On the Case

Saffron Security has used Derwent's infrared illuminators to protect the home of "a well known celebrity". The TV personality asked Saffron to set up a security system which would protect the grounds and approach to the house day and night.

Saffron's Andy Murrell said: "The property is made up of a number of buildings, including a business unit, which needs to be watched day and night. There is concern that people may be tempted to snoop around.

"We have set up 14 external cameras and mounted Derwent's MFLED lamps directly beneath them to ensure high quality image capture during the vulnerable hours of darkness."

Livestock is kept at the property, with a walled garden and adjoining fields. These are being covered by Derwent's SuperLED, which can provide long range infrared illumination to distances of up to 250m.

Voice of justice

MP Electronic Fire and Security has installed an Urmet Domus video and audio intercom system at the North Liverpool Community Justice Centre to control access to its site.

The centre, the first of its kind in the UK, focuses on ensuring offenders make amends to the community for their crimes, and has its own court room. Access to the main and rear entrances is controlled by an Urmet Domus video and audio intercom system, along with Urmet's K-Steel vandal-resistant entry panels.

An audio intercom system has also been fitted inside the CJC, so people in either the court's cell area or magistrates' retiring quarters can be called to the courtroom.

Student protection

BMA Varsity Ltd has installed an integrated security solution for the University of Reading within one of its most modern student accommodation halls. St Georges Hall has been equipped with a contactless access control system from Salto Systems.

BMA Varsity installed Salto's PRO-Access electronic locking system. Its software enables the entire building to be operated by one database managing the intelligent electronic locks and Mifare proximity keycards for standalone wirefree operation.

To gain access to their accommodation in St Georges Hall, students use their own personal ID cards. This is a multi-application card that serves not only as photo ID and 'electronic purse', but also as a proximity smart card.

Guildhall at the Frontline

Frontline Security Solutions has installed a new TDSi access control system for the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

The requirement was to replace an existing outdated access control system with one that could identify and record as well as control who has access to any or all of five separate sites.

Frontline installed a TDSi eXcel 4 networkable access control system in combination with TDSi's eXguard Pro software. This allows an unlimited number of doors to be controlled and when needed for particular events makes it easy to open up additional doors.

Magnetic cards issued to all staff and students also serve as the school's ID card, a discount card for the in-house cafeteria, a library card and for cashless photocopying.

Recording Mexican bankers

Mexico's fourth largest bank, Grupo Financiero Banorte, has installed March Networks digital video systems and management software for deployment at approximately 1,200 branches across the country.

Banorte began deploying March Networks 3000 and 4000 Series DVRs in January 2005, and ran out a further 600 units by the end of that year, with a further 600 units installed over 2006. Equipping the bank's corporate locations and 2,500 ATMs with video surveillance will be addressed as part of a future project.

Banorte's security department staff believes the March Networks DVR systems will be easier to manage and more reliable than its previous video surveillance units.

Delta back at school

Delta Synergistics has installed Impro proximity access control and automatic gate and barrier systems from BPT Entry Control Solutions in schools throughout the London Borough of Ealing. Delta also installed CCTV and intruder alarm systems.

A combination of IXP 121 and Impro16 proximity access control systems have been installed to the visitor entrances, main entrance gates, car parks and key internal doors for both security and safety. A variety of readers have been used, as the systems are modular, with stainless steel vandal resistant panels for durability.

A combination of vehicle and pedestrian gates in schools are driven by electro-hydraulic systems, which BPT says has been proven to be more reliable, safer, quieter and "punches more weight" than electro mechanical alternatives.

Security Academy

PEL Systems Ltd has designed and installed a comprehensive security system for the City of London Academy, intended to create a safe and secure environment for students and staff, as well as deterring and detecting any acts of theft or vandalism.

"We recommended and subsequently installed a CCTV system that comprises some 50 Vicon cameras strategically placed around the Academy's site," said Dave Barnhurst, PEL's technical manager. "Day/night cameras, to cope with varying lighting conditions, have been used at external locations, while high resolution cameras have been installed internally."

The images from all of the cameras are networked via one of six Vicon Kollector Pro digital video recorders to the Academy's control room where there is a video wall display providing multi-screen output and a workstation for live and retrospective viewing.

Abloy equips Emirates

High performance electrically operated locks, strikes, electro magnets and handles, supplied by Abloy Security, secure office, retail, function room and private areas throughout the new 60,000 seater Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal Football Club.

