Station Integration
With Homeland security a more pressing concern than ever, police departments across the country are examining their own internal security systems to be sure they are keeping their personnel, visitors and property safe. The Reno Police Department of Reno, Nev., is among the most community-minded, as evidenced by its motto, “Your Police — Our Community.” An important element of the department’s mission to provide the highest possible level of police services is the need to keep the main station and sub-station premises safe with perimeter security systems.
Together, Sgt. Chris Lang of the Reno Police Intelligence Unit, and Chris Burke, chief operating officer of PDI Security Systems, Reno, worked to select, integrate and install Sanyo security systems at the police department.
An objective of the video surveillance system is to provide security to civilian employees working and leaving during hours of darkness. The system provides employees a means of observing the parking lot area of the facility prior to leaving the building to go to their vehicle. Front door cameras also provide a means of identifying who is at the door of the facility prior to granting entry.
Station personnel also needed the ability to accurately identify individuals caught on video. As in many surveillance video applications, the need to clearly identify intruders or other suspects drove Reno’s choice in cameras. “This was an easy recommendation to make,” Burke says. “Sanyo’s Pan-Focus technology keeps all objects in the frame in focus at all times. You cannot identify a subject when he or she is out of focus.”
The surveillance solution installed in Reno includes nine Sanyo VCC-XZ200 Pan-Focus Day/Night weatherproof zoom cameras and one VCC-P7574 Pan-Focus mini dome camera. There is also one DSR-5016H600D DVR to control the system, along with a flat-screen VMC-L1017 high-performance professional LCD monitor and one VA-PS2416HD multi-camera CCTV power supply.
By delivering sharper images over a wider field-of-view, the cameras provide more expansive coverage areas and often avoid the need to cross-shoot multiple cameras. Because all objects are in focus, identifying individuals, vehicles and other objects within a scene becomes easier, as does monitoring images and identifying situations that require action. In addition, there is no image delay through the network due to time lag, thus improving overall safety and security. Both RS-232/UTP functionality and integrated IP control are offered as retrofit options for the units.
Even though more is coming from images in which every object is in focus with a larger depth-of-field, video signals from the Pan-Focus cameras can be used with existing DVR/NVR systems and will not affect image file sizes; more storage is not needed. In fact, the horizontal resolution (520TVL) and the frequency band of the images produced by Sanyo’s Pan Focus cameras are the same as with earlier Sanyo cameras. With its enhanced depth-of-field, Pan Focus technology provides video analytics with a more detailed canvas area, thus enhancing functionality.
The deep-focusing technology of the cameras has already provided the Reno Police Department with positive results. “Recently a suspicious bag was left next to an entry door at the station,” Burke says. “With recorded video from the cameras, we were able to track back and provide a detailed description of the suspect.”
“With the new Sanyo surveillance system in place, we are better able to continue providing the highest possible level of police services, in accordance with our mission statement,” Lang says. “We view ourselves as partners with our community in creating a truly safe city for our citizens.”
