Systems Integrator Brought on Board Via Procurement Process
Once the design was approved, the security support duo ordered the cable, cameras and DVRs and called in Comco Communications of Pinellas Park, Fla., a local subcontractor for Verizon. The company was selected through Florida’s Telecommunication Infrastructure Projects Services (TIPS) program, a state-managed procurement process that, among other services, provides agencies and municipalities with procurement assistance within the telecommunications arena. 

The district used the TIPS program to enhance its current telecommunication infrastructure, including its fiber-optic backbone and copper backbone to complete the CCTV installation. Comco mounted all of the cameras and enhanced the infrastructure work, pulling and terminating additional wires as needed into each closet. 

“We ran fiber optics from the backbone to tie the cameras together and ran each camera over RG-6/18-2 coaxial 22-gauge telemetry wire, which allowed the ability for video, power and zoom,” says Mike Bugner, vice-president of Comco. All of the cameras also tie in via an IP-based network to the school district’s main hub in Osprey. 

A major installation obstacle, Bugner says, was providing conduit pathways in the schools to mount and weatherproof the cameras. “The most difficult school was Booker High School, because it was an old school with more of an open architecture.” 

To conceal all the wires, Bugner’s crew had to run about 2,000 feet of exposed conduit that was attached to the concrete structure. Other schools provided challenges as well, with sprawling campuses, multiple two-story buildings, many of which have upward of 200 exits, plus balconies and hidden stairwells. The largest high school campus encompasses 104 acres. 

The budget was set per school based on the site, location and individual campus needs. Individual campus budgets range from $40,000 to $50,000 for the smaller elementary and middle schools to as much as $175,000 to $200,000 for larger high schools. Phase one will be complete when the team finishes installations at all of the schools. 

In addi
tion to the school campuses, cameras were installed at the district’s primary centr

central office complex, along with a full camera installation in the district’s purchasing and central transportation facilities.

District Employs a Take-Charge Philosophy to Surveillance

The school district runs its own central station, monitoring its own alarm systems. It is staffed 24/7 by personnel who can pull up any camera on any DVR in the county using the remote viewing software.

“We also use Dedicated Micros’ CX02-16 C-bus video switcher at some of the smaller locations,” O’- Keefe says. “That runs off the RS-232 loop. We run all the DVR outputs into the switcher and all the data goes from the switcher to one monitor.” Using the company’s KBS3 keyboard and keyboard extender, personnel are able to look at any camera on any DVR, all from a single monitor.

The video switcher was rack mounted with the DVRs for a clean installation. The system gives the district the capability to pull up any site in real-time or review up to 30 days of recorded video. Some high school campuses have security aides who monitor lunchrooms or bus unloading areas during school hours.

The majority of the high schools thus use the system proactively. If they see someone who stays in a bathroom too long, for instance, an aide will go in to see what’s going on.

For campuses with no security aides, the district can review incidents after the fact. To date, the school has installed CCTV systems in all five high schools, all eight middle schools and six elementary schools, along with a charter school and a large school for gifted students. It is expected that every school site will be completed by the end of July.

Phase two of the project involves returning to each high school to address any needs they might have since the initial installation.

“That may involve moving or adding cameras or replacing some fixed cameras to p/t/z,” O’Keefe says. “We have already had wish lists for phase two before we even finished phase one at some locations.”

O’Keefe and Butler maintain the head-end, program the cameras and train designated campus staff on using the DVRs and the software. The pair also regularly attend training sessions and trade show seminars to maintain their knowledge base and to stay on top of technological advances.

Presence of New CCTV Solution Proves to Be a Crime Deterrent

By law, the district posts signs in the front of each school, affirming that camera surveillance may be used on the campus.

“The CCTV systems have helped the school resource offices be much more efficient in keeping track of what’s going on around the campus,” says Kelly. “In a typical high school, they have 80 cameras, and they can monitor all of them from one location.” One feature of the surveillance system software allows the school to capture an event and zoom in and out on an image, even after it is saved onto the DVR.

Several principals say the cameras have been a huge deterrent, while the security department has already used the digital images to solve numerous crimes. For instance, last spring an individual spray-painted profanity and Satanic graffiti on the walls and sidewalk of an elementary school. The person even spray-painted, “The cameras are watching.” Indeed, they were; multiple cameras clearly identified the culprit’s face.

“He came back twice and continued the graffiti,” Butler says, “and he broke a window in a storefront door on campus.”

The security staff reviewed the video and found the man who was responsible for the damage. When a video clip ran on a local news station, the man’s mother saw it and turned him in.

Then in August, three teenage students – one dressed as a Ninja – spray-painted graffiti at one of the high schools. Security personnel printed pictures of the trio, who were captured in the act on camera, and disseminated the images to campus employees. When the students returned to school the next day, all three were apprehended. The case was turned over to law enforcement, along with copies of the incident from the DVRs.

“Apparently his Ninja skills weren’t very good,” Butler quipped, “because we saw him wherever he went.”

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