Historic Australian City Deploys IP Video Solution

  • Jan 11, 2011

Ballarat is one of Australia’s largest inland cities with more than 90,000 inhabitants. However, it is also a classic rural community, with historic architecture, iconic double-decker shop fronts and a thriving entertainment area.

It was primarily the need to monitor the entertainment district late at night that prompted the local council to deploy an IndigoVision IP video surveillance system as part of its CitySafe initiative. The system was installed by IndigoVision’s Authorized Partner, Safe Security Systems, and was based on a specification drawn up by Consulting Engineers, Umow Lai. The system is monitored by Victoria Police in a local control room.
 
Victoria Police Senior Sergeant Tim Argall has to deal with big city problems from a small city police station, but having experienced poor quality surveillance images from existing systems, had little expectation for the new system.

“The footage we see from private premises is so poor you might as well not bother with a surveillance system because no one is recognizable,” Argall said.
 
On the day of commissioning when live pictures from all the cameras were streamed into the control room for the first time the attitude was quickly transformed.

“It’s no exaggeration that there was a crowd of people in the control room admiring the camera views. It was sensational -- way better than we ever expected it to be,” Argall said. 

“From an operational perspective it has given us so many more options as far as extra evidence we can use. We are often confronted with a situation where there are two parties giving two sides of a story and witnesses that don’t want to get involved -- but now there’s no question about culpability. It lets us take evidence and play it to an individual in an interview and ask for their response. From 50 meters across the road and high up on the side of a building we are zooming in and reading labels on shirts -- it doesn’t get much better than that.”
 
Argall says ultimately the system will have a deterrent effect in that people will know it’s there and respect its capabilities.
 
A key element in choosing IndigoVision’s solution was its ability to work with third part analog surveillance components including fixed cameras, monitors, keyboards and PTZ units. It’s IndigoVision’s ‘Control Center’ Security Management Software that is being used as the main monitoring tool, however.

The police view recordings with the use of motion, time and camera search criteria to quickly find an incident, and this significantly improves efficiency. Live or recorded video from all the cameras can be viewed simultaneously on the dual monitor setup in the control room. An additional ‘Control Center’ workstation sits on the sergeant’s desk and is used to export evidential quality video clips for use with investigations and in court. Video is stored on two IndigoVision standalone NVRs with 4 Terabytes of storage, providing a 30-day archive.


 

Featured

  • Report: 47 Percent of Security Service Providers Are Not Yet Using AI or Automation Tools

    Trackforce, a provider of security workforce management platforms, today announced the launch of its 2025 Physical Security Operations Benchmark Report, an industry-first study that benchmarks both private security service providers and corporate security teams side by side. Based on a survey of over 300 security professionals across the globe, the report provides a comprehensive look at the state of physical security operations. Read Now

    • Guard Services

  • Identity Governance at the Crossroads of Complexity and Scale

    Modern enterprises are grappling with an increasing number of identities, both human and machine, across an ever-growing number of systems. They must also deal with increased operational demands, including faster onboarding, more scalable models, and tighter security enforcement. Navigating these ever-growing challenges with speed and accuracy requires a new approach to identity governance that is built for the future enterprise. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Report: AI is Supercharging Old-School Cybercriminal Tactics

    AI isn’t just transforming how we work. It’s reshaping how cybercriminals attack, with threat actors exploiting AI to mass produce malicious code loaders, steal browser credentials and accelerate cloud attacks, according to a new report from Elastic. Read Now

  • Pragmatism, Productivity, and the Push for Accountability in 2025-2026

    Every year, the security industry debates whether artificial intelligence is a disruption, an enabler, or a distraction. By 2025, that conversation matured, where AI became a working dimension in physical identity and access management (PIAM) programs. Observations from 2025 highlight this turning point in AI’s role in access control and define how security leaders are being distinguished based on how they apply it. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • 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

  • HD2055 Modular Barricade

    Delta Scientific’s electric HD2055 modular shallow foundation barricade is tested to ASTM M50/P1 with negative penetration from the vehicle upon impact. With a shallow foundation of only 24 inches, the HD2055 can be installed without worrying about buried power lines and other below grade obstructions. The modular make-up of the barrier also allows you to cover wider roadways by adding additional modules to the system. The HD2055 boasts an Emergency Fast Operation of 1.5 seconds giving the guard ample time to deploy under a high threat situation.

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises.