Belgium City Uses IP Video To Protect Facilities

  • May 23, 2008

With a population of more than 35,000, the Belgium city of Geel is using IP network video surveillance from Milestone Systems and Axis Communications to protect numerous facilities in the town.

The Tourism Center in Geel has changing external exhibitions with insurance requirements for good security, but the guards at the museum were volunteers not always available to work. The city’s IT department, located in the town hall building further away, implemented IP video surveillance from Milestone Systems that provides central control and local access, scaling easily for expansions to other public facilities like a new swimming hall built across town.

BusSaP Systems is the Certified Milestone Partner doing the implementations with the City Council of Geel. Milestone XProtect Basis+ IP video software was first installed in 2006 in the Tourism Center and upgraded to XProtect Professional in 2007, when the new sports center was added. The system manages Axis network cameras in a variety of stationary and dome models monitoring the entranceways, corridors and stairwells in each of the buildings, in addition to the art exhibit rooms in the Tourism Center.

“We wanted the Milestone IP platform for central control with local access, its ease of use, and the ability to add other locations and services over time,” said Guido Laenen, CIO for the city. “The Milestone Smart Client interface has features that make it easy to monitor multiple sites. It’s very flexible. The ability to manage all locations centrally from here is a big advantage, and we can easily add new cameras in other locations anytime. Other places in the city have already expressed interest in getting it. All the buildings under the City Council are connected by fiber network now so our infrastructure is in place for this."

The IT department has central control of the system with the Milestone software at its main City Hall location. The system scales to other sites by simply adding new cameras to the network and installing another XProtect Smart Client interface. The police get evidence fast from the recorded video while each city location also has local access to the system for good overviews of all activities going on in their buildings.

“The mix of camera models provides flexible options and the Axis video technology gives good clear images. The Axis PoE cameras also make it quite fast to install anywhere on the network, anytime,” said Stefan Van Waelderen, CEO of BusSaP Systems. “We’ve caught people jumping the turnstiles to avoid buying a ticket. There were also a few thefts at the pools and we were able to see in the Milestone who was going in to the lockers at those times. We also had someone being followed and harassed, but we could see in the video who it was so the police could put a stop to it. Whenever something happens, the police come to us right away to resolve it with the recordings.”

Featured

  • The Evolution of IP Camera Intelligence

    As the 30th anniversary of the IP camera approaches in 2026, it is worth reflecting on how far we have come. The first network camera, launched in 1996, delivered one frame every 17 seconds—not impressive by today’s standards, but groundbreaking at the time. It did something that no analog system could: transmit video over a standard IP network. Read Now

  • From Surveillance to Intelligence

    Years ago, it would have been significantly more expensive to run an analytic like that — requiring a custom-built solution with burdensome infrastructure demands — but modern edge devices have made it accessible to everyone. It also saves time, which is a critical factor if a missing child is involved. Video compression technology has played a critical role as well. Over the years, significant advancements have been made in video coding standards — including H.263, MPEG formats, and H.264—alongside compression optimization technologies developed by IP video manufacturers to improve efficiency without sacrificing quality. The open-source AV1 codec developed by the Alliance for Open Media—a consortium including Google, Netflix, Microsoft, Amazon and others — is already the preferred decoder for cloud-based applications, and is quickly becoming the standard for video compression of all types. Read Now

  • Cost: Reactive vs. Proactive Security

    Security breaches often happen despite the availability of tools to prevent them. To combat this problem, the industry is shifting from reactive correction to proactive protection. This article will examine why so many security leaders have realized they must “lead before the breach” – not after. Read Now

  • Achieving Clear Audio

    In today’s ever-changing world of security and risk management, effective communication via an intercom and door entry communication system is a critical communication tool to keep a facility’s staff, visitors and vendors safe. Read Now

  • Beyond Apps: Access Control for Today’s Residents

    The modern resident lives in an app-saturated world. From banking to grocery delivery, fitness tracking to ridesharing, nearly every service demands another download. But when it comes to accessing the place you live, most people do not want to clutter their phone with yet another app, especially if its only purpose is to open a door. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening.