Town Hall Security Improvements This document is intended to address and provide the Town Council with the staff’s solution to CIRSA’s recommendation that the Town install electronic security measures in Town Hall. We are also providing a plan which can then be expanded to cover all the Town’s facilities. In September 2007, CIRSA conducted a Physical Security Survey (attached) of Town Hall and the community center and identified several weak or non-existent building and staff security issues. Among the report’s eleven items of concern is their recommendation for placement of video surveillance and panic buttons in specific places within Town Hall. Panic Button

Panic Buttons have been in existence for many years and are predominantly used within the Banking Industry as a means to call for assistance in certain situations. The system usually consists of a hidden button wired to a central monitoring system, that when activated, sends an alarm or signal.

Over the last few years, the technology has changed from hard-wired to wireless technology. Wireless technology greatly reduces the cost and time of installation.

Video Surveillance

Video Surveillance has been in existence for a long time and is employed in many diverse situations. Originally called CCTV “Closed Circuit Television” using low-resolution cameras connecting through coax cabling, it has morphed into a highly sophisticated technology using high-resolution cameras and utilizing current data network infrastructure. These are known as IP Camera systems. This has had the effect of reducing the cost of surveillance equipment solutions to a level which now makes them affordable.

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There are two types of IP Camera systems available: Centralized IP Camera System

Centralized camera systems are the most commonly used. Each camera in the system feeds video information to a centralized Network Video Recorder, NVR, which processes the images and stores them for immediate viewing or later retrieval. The NVR tends to be a specialized device and expensive to purchase.

Decentralized IP Camera System

Decentralized camera systems move the image processing that takes place on the NVR in centralized systems to the local camera. This reduces the need for specialized NVR equipment and gives the flexibility of differing types of storage for recorded images. It also means that should there be a network outage the images are still recorded and the data can be transferred to the storage location once the outage has been rectified. Moving the NVR process to the camera does not necessarily translate into more expensive cameras, therefore decentralized systems can be more cost effective.

There are many different types of IP Camera’s available. Below are the major categories: Fixed Cameras

As the name implies, this type of camera is fix and its field of view is usually set when it is installed. They come in two styles –-inside or outside. In addition, they have day and night (low light) options and have many different lens arrangements available.

Pan Tilt and Zoom (PTZ) Pan Tilt and Zoom cameras have the advantage over the fixed camera in that they can be moved to different fields of view. They are more expensive to purchase. The PTZ features of the camera can be remotely controlled or they can be set to observe with a predefined pattern. As above, many different options can be specified for the camera.

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Hemispherical

Hemispherical (fish eye) cameras have a 360º field of view. Their disadvantage is that they require software to manipulate the image so that it is human viewable. However, the increased field of view and the reduced number of cameras negates this disadvantage.

Proposed Solution for Town Hall

After researching different IP Camera Systems over the last year, a decentralized system would be the most cost effective to purchase. It has a low entry cost, no requirement to initially purchase an expensive NVR device, and can be expanded as funds become available. The leading manufacture of decentralized systems is Mobotix AG based in Germany; they produce a wide range of cameras to suit many different applications. Mobotix produces a hemispherical camera, model Q24, which will function as a virtual PTZ device. But unlike normal PTZ cameras, it has no moving parts. All error correction for the “fish eye” image is undertaken within the software built into the camera. When the camera is in its record mode, the entire 360º view is saved and up to 32GB is stored in the camera. The camera itself is slightly larger than a smoke detector, approximately 6” in diameter, but otherwise has the same appearance. The camera is available with an additional extension module that adds further functionality to the camera. This includes motion detection, temperature sensor, and integrated switching functions. Figure 1 shows a proposed functional layout based on the Mobotix Q24 cameras. Figures 2 and 3 show the proposed positioning of the cameras in Town Hall. Finally, figure 4 shows a flow diagram of actions when an alarm is raised.

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VideoRecording?

Turn On Video

Send Email Messages

Send Phone Call to 911

Display Alarm On

Monitoring Software

Clear Alarms

Was Video Recording?

End

Stop Recording

AudioRecording?

Turn On Audio

Was Audio Recording?

Stop Recording

Process Alarms

No

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No

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No

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Yes

Would Require911 Dispatch

Approval

Flowchart for Proposed Camera Based Security System

Panic Button Activated

Figure 4 - Flow Diagram

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Potential Costs

Panic Alarm Solution

The cost to purchase and install a wireless panic button system with the ability to send text messages to Police Department cell phones is approximately $6,000. Town staff would install this system.

Video Surveillance that includes a Panic Button Solution The cost to purchase and install the proposed Video Surveillance system with panic buttons would be in the range of $6,000 to $10,000. Town Staff would install the majority of the system, with a small amount of electrical work done by local vendors.

Future Expansion

With the Town’s expansion of the computer data network covering all the major buildings the Town utilizes at the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, inclusion of an IP-based camera system would have little or no effect on the current infrastructure. Buildings that could eventually be covered under such a system would be the Community Center, the Public Works Facility (both internally and externally), the Water Treatment Plant, and the Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Town could use the cameras at the Water Treatment and Wastewater Treatment Plants for both security purposes and for an operational point of view.

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