Middleton High School, a new 253,905 - square foot facility, opened in Middleton, Idaho in August 2011. The high school features the newest technology throughout its entire campus, from lighting to computer-controlled heating and air conditioning systems, to wireless communications technology.
The newly built school includes a three-story building and a separate vocational facility with workshops and additional enhanced classrooms – all of which incorporate innovative features such as prominent use of skylights to flood the common areas and other parts of the building with natural light, and to lower energy usage.
Security was a key consideration when the new school was being planned. Video surveillance at the school involves a system of 112 cameras from Samsung Techwin America that provide views of every part of the campus. The high school uses the video for crime prevention, general security and investigation of incidents. Video views of various parts of the school are also used in emergency situations and for planning by first responders.
“The staff and student body were all made aware of the importance of the new camera system during the build-up to the opening of the new school,” said Dr. Richard H. Bauscher, Superintendent of Middleton School District #134, Middleton, Idaho. “The value of the camera system as a tool for crime prevention is undeniable. We simply would not be able to monitor the campus and solve many crimes or policy violations without it.”
The new school's video system uses a much larger number of cameras than the system at the old high school (which has been converted into a middle school). Samsung cameras are used throughout the new school to address a variety of security needs. In the student parking area, for example, 3 megapixel cameras combine large-area coverage with system versatility.
Real-Time Video Views
When designing the video system for the new high school, the district wanted to make it possible for emergency responders to review video of various parts of the school over the Internet. Previously, they had been able to review photographs of various rooms and the school layout as an aid to emergency response. The new fixed, pan-tilt-zoom and megapixel network cameras offer the improvement of providing real-time direct access to video views of the building and surrounding grounds, which will enable better response times and planning for emergency operations.
The vast expansion of the new system, compared to the system at the old high school, provides school officials with a much greater variety of camera views. Overall coverage is enhanced and much clearer. The old system only used 11 pan-tilt-zoom cameras outside and 20 indoor fixed mini-domes. For the new high school, the district opted to add many more cameras to cover the large area, including several outbuildings.
Middleton administrators chose Samsung cameras and equipment for the new high school because they provide the best combination of security, efficiency and overall value. The school district researched various cameras and found Samsung to provide current, applicable technology at an attractive price point, as well as outstanding customer satisfaction and reliability ratings. Samsung was also highly recommended by CS Consulting Corp., the district's consulting company. The system at the high school was co-designed by Clarence Weiting of CS Consulting Corp.; Deputy Kelley Anderson, the School Resource Officer; and Middleton High School Assistant Principal Spencer Rickart.
“We chose Samsung because of overall superior value that combines price, features and versatility,” said Dr. Bauscher.
A Solid Investment in Security
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| The Samsung Net-i Viewer is used for monitoring and accessing camera views during playback |
A total of 112 Samsung cameras are installed at the new school, including 97 fixed cameras, 12 pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras and three megapixel cameras.
The Samsung network fixed dome camera with true day/night functionality provides excellent images in low-light conditions and includes Highlight Compensation to offset bright light sources. The weather-proof (IP66-rated) die-cast vandal-resistant body and tough polycarbonate bubble stand up to weather extremes.
The Samsung PTZ network camera is equipped with a 30X optical zoom and 8X digital zoom. The Samsung high performance megapixel network camera includes a 1.3 megapixel progressive CCD sensor that delivers a maximum of 1280 x 960 high-resolution images.
The Samsung Net-i Viewer is used for monitoring and accessing camera views during playback. A single PC can monitor up to 32 channels simultaneously in real-time, and the software supports various search and playback options. Two 64-channel Samsung network video recorders are used for recording and making still shots. The high-quality, high-performance network video recorders provide seamless interoperability with the cameras and viewer software. Each NVR has 2 terabytes of storage. The system is viewed locally and through the Internet using iPOLiS software.
Return on investment is difficult to quantify, although the overall value of the system to the school system is obvious. “Generally speaking, the return on investment is potentially very high,” said Dr. Bauscher, who allocated funds for the large expenditure because he expects it to be a sound investment.
New System Does the Job
Just a couple of months after the new school opened, the cameras have already been used as an investigative tool to sort out and resolve several incidents. To date, there have been three traffic accidents in the parking lot and numerous incidents involving students in the hallways. Additionally, the school has had six different cases of theft or vandalism, and the cameras were used each time in the investigation.
“The Samsung Techwin America sales team has been very helpful,” said Dr. Bauscher. “They sent representatives to give us instruction on the operation of the system and provided us with contact information and instructions to call them if we had any questions, concerns or problems. They were friendly, professional and knowledgeable.”
