Club classic

One of the most essential requirements for any CCTV installer is to have a clear idea of the job each camera needs to do – not only in terms of its performance but its function. Should it be highly visible, discreet or covert?

This 'right camera for the location' approach has been highly successful for Viscount Alarms at the golf clubhouse at the RAC's Woodcote Park site in Surrey.

Displayed in the foyer are still shots of a of a known local golf club thief. Despite the usual issue of backlighting as the thief came through the external door, the face is clearly identifiable.

System designer and installer Paul McKenzie of Viscount puts the results down to the ability of the carefully selected compact colour camera (Watec 250D) to handle backlighting.

"This man is known to other Surrey golf clubs, but ours is the only system to have captured a good identification of him, which the police were very pleased with".

The Royal Automobile Club has two clubhouses at Pall Mall, London, and at Woodcote Park offering members sporting and dining facilities.

High profile membership

The club is proud of its traditions – but there is nothing old fashioned about its approach to security. Security Manager Neil Guild, formerly with the Met, has overseen a continuing upgrade, with CCTV a core part of the process.

"There is a risk of theft from in and around our premises, both opportunistic and planned", he said. “Also, being a well-known organisation with some very high profile members, we face a level of threat of terrorist activity that we address carefully."

Paul McKenzie turned Guild's requirement into a system: "The requirement was clearly thought through, and was an excellent basis for the design. As well as all the other elements of system design, a key part of my job is to select the right camera for the task, and then to get the right settings and the right image coverage, at each of the 50 plus locations where cameras are needed. That doesn't mean always choosing the most expensive camera, but rather having a very clear knowledge of the job each camera needs to do, both in terms of its visibility – meaning should it be highly visible, discreet or covert – and also its performance."

A single integrated CCTV system covers the two premises, which are located 25 miles apart. The CCTV equipment in Pall Mall and at Woodcote Park is linked to two separate local area networks (LANs) that, in turn, are connected to one another by a dedicated high-speed communications link.

Four groups of cameras

At Woodcote Park the system is divided into four groups of cameras, each with its own monitor and Vista Triplex Columbus 16 channel 320 Giga Byte DVR, (VC16Te 320CDR). The four groups cover the golf clubhouse, the Cedars Sports Complex, the service buildings, and the main clubhouse. The system provides 24-hour recording.

Highly visible cameras provide surveillance of the exterior and car parks. On initial approach to the site a Sanyo VCC-XZ400P high resolution day/night camera captures individual number plates by zooming into a pre-determined image area. Further external Vista colour cameras (VPC9432) constantly monitor the car parks.

CCTV covers outside areas where members leave their clubs and certain internal zones. The sports complex has the highest health and safety requirement.

High quality images from discreet Vista dome cameras (VFD4V9C/We) are monitored for any risks or incidents throughout the sports complex. The main function rooms, dining areas, and accommodation facilities at both Woodcote Park and Pall Mall provided the biggest challenge for the installer.

"Matching the security system to these fine buildings and the aesthetics of the club needed careful thought," said McKenzie. "In Pall Mall in particular, where planning restrictions applied to our work, it was essential to blend the system in with the fabric of the building, by good camera selection and careful wiring.

“The protection of the expensive works of art and other requirements cannot be compromised, but the installation must complement rather than contrast with the location's ambience."

With this in mind, more Watec discreet cameras have been widely deployed throughout the Clubhouse. Because all the cameras link to their local area networks, authorised users can view all camera images and the contents of the DVR hard disks via PCs at any time.

Using the free issue WaveReader software supplied with the Vista Triplex Columbus DVRs, Neil Guild can quickly download images of any incident on to his PC and then burn it onto a DVD to supply to the police.

The system ensures that there is an evidential quality image captured of every visitor to the club at both sites, and the watermarking of images undertaken by the Columbus Triplex DVR ensures that evidence is tamper proof.