The use of CCTV is often regarded by legislators as an extreme measure, and may only be used if safety cannot be achieved through other means. New Amsterdam in Drenthe has this similar case. However, the past years have shown significant changes to its newly renovated supermarket that used to be a placed prone to incidents and crimes. In October 2016, with cooperation between Sparkling New Amsterdam/Veenoord Foundation and the municipal government, they started to install advanced surveillance camera to solve their security issues. The municipal government also allotted 2 million euros to jumpstart the renovation.
Challenges
At first, the city council was not in favor of deploying surveillance cameras in the village due to the privacy concern. Bas Kamst, Chairman of the Trade Association, believes that the supermarket needs to revamp its security to avoid previous incidents from happening when shopkeepers were threatened and customers scolded.
During meetings, the local residents expressed unanimously their desire to have surveillance camera installed in the village. The village council, the entrepreneurs and the residents even raised 10,000 euros to contribute to the costs of the project. However, the retailers wanted the cameras to be installed before the holidays, which became a challenge to all prospective security companies. From proposals of several companies who were allowed to bid, the 3B Beveiligingstechniek from nearby Valthermond was chosen.“We got the job because we had delved more deeply into the matter compared to other providers. This allowed us to explain exactly how you can make the system function in accordance with the police law and the municipal law, ” says René Siebum of 3B Beveiligingstechniek.
Solution
Lead by Siebum, the project deployed a complete solution from Dahua Technology, including advanced PTZs, fixed cameras and a 16 channel network recorder. All equipment works with artificial intelligence and Power over Ethernet. The deployment of the project was evaluated by the municipality and the trade association, revealing a significant decrease in the number of incidents in the area. During the realization of the project, 3B Beveiligingstechniek was able to regularly rely on the know-how of Dahua Technology and its distributor Dero Security Products. Together, they came up with many valuable recommendations and have also been on the site to provide support in programming and adjusting of equipment.
"My choice immediately fell on a solution from Dahua with programmable cameras and 'intelligent video surveillance',"continues RenéSiebum. “We used advanced PTZ and fixed cameras that we connected to a 16-channel network recorder from Dahua. All equipment works with artificial intelligence and Power over Ethernet. Albert Heijn has had an extra camera connected at its own expense, which monitors the backyard. This allows one to observe the area before the first employees arrive and the last ones go home. Initially only the police had access to the images, but now the local private security organization RSS Security has also been involved in the project. Just like the police, they can view the images and send a surveillance service if necessary. The stored images can only be viewed by the police. Last week we had a short evaluation with the municipality and the trade association and everyone is very enthusiastic because the nuisance has decreased significantly.”
The installed devices include Dahua PTZ cameras (PTZ1A225U-IRA-N), which features 2MP resolution and 25x optical zoom. This camera perform very well especially in the dark, thanks to its Starlight function that produces a color image at 0.005 lux. It is also equipped with IR emitters that enable a view of up to 150 meters even in total darkness. In addition, these cameras also boast IVS (Intelligent Video Surveillance) functions, enabling them to send alarms when an imaginary line is crossed (tripwire), when someone enters a zone (intrusion) and when objects are left (abandoned) or removed (missing). They can also automatically recognize faces and can measure how busy it is in certain places (heat mapping). The metal housing is weatherproof (IP67) and resistant to vandalism (IK10). Automatic demisting also takes place in damp weather.
Moreover, where PTZ was not required, eyeball cameras (IPC-HDW3541TP-ZAS) were used. It offers a resolution of 5MP and has a 1 / 2.7” CMOS image sensor. With smart motion detection, it can reduce false alarms, detects unusual events and applies digital watermarks to secure images. It is equipped with IR lighting with a range of 40 meters, and also resistant to weather.
Furthermore, the cameras are connected to Dahua Technology's NVR5216-16P-I via PoE with 16 channels. This AI-enabled NVR can distinguish people and vehicles, allowing it to recognize faces (24 face images per second) and alarm when a target has been detected. It is also capable of storing up to 100,000 face images in the database. Alarms can be communicated via buzzer, voice prompt, e-mail, snapshot and notification to the alarm system. The alarm can also automatically activate PTZ cameras. The age of persons can be determined, as well as gender and whether or not they wear glasses, beard or mask. For privacy reasons, no functions or client requests that violate the GDPR were used. Files are automatically deleted after 28 days, with the exception of those selected by the police for further investigation.
Results
Through in-depth collaboration with Dahua local team and distributor, 3B Beveiligingstechniek, the municipal government, and several other individuals working together, the Dahua Surveillance System efficiently served its purpose to safeguard local retailers and shoppers in the newly renovated supermarket in New Amsterdam. It significantly lessen the number of incidents in the area, thus creating a safer shopping environment and better customer experience.
This case study originally appeared on https://beveiligingnieuws.nl/.
