Eyes Wide Open
New technology enables better school security
- By Andrea Iniguez
- Nov 01, 2008
ADT’s National Back to School
Security Survey, a sampling of
nearly 2,000 parents, indicates
nearly 50 percent of parents are concerned
their child could be targeted by a
sexual predator at school; close to 40 percent
are concerned about potential abduction
from school; and more than a third
fear a violent episode at school. With
those statistics, it is not surprising that
many parents say they would support
spending more money on security measures
for their school.
Despite the limited budgets of state and
local governments, communities are finding
ways to upgrade their security systems
and use the latest technology to support
their security plans. Upgrading to security
systems using megapixel IP cameras with
ultra-wide angle lenses can be cost effective
by reducing the number of cameras
and eliminating cabling and DVRs without
sacrificing video surveillance area.
Simple and Stable
One example is the Murrieta Valley,
Calif., Unified School District. At one
of the district’s high schools, a security
system upgrade would remove all 170
existing analog cameras and replace
them with 43 megapixel cameras with
ultra-wide-angle lenses from Theia
Technologies. One of the main concerns
in ensuring the safety of students and
staff is the system’s reliability.
“The analog system was always
breaking down, and there were too many
cameras to manage,” said Bill Olien,
assistant superintendent of the Murrieta
school district. “The new system will be
much simpler and less costly to maintain
and monitor.”
In the fall of 2007, the district hired
Johnson Consulting Engineers, located in
Poway, Calif., to survey and assess the
district’s needs. The engineering firm
specializes in the design of electrical and
technology systems for schools and has
designed systems for more than 1,000
schools in California and Arizona. After
assessment of the installed system, the
firm was retained to design a new video
security system.
The school district funded a districtwide
video security system upgrade
through a local bond. Implementation of
the project, worth more than $1 million,
began in September and will be completed
in March 2009.
Improved Coverage
The district’s first priority was safety. In
terms of system goals, that meant designing
a system that would provide greater
coverage with improved image clarity
over the current analog system. A typical
analog camera and lens has a narrow coverage
area, or if it does cover a wider
area, the resolution is so poor that the
image would not be able to provide a
legally acceptable description of people
should the need arise.
A major factor in the design was
ensuring adequate camera coverage for
all areas without inundating the system
with too many cameras.
John Frisbie, JCE vice president, said
they designed the system around
IQinVision’s megapixel cameras and
Theia Technologies’ ultra-wide-angle
lens. Before specifying this combination,
they tested the lens-camera combination
and compared it directly against a typical
analog pairing.
“What’s remarkable about the system
we’ve designed is that with Theia’s wideangle
high-resolution lens, we can cover
the same area more cost effectively,”
Frisbie said. The lens, which provides a
135-degree horizontal field of view, uses
a patented linear optical technology to
optically correct the barrel (fish eye) distortion
found in other wide-angle lenses,
without any software.
“Theia’s lens allows you to consistently
cover a very large area and digitally
zoom in 60 to 70 feet to get an image that
allows a legal description,” Frisbie said.
“No other lens can do this.”
The combination of high-megapixel
resolution, up to 5 megapixels with the
wide-angle lens, provides more pixels per
degree of image, allowing an end user to
zoom in without pixelation. PTZ cameras
used in other systems allow the user to
zoom but fail to capture a large area continuously.
Post-event zooming is not possible.
PTZ cameras miss areas of coverage
while panning, while a wide-angle
fixed view captures the entire area.
IP-based video systems are more
effective than analog systems because of
ease of use. With analog technology, systems
have more pieces of equipment and
are more complicated. Besides long
lengths of cabling, low-resolution video
monitors, and many cameras and lenses,
they require DVRs to record images from
each camera. School district staff would
have to log onto each DVR locally, then
access a specific camera to monitor activity.
With digital IP video systems, separate
DVRs are not required.
A Workable Solution
Authorized school staff can use any district
computer that is programmed with
system software to easily view and manage
any camera on the system. This
improves system uptime and access,
enabling greater security for students and
staff in both prevention and incident
response situations. Datatel Wiring
Products will provide equipment installation,
training and ongoing technical support
for three years. Datatel, of Riverside,
Calif., is a certified installer that was
awarded the contract following a competitive
bid in July.
One thing to keep in mind is that
“high megapixel resolution cameras used
in IP systems require servers capable of
handling multiple terabytes of data,” said
E.B. DelaCobas of Datatel.
The system will use a total of 19
servers, with two having up to 6 TB of
data storage capacity each, while the rest
will have 2 TB each with additional backup
storage of up to 10 TB.
In the long run, the robust and
capable system specified will allow
the Murrieta district to achieve their
system performance goals, ensuring
greater security and
cost effectiveness.
This article originally appeared in the issue of .