Axis IP network cameras make Almere ready for the future.
Excellent insights into public spaces and more options to take resolute actions with modern, intuitive and scalable city surveillance system.
Mission
The municipality of Almere wanted an integrated solution to monitor incidents and irregularities in the city center and in traffic, with the added option of using this video for law enforcement purposes.
Solution
Some of the cameras have already been installed at fixed strategic positions for city and traffic monitoring. The other cameras will be used at temporary locations.
Result
This modern network of IP cameras have enabled municipal authorities and police to have a faster incident response time; both now also have high-quality images for law enforcement purposes.
Fast-growing city
Almere is a fast-growing city in the Amsterdam metropolitan region. With a population of 200,000, it is the eighth-largest city in the Netherlands. The city’s rapid growth rate is accompanied by a considerable increase in the number of incidents and the traffic volume.
That is why Almere went looking for a partner that could help them by providing an integrated solution for monitoring the city to help prevent unwanted incidents and irregularities and to increase social safety and quality of life. Identifying traffic flows and recording video for law enforcement purposes are also highly important in this context.
An added requirement was that the quality of life, comfort and social, economical and cultural values in Almere should not be impaired. The tender that was issued by the municipality of Almere was won by Axis partner VisiOn ISP, a specialized system integrator from Waalwijk.
Team of experts
VisiOn ISP had previous positive experiences with the IP video surveillance system Omnicast, which operates on the basis of a unified security platform, Genetec Security Center, in combination with IP cameras from Axis Communications. Almere has created a team of their own people supplemented by experts from VisiOn ISP, Genetec and Axis. Together, they developed an action plan for an effective and scalable City Surveillance solution intended to meet all the preferences and requirements defined by Almere.
Central control
The Almere urban region has now been equipped with 130 Axis network cameras which have been installed at strategic locations in the city. Approximately one hundred cameras have been installed in the city centre of Almere. Twenty cameras have been installed in the centre of Almere Buiten, while the rest will be used at temporarily assigned areas.
Almere has opted to use AXIS Q6035-E and AXIS Q6044-E PTZ Network Cameras, connected via a fiberoptic network to the central server in the camera surveillance room set up specifically for City Surveillance.
All cameras are controlled from this room, and the images are analyzed on a big video wall which can display a large number of streams at the same time. This instantly creates a complete overview of the situation and makes it easier to make connections. In addition, a special emergency response room has been set up which also has video display capabilities, and provides room for a discreet discussion when the situation requires it.
The Axis cameras, which have been installed throughout the city, are easy to locate. The operator only needs to click on a camera on the map to get immediate access to the video feed, including an overview of cameras that are installed nearby. The PTZ cameras provide an overview of a wide area and also have the option to zoom in when necessary. With one flick of the switch, an operator can look back in time to get an overview of what transpired earlier.
The VisiOn DIS event report system can simply bookmark several incidents and events in the system, making them easy to find at a later stage. These bookmarks can be supplemented with a short, written explanation of the situation, relevant video material, and tags to categorize incidents and events. This will eventually make fragmented observations usable for trends and analysis, and it will make camera surveillance and its effect more measurable.
A safe city
Almere now has a modern, intuitive and scalable City Surveillance system at their disposal which will assist in preventing irregularities and tracking down criminals, as well as increasing social safety and quality of life. The camera surveillance room can also accommodate police employees and other enforcers, ensuring they can respond rapidly in emergency situations. The video management system is set up in such a way that only people with the proper rights can access the preselected camera images. Images that could serve as evidence can be exported securely and efficiently for further investigations by the police.
We are very pleased with the combination of the Omnicast video management system and IP cameras from Axis. The system provides us with a good overview of what is happening in public spaces that we would like to secure and ensures that we will have a better response when events occur.
Ready for the future
As Almere adds more and more residents and companies, there are also plans to expand its City Surveillance system. The scalable architecture which was implemented by VisiOn ISP works perfectly in conjunction with the IP network cameras from Axis, ensuring that new cameras can be operational within a day. Since Almere opted for an open security platform, other systems can also be integrated.
This could include systems such as access control based on IP at public institutions, or types of video content analysis like automatic license plate recognition which could aid in monitoring the public space. Camera images from other partners, including the parking company, Prorail/ NS and traffic management could also be accessed in the camera surveillance center if required.
Jaap Kroese, account manager for camera surveillance in Almere Stad: “We are very pleased with the combination of the Omnicast video management system and IP cameras from Axis. The system provides us with a good overview of what is happening in public spaces that we would like to secure and ensures that we will have a better response when events occur.
Together with VisiOn ISP and Axis, we would like to test innovative solutions in our city for continued development. Technology might not be the basis on which we want to expand our city, but it is a crucial piece of the puzzle that we are constantly trying to solve in order to make our city flourish and maintain a high quality of life.”
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