbance to the park events.

Power consumption was also a key factor in choosing the illuminators for this project. VARIO Illuminators were able to deliver an outstanding performance up to 310m (1,010ft) with minimal environmental impact, consuming significantly less power than competing illuminators.

VARIO i8 models were specially integrated into an all-in-one camera and lighting system from Mobile Pro for ease of transport and installation on site. “Our systems are based on mobility and rapid deployment so we also needed a robust illuminator that could be adjusted on the fly without the need of a service technician,” further comments Joe. “VARIO’s interchangeable lens filters allowed us to easily change the beam angle on site for the highest level of flexibility on demand. We are delighted to say that the Raytec product line has become a standard offering on all of the Mobile Pro Systems”.

The Illinois Police Department commented, “The Raytec lighting technology has allowed us achieve a fit for purpose system with minimal environmental impact, and has greatly reduced system setup time. We couldn’t be more pleased with the results.”