Working with the main contractor Sir Robert McAlpine and sub-contractor Honeywell Business Systems, Abloy Security provided an assortment of high performance Abloy and effeff branded security products installed on selected doors in the Stadium.

Abloy's Ray Callaghan said: "Being trusted to provide high performance security and access control solutions for such a high profile project demonstrates the high regard that Abloy Security has among professionals responsible for security."

Alarm at the Quays

Technical Alarm Systems has installed a SigNET Integrity voice alarm at the Quays Eddie Read Swimming and Dive Complex in Southampton.

The old voice alarm system was ripped out and Integrity installed in its place. The new system was interfaced to the fire alarm system and configured to broadcast a custom 'Alert' message to the entire site if a fire detector activated. It was also set to trigger custom 'Evacuate' messages to the poolside and dryside to alert staff and members of public in those areas.

As an additional safety measure, C-TEC's Quantec addressable call system was installed to function as a pool alarm, emergency assistance alarm and staff attack system.

An eye on waste

Kent-based Network & Cabling Solutions Ltd has installed four CCTV systems at Hertfordshire County Council household waste and recycling centres.

The CCTV security systems consist of a number of Mobotix IP cameras, which were installed at various locations, as part of the construction contracts for Waterdale, Royston, Harpenden and Stevenage HWRCs.

A total of nearly 30 cameras are installed at the sites, including the entrances and exits, which enables HCC to check vehicle registration. Following the success of these cameras HCC is now looking into rolling out the system to all suitable HWRCs.

"The monitoring systems installed on our sites have proved invaluable," says HCC's assistant waste manager, Mark Simpkins. "We use them to analyse trends by monitoring who is using the centre, what is being thrown away, and how often."

Games people play

Miami-based Aware Digital Inc has designed and installed an IndigoVision integrated IP video system for the new casino complex at the Mardis Gras Racetrack and Gaming Center in Hollywood, Florida.

It consist of over 550 cameras controlled by 'Control Center', IndigoVision's enterprise video and alarm management software, which provides control, administration and viewing of the live camera feeds and recorded video over the IP network.

Video recording will be achieved with eight server-based NVRs with over 70TB of storage, allowing for 30 days of real-time recording from all cameras.

Chubb goes batty

Chubb Electronic Security has been called in to provide technical advice for a bunch of bats. The bats have taken up residence at Witley Court, a ruined country mansion house being restored by English Heritage.

A decision was taken to commence work only once the bats had left their winter hibernation, and to create an environment that would encourage them back in future. Special bat enclosures were built, and ecologists were required to monitor the building to check whether the bats had returned – which would normally require a roof ladder and manual inspection.

Chubb provided a CCTV solution that minimised the disturbance of the bats and could be incorporated into English Heritage's education programme. Chubb developed a one-off custom-made infrared illumination system, working with several highly sensitive 40mm x 25mm B&W cameras. They are connected to a DVD recorder which shows any movement in the bat boxes live on a 20-inch flat screen TV in the education room below.

Mobile carpet coverage

Wilsons Furnishers, a Yorkshire-based carpet warehouse chain, is installing the latest generation of its Doncaster depot. The CCTVMobile video monitoring solution means that managing director Robert Wilson can watch security cameras and activate lights at the Doncaster site remotely using the keypad of his mobile phone.

Using the system, Wilson can interact with security situations as they happen, and can also switch on security lights, lock and unlock doors and interact with security alerts remotely.

The carpet specialist plans to install CCTVMobile at its Scunthorpe branch and even at the business owner's home and holiday villa.

Alarming Dereham

Alarming UK has installed a complete CCTV system for the new Dereham shopping centre.

Alarming UK used Vantage Juno external colour/mono domes and fixed domes throughout, including public areas, retail areas and car parking. The equipment was supplied by ADI-Gardiner.

"After seeing and testing the ongoing additions to the Vantage range, we were particularly impressed by their reliability and ready availability, and decided on a combination of Vantage fixed cameras and monitors and Dedicated Micros for digital recording."

Boots avoids loss

The Boots pharmacy, health and beauty group is using March Networks' Loss Prevention Data Mining to sort through its POS data, which is transmitted daily to the company's head office, and produces store-specific reports highlighting suspect transactions.

Boots managers can access three distinct Loss Prevention Data Mining reports from the company's intranet. The first shows the weekly performance of the store's cashiers measured against a set of user-defined key performance indicators. There is also a daily action report that highlights rule-breaking transactions from the previous day, and a historical report, available weekly, which is used for revealing patterns of behaviour over time.