Tyco Integrated Systems has installed a complex CCTV video surveillance solution across Hounslow Borough Council in a record time of just three months. The solution which included 120 cameras to supplement the existing 50 cameras was installed in half the time the council had given Tyco.

To raise the bar in community safety, Hounslow Borough Council informed local residents that the Council would install a CCTV video surveillance system in six areas of the borough as part of a community security pledge called “Promise 10”. This would entail installing an additional 120 cameras to supplement 50 cameras already purchased (and installed) by the London Borough of Hounslow for traffic enforcement.

Tyco Integrated Systems was originally awarded the contract for the 10 fixed traffic enforcement cameras along with D1 quality Rapid Deployment Cameras in 2007, which involved the council’s enforcement team located in their own control room in a nearby industrial estate.

In 2009, when Hounslow councillors launched Promise 10, the traffic enforcement system had grown and had already been successfully sharing cameras with the community safety department so it was decided to combine the two control rooms.

Tyco implemented an extension to the enforcement control room delivering a new video wall, three operator workstations, supervisor’s desk and a review suite. At the same time the facility resilience was improved with the addition of a generator and UPS power supply next door to the new server room.

“All of this was effectively achieved in just three months.” says Tom Menzies, from Tyco Integrated Systems, “We simultaneously installed over 100 new cameras and completed the new control room in about six weeks”.

Financial Gains of Wireless

One of the unique features of the Hounslow scheme is the extensive use of wireless communication links to connect existing and new cameras to one control room without the use and cost of renting traditional telecommunications lines. This resulted in a saving for the council in excess of £100k.

The wireless communication technology also enabled Tyco to create a new system for less cost, more quickly and with greater flexibility than with traditional wired connections, at the same time retaining much of the legacy equipment. Also, because of the architecture of the system, if the control room was damaged beyond use for any reason, it would be possible to install recording and monitoring equipment in an alternative area and create a new control room relatively quickly. Tyco also developed a new rapid deployment camera (RDC) for this project helping to increase the speed of installation and allow flexible deployment for events and temporary traffic management.

Although it’s hard to quantify numbers of arrests made because this relies on lengthy Police procedures and liaison, the Police are sharing invaluable intelligence gained from the video surveillance system, with an officer visiting the control room and giving a personal briefing to the CCTV operators on a daily basis. The operators have reported that they have seen a reduction in the amount of visible drug dealing in the town centre since the system was installed.