The customer
Stockton on Tees Borough Council delivers a wide array of vital services in a thriving area of the Tees Valley that includes Billingham, Stockton, Thornaby, Ingleby Barwick, Yarm and surrounding areas. The Council works with many other organisations to deliver a full range of local services, such as education, social care, transportation, leisure and environmental services, for the benefit of around 179,000 residents and the many others who work here.
Operational overview
Stockton on Tees Borough Council wanted to reduce crime and the fear of crime by utilising the latest mobile CCTV equipment, where cameras could be rapidly deployed and installed with the minimum delay and maximum flexibility, images monitored and appropriate actions taken.
Strategic challenge
Technology had been previously installed, but issues with transmission and poor image quality were negating the benefit. The range of services to be delivered by the Council includes CCTV monitoring, enforcement, alarm monitoring, static guarding, cash-in-transit, keyholding, and a rapid response service, all of which required the support of a flexible solution.
The solution
Verint is helping by providing NextivaTM S1100w wireless encoders, S3100 repeaters, and video management software to monitor, manage, and record images. The Verint Nextiva portfolio enables organisations of all sizes, from small and mid-sized enterprises to major government and commercial organisations, to enhance the security of their facilities and infrastructure and the performance of their business operations by networking video across multiple locations and applying advanced content analytics to extract actionable intelligence from live and stored video.
The bottom line
By alerting security personnel to potential security threats, Nextiva helps organisations prevent security breaches, improve response time and enhance operational efficiency. Stockton Borough Council started to use wireless mobile cameras just over 12 months ago. Since then, the scheme has rapidly expanded, covering areas such as housing estates, parks, industrial estates and play areas.
In the words of our customers and partners
"As a result of the success of the system, other local authorities (who have been monitoring progress) are now implementing their own systems using similar equipment."
"What is particularly useful is that the system is designed such that the frequency of visits to the control room is minimised by carrying out resets, changes in set-up and configuration remotely without having to visit site unless adding more equipment for expansion," comments Ashwin Lal, Managing Director, VIZSEC (UK) LTD.
"Since its initial installation, clients who have locations monitored by Stockton Borough Council's control room have seen a dramatic reduction in anti social behaviour, vandalism and crime," says Mick McLone, Security Services Manager. "Their comments to me include: ‘Since the cameras were installed, anti social behaviour has reduced to nearly zero‘ and also that 'Vandalism has reduced and we feel a lot safer using the play area'.
Outlook for the future
The project took 18 months from start to finish, but is now part of an ongoing and continually expanding system. The Council's first objective was to be able to monitor more open space areas, including parks, play areas, cemeteries and certain housing estates. Further areas, including shopping precincts and sheltered warden schemes, are also to be monitored as further funds become available, and the technology will also be used to manage traffic flow.
