Texas Border School District Upgrades Security from Analog to IP

Milestone Systems' open platform IP video management software (VMS) is the flexible foundation for continuing expansion by the Mission Consolidated Independent School District (Mission CISD) in South Texas. Their previous analog systems had too many limitations such as low resolution and stationary (fixed position) cameras that hampered investigations into incidences.

After five years of evaluating several internet protocol (IP) camera management software systems, the Board of Trustees for Mission CISD chose American Surveillance Company Inc. to assist with camera installations and a Milestone system configuration for a number of the school campuses. In 2011 they approved a $1.7 million Safety and Security Initiative to continue rolling it out in all locations.

In 2013, Mission CISD created a command center manned by certified technicians who maintain the cameras and ensure the servers are fully operational. Arecont Vision megapixel video cameras include 180 and 360-degree panoramic options and audio-enabled models, with motion detection, day/night functionality, vandal-resistant housings and remote focus/zoom.

As of early 2015 Mission CISD operated more than 600 IP cameras and 260 analog cameras, with encoders to convert analog video to digital. There is a dedicated server at each campus, with multiple servers in select locations. Perimeters are protected around each campus, and cameras are deployed at points of entry in school gymnasiums, cafeterias, libraries, hallways and playgrounds.

Mission CISD covers 41 square miles along the U.S.-Mexico border. It serves almost 16,000 students in four high schools, four junior high schools, 14 elementary schools and two special-needs schools, and includes administrative offices and several other departments. The district is supported by the Maintenance, Child Nutrition, Transportation, Warehouse and Technology Departments.

Open Platform Gives Big District Flexibility

Rene Flores is the Security Management Coordinator at Mission CISD. He looked at a number of VMS solutions that required them to purchase all the products as one package deal. The Milestone open platform software offered much more flexibility and choice.

"With Milestone, you're not tied to one vendor," Flores says. "We can choose different hardware for different campuses. This is great for us because each campus provides its own unique set of security challenges, and we need to have a system that's adaptable."

Another important criteria for Mission CISD was to accommodate an expanding school district.

"The Milestone open platform lets us easily add to and manage our system. It's both adaptive and very user friendly, which means we can add users when we need to with minimal training," reports Rene Flores. "We're building a new college learning center for the incoming school year, and we're remodeling an old high school and adding on to several other facilities. These will require new cameras and I want to get it right from the beginning. Using Milestone ensures that we have the infrastructure and software necessary to grow in a way that makes the most sense for our district."

Analog to IP: A Significant Upgrade

Jaime Escobedo is President and CEO of American Surveillance Company Inc. He says the power and clarity of the new cameras is a vast improvement over the previous analog hardware.

"Mission CISD has a complete field of view 100 percent of the time, with an important digital zoom capability for investigation needs," Escobedo says. "With one Arecont Vision camera, Mission CISD can now cover the same area as six or seven analog cameras used to. The resolution of the video now is so high that you can easily see all the details to help resolve disputes or handle situations both live and after the fact."

Another limitation with the district's analog system was it could not be accessed remotely, and the previous DVRs were not interconnected on a single system. The Milestone network video solution has resolved these issues.

"Milestone Federated Architecture is a critical tool," Flores says. "I can pull up the feed from any campus to see what's happening anytime, or troubleshoot a problem with a camera or a server - all from one convenient location."

The integrated map features lets Flores quickly toggle between different security points. In addition, he has Milestone Mobile activated on his phone so he can log in remotely.

"Most of the principals have Milestone Mobile on their laptops and have already asked to have it on their phones or iPads for the coming year. They're usually walking around their campus, checking in on different buildings so they want to be able to monitor security wherever they are, whether they're in their office or not," says Flores.

Working with Law Enforcement

Mission CISD covers the Mission, Palmhurst, Alton and McAllen police departments. Milestone allows Mission CISD to work seamlessly with the different police departments to assist them with investigations.

"Sometimes the police will contact us for access to videos for a case they're working on," Flores says. "They give us a date, timeframe and a brief idea of what they're looking for. We can drop the video into their desktop and the files are exported with a viewer. It's that easy."

Featured

  • New Report Reveals Top Security Risks for U.S. Retail Chains

    Interface Systems, a provider of security, actionable insights, and purpose-built networks for multi-location businesses, has released its 2024 State of Remote Video Monitoring in Retail Chains report. The detailed study analyzed over 2 million monitoring requests across 4,156 retail locations in the United States from September 2023 to August 2024. Read Now

  • Gaining a Competitive Edge

    Ask most companies about their future technology plans and the answers will most likely include AI. Then ask how they plan to deploy it, and that is where the responses may start to vary. Every company has unique surveillance requirements that are based on market focus, scale, scope, risk tolerance, geographic area and, of course, budget. Those factors all play a role in deciding how to configure a surveillance system, and how to effectively implement technologies like AI. Read Now

  • 6 Ways Security Awareness Training Empowers Human Risk Management

    Organizations are realizing that their greatest vulnerability often comes from within – their own people. Human error remains a significant factor in cybersecurity breaches, making it imperative for organizations to address human risk effectively. As a result, security awareness training (SAT) has emerged as a cornerstone in this endeavor because it offers a multifaceted approach to managing human risk. Read Now

  • The Stage is Set

    The security industry spans the entire globe, with manufacturers, developers and suppliers on every continent (well, almost—sorry, Antarctica). That means when regulations pop up in one area, they often have a ripple effect that impacts the entire supply chain. Recent data privacy regulations like GDPR in Europe and CPRA in California made waves when they first went into effect, forcing businesses to change the way they approach data collection and storage to continue operating in those markets. Even highly specific regulations like the U.S.’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) can have international reverberations – and this growing volume of legislation has continued to affect global supply chains in a variety of different ways. Read Now

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure. 3

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities 3

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles. 3