Location: Lehigh University, Bethlehem PA
Project: Surveillance Camera System
Image Courtesy of Lehigh University
The Challenge: The Lehigh University Police Department (LUPD) is committed to providing a safe and secure environment on and around the Lehigh campus. As a means of furthering that goal, they identified the need to install a surveillance camera system at various locations around the campus.
The CSI Solution: A Video Surveillance and Recording Management system with a central monitoring station installed in the LUPD’s dispatch center. The cameras send their signal to the video management server and on to the monitoring station over the University’s LAN. The monitoring station provides control of the cameras, including the establishment of pre-programmed “patrols.” Incidents can be retrieved and burned to DVD or USB so as to be tamper-proof and therefore admissible in court. The system is also capable of managing existing analog cameras as well as receiving feeds from other cameras owned by the City of Bethlehem Police Department, who can see and control LUPD’s cameras as well via a wireless link that was created for this purpose by CSI.
The Project: The core system is comprised of a Genetec Video Surveillance and Recording Management system on redundant servers with three 47” LCD monitors installed in the LUPD’s dispatch center. The initial system with four cameras was launched in November of 2009. Currently (December 2010) it consists of 12 Sony High Definition IP pan/tilt/zoom cameras; as well as the integration or “cross-federation” between the LUPD and Bethlehem Police Department camera systems allowing an exchange of feeds between the two departments.
The Result: The system is unique in that allows two separate entities to view the feeds from each other’s cameras. This results in enhanced surveillance of both sides of the campus perimeter. The views afforded by the High Definition cameras allow unprecedented video acuity and result in the need for fewer cameras because of their range. Also, combining video with any type of alarm or call for help makes it a verified distress signal, helping Police and other emergency services to respond accordingly and letting them know if an incident escalates after the initial alert. Harder to measure, but of equal importance is the sense of security that Lehigh students, faculty and staff report as a result of the system implementation.
Site Contact: Edward K. Shupp, Chief of Police LUPD 610-758-4202
