Buckfast Abbey bucks up its security with installation of Mirasys' CCTV solution

The Abbey sought to upgrade its analogue system to a digital IP network for improved crime detection

Mirasys, one of the world's leading providers of open platform digital CCTV and video surveillance solutions, announced that it has provided a surveillance system for one of the UK's most famous monasteries, Buckfast Abbey. The Abbey selected Mirasys N-Series software for a flexible, easy-to-manage and reliable security system to ensure that its shops, restaurants and conference areas are constantly monitored and protected from theft and vandalism.

Each day, Buckfast Abbey welcomes the public to visit its grounds, totalling more than 20 acres, for both leisure and business. Due to the sheer size of the site, however, security is an issue. After experiencing a series of thefts and vandalism, the Abbey sought to upgrade its analogue surveillance system to a digital IP networked system for improved crime detection as well as system reliability, performance and simplicity. 

"We chose the Mirasys system as it offered the best transition from analogue to digital and was the most cost-effective and easy-to-use system on the market," said Leigh Searle, IT manager at Buckfast Abbey. "Prior to the installation, we operated five separate CCTV camera systems - all analogue cameras - into single server units across various departments on the site. With Mirasys, we now have a central management and storage system and have been able to maintain some of our analogue cameras by converting them to digital with the Axis media converter. The flexibility of the Mirasys solution further allowed us to integrate new IP cameras from various vendors, saving costs whilst giving us a system that was specific to our needs."

For additional security on criminal incidents, automatic number place recognition technology from Mirasys was incorporated into the Abbey's CCTV system

For additional security on criminal incidents, automatic number place recognition technology from Mirasys was incorporated into the Abbey's CCTV system. Now, a motion sensor triggers number plate image capture whenever cars enter through the service and main entrances. The central server makes access to such footage faster and easier than before, dramatically improving incident response-time and helping police investigations.

The Mirasys server, which supports a variety of cameras at Buckfast Abbey, allows for digital images to be recorded from the Abbey's existing analogue cameras and new IP cameras, seamlessly integrated within the Mirasys solution. Mirasys provides the option of introducing further high resolution IP cameras in the future when the IP network infrastructure is complete.

Among the key features of the Mirasys video recording server built at Buckfast Abbey are continuous, motion-based event recording. Footage can be searched from up to 8 channels simultaneously to include time and date, specified events, motion and activity. Media can be exported to CD/DVD with one click media clip and data watermarking, and media clip authentication with the Mirasys media player is also included.

"Mirasys solutions were a perfect match for the varied needs of Buckfast Abbey. The flexibility of the products to integrate disparate analogue and digital components along with the latest in video content analysis technology offered Buckfast the solution they needed as they become IP-networked," said Iain Cameron, managing director of Mirasys UK. "We are committed to helping forward-looking organisations like Buckfast Abbey to install future-proof, flexible solutions that fit their needs and budgets."

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