Axis' 211M Network Camera,221 Day & Night Network Camera and 215 PTZ have been installed at CROUS

Mission

Constructed in 2008, the new buildings of the Saint-Denis CROUS (including a university restaurant and a hall of residence for international students, covering a total of 4,940m²) were originally equipped with a frugal system of black-and-white analogue cameras without recording capabilities. Mr. Hadad, Director of the Departmental Site of Seine Saint-Denis, wished to rapidly implement a more high-performance system allowing the identification of possible wrongdoers and the recording of video to ensure the efficient protection of staff, students and buildings.

Solution

Vidéoconsult, an Axis partner, was able to win over the decision-makers thanks to its scalable network video solution consisting of 19 cameras filming