Pennsylvania City Develops Safe City Initiative With DVTel Technology

  • Sep 20, 2010

DVTel Inc. recently announced that the City of Wilkes-Barre, Pa. is protecting the city’s square, downtown and other high risk areas in the city with DVTel’s intelligent Security Operations Center (iSOC) platform and its Altitude family of PTZ and fixed IP cameras.

The project uses DVTel’s iSOC platform to manage and monitor 150 DVTel IP cameras throughout the city. By the end of this year, Wilkes-Barre will have more than 250 cameras in operation, making it one of the largest per capita camera deployments in the United States. Schneider Electric designed and installed the system for the city.

“Small communities throughout the country are having big city problems with crime and drugs and gangs. We had some progressive leadership in our community and we didn’t want to react five years down the line; we wanted to be proactive,” said J.J. Murphy, the former City Administrator for Wilkes-Barre.  Murphy has now started his own consulting business, Goals Consulting, to assist other cities with securing grant funds for similar projects.

The Safe City Initiative for Wilkes-Barre is a $2.8 million project paid for by stimulus funds. Grant money came from Federal, Pennsylvania State Gaming and Pennsylvania Community and Economic Development funds.

Wilkes-Barre began building the foundation for its Safe City Initiative in 2007 when it built out its wireless network citywide and started a non-profit organization, Hawkeye Security Solutions, to run the camera project and operate a command center to monitor the city’s cameras.

The DVTel iSOC platform enables the city’s command center to manage and monitor surveillance video from the hundreds of cameras located throughout Wilkes-Barre 24/7. iSOC creates a common operational picture that enables users to capture, manage, analyze, integrate, and then act on previously unorganized and overly complex data. The results are improved reaction time, enhancing operator productivity and a reduction in incidents.

“At Schneider Electric we leveraged our system design expertise for Wilkes-Barre, ensuring seamless connection and integration for the DVTel IP cameras and iSOC platform,” said Sam Belbina, vice president of systems integration east for Schneider Electric. “This project has proved unique given the number of cameras deployed throughout the city and the wireless network that serves as its backbone.” 

Even though the system is only less than a year old, it has already proved a success, with the Wilkes-Barre Police Department using the surveillance system to catch several criminal incidents on video and then arrest the suspects. Police expect to rely on the tool to assist it with solving crimes in the future.

 

Featured

  • 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

  • Survey: 48 Percent of Worshippers Feel Less Safe Attending In-Person Services

    Almost half (48%) of those who attend religious services say they feel less safe attending in-person due to rising acts of violence at places of worship. In fact, 39% report these safety concerns have led them to change how often they attend in-person services, according to new research from Verkada conducted online by The Harris Poll among 1,123 U.S. adults who attend a religious service or event at least once a month. Read Now

  • AI Used as Part of Sophisticated Espionage Campaign

    A cybersecurity inflection point has been reached in which AI models has become genuinely useful in cybersecurity operation. But to no surprise, they can used for both good works and ill will. Systemic evaluations show cyber capabilities double in six months, and they have been tracking real-world cyberattacks showing how malicious actors were using AI capabilities. These capabilities were predicted and are expected to evolve, but what stood out for researchers was how quickly they have done so, at scale. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • 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.

  • 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.