A New Wave of Security

Jan 1, 2008 12:00 PM

A new network-based video system monitoring San Diego's famed Mission Beach is helping public safety officials battle a recent escalation in violent crime. Dotworkz Systems Inc., a San Diego company that focuses on network-based video products, designed the system to fit the application's unique needs.

Stretching several miles, Mission Beach is one of the most popular beach areas in San Diego and draws large crowds in summer. Various shops, restaurants and beach rental outfits line its narrow boardwalk.

Despite its idyllic landscape, San Diego public safety officials last year recorded the largest number of violent crimes in beach history, including a sexual assault of two University of San Diego students in Mission Beach's Belmont Park area. In response, residents collected more than $30,000 in private donations for a video surveillance system. An additional $80,000 was raised in a bond proposition.

Once funding was established, San Diego city officials requested products from Dotworkz.

“The city's chief concerns were to deter crime on Mission Beach, to create a visual record of any incidents that may occur and to improve public safety officials' response times,” explains William Ferris, CEO of Dotworkz. “An analog CCTV system could not deliver what they needed. IP-based video, however, could achieve those objectives and more, plus add the capability for expansion without significant capital costs.”

Protecting sensitive electronics

Dotworkz specified hardware for this project beginning with five Sony SNC-RZ50 PTZ network cameras to cover the relatively small perimeters of Belmont Park. This model offers impressive pan/tilt capability, and its powerful 26x optical zoom allows officers to view small or distant objects with clarity. And because the cameras incorporate a day/night function, they can capture images of the beach and boardwalk in low light when most of the recent crimes were committed.

Like all network cameras, the SNC-RZ50 contains sensitive electronics that could be damaged in the extreme heat and direct sunlight of a beach. For that reason, all five cameras are contained within Dotworkz D2 protective marine-ready enclosures equipped with heater-blower systems. Besides keeping the camera cool, this system helps eliminate fogging of the lower lenses in the early morning mist. The enclosure also protects against vandalism. Made of a thermoplastic alloy, the D2 enclosure is shock- and impact-resistant.

“The public safety officials were concerned that vandal-resistant enclosures would make the neighborhood look like it's a prison on lockdown and take away from the public's beach experience,” Ferris says. “We engineered the Dotworkz D2 to blend into any environment, even a beach, and to not draw attention to itself.”

Going wireless

“Wireless connectivity gives the Mission Beach system additional flexibility and scalability, and saved the cost of wiring and installation labor,” Ferris notes. “Right now the video is sent to the Northern Division Area's command center, but in the future roving public safety officials may add camera access on their laptops, PDAs or smartphones.”

Concerned about Wi-FI interference in the heavily residential area, Dotworkz configured its D2 “city link” mesh option for four of the five cameras on a powerful 5.8 GHz wireless spectrum. This provides the means to wirelessly transmit high-resolution video at up to 20 frames-per-second with 108-MB throughput back to the public safety officials' command center, located two miles away. The fifth camera, stationed on a light pole across from the historic Belmont Giant Dipper Roller Coaster and Wavehouse water park, is equipped with Dotworkz 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g SideKick.

Video archiving is handled using the Dotworkz NVR Serverware to optimize the round-the-clock video requirement. The NVR Serverware is engineered for maximum performance and reliability. It was specified with a Seagate security-based hard drive with RAID configuration to prevent lost data and features other reliability features.

Tying together the system is enterprise-class NetDVMS software from On-Net Surveillance Systems Inc. (OnSSI). This recording and camera management software suite required little user training for the officers and no additional hardware. NetDVMS gives the light-duty public safety officials in the command center immediate and centralized access to all five cameras, along with scheduled PTZ patrol sequences when the system is not being manned.

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© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

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