CCTV in Education Institutions
Security, loss prevention and student ⁄ teacher personal safety are an increasing priority for Principals or school administrators. There has also been a general decline in respect for public assets over the last 30 years or so. Where once it may have been the norm to allow visitors onto school and university grounds, this now poses a potential threat for students, teachers and material assets.
The use of CCTV in educational institutions can be broken down into two broad categories.
- Personal safety of students, teachers and other stakeholders.
- Protection of building Infrastructure assets and learning tools i.e. computer equipment.
Specifically, issues such as graffiti, vandalism, anti-social behaviour and unwanted visitors need to be addressed by all education establishments. With the ever-increasing cost of new technologies in schools, the risk of burglary, arson and vandalism need to be given the appropriate consideration.
Drugs are another concern, video evidence of drug dealing can be passed on to the Police and students at risk given the appropriate help.
CCTV systems have long been one of the tools used to decrease the risk of such issues by providing a medium for surveillance, deterrence and where possible, identification of persons or vehicles. Traditionally, CCTV systems have been costly to implement due to the layout of schools and universities. Long cable runs from each camera back to a central viewing and recording system are now a thing of the past.
What do Education Stakeholders say ?
“Every weekend and especially on the long weekends we had damage throughout the school. Since Camvex has been employed we have very minimal vandalism.
Camvex was amazing in organising the installation and we have no difficulties with the system.”
(Victor Armstrong, Principal, Eildon Primary School)
“Being new to the College I do not have historical data to categorically state that vandalism and theft has been reduced. However, since implementation it certainly appears that major incidents no longer occur – it is evident that the students, parents and staff are aware that CCTV is installed throughout the College”.
(Gavin Dovey, Business Manager, Whittlesea Secondary College)
“After weekly vandalism at our school over many months costing the school thousands of dollars
Camvex recommended that we place a covert surveillance camera in which would hopefully catch the people doing the damage.
This was successful and people were charged, the windows that were being smashed stopped immediately. A safe and orderly environment was restored.”
(Anthony Stockwell, Campus Principal, William Ruthven Secondary College)
“Through the CCTV system installed by Camvex, we have been able to identify persons involved in vandalism, theft, and other anti-social acts, and act on these quickly.
On numerous occasions we have passed video footage onto local police, this resulted in them being able to identify the person involved, and continue in their investigations.”
(Shaun Gunston, Network Administrator, McClelland College)
Bullying & CCTV
Bullying is a major problem in modern schools, CCTV is being used to great effect to reduce this issue by placing cameras at strategic locations, that are known to be hot-spots. When an incident occurs a teacher will review the footage and identify the culprit ⁄s. Some schools are also using this footage as evidence to show the parent-s of the bullies that their child has a problem,
which is often denied by the parent ⁄s.
Network Edge Recording
Camvex has developed a CCTV/IP video system which utilises the facilities’ existing IP network, removing the need to install cable runs to a central location. This reduces installation costs substantially.
Network managers need not be concerned. Continuous video streaming is not required for the system to operate. All cameras are recorded locally, near network nodes (usually located in each building). Camera images are streamed over the network only when actually viewing live cameras or reviewing incidents.
Cameras can also be viewed and reviewed over the web via “Client Software” provided free of charge with installation. What this means is, that if you are the Principal or Facility Manager of a school or university, you can monitor or playback camera scenes from any authorised internet network connection.
IP CCTV in education
Educational institutions are well suited for an IP CCTV surveillance system, because most schools have an existing computer network infrastructure. This can eliminate the need to lay thick coax cable thus significantly reducing installation costs. IP based CCTV surveillance systems use a computer network to transmit video streams. Although more expensive than traditional analogue base systems, IP based CCTV systems offer higher image resolution which can aid in the actual identification of an individual. IP systems offer more flexible viewing options. To see some examples of a schools utilizing an IP CCTV system check out the 2 videos at the bottom of this page.
Upgrading to an IP based CCTV system can be done in stages, analogue cameras can be integrated into a fully digital IP based systems via the use of an encoder or you could start replacing your analogue cameras with IP cameras that have analogue outputs, then at a later stage you could replace your DVR with an NVR. Adding an IP camera is like adding an additional Computer to your school, just plug it into an existing free LAN port. On a traditional analogue system you have to run thick coax every time you want to add a camera, which is why IP based CCTV are considered more scalable.
PTZ cameras in schools
Strategically installing a PTZ camera externally, allows you to cover multiple areas of interest. For example, different parts of a playground, field, hangouts etc. A PTZ camera allows the operator to manoeuvre the camera in any direction and zoom in on an area of interest.
To see and operate a PTZ yourself click here to be taken to our PTZ demonstration page. A single PTZ camera can replace multiple fixed cameras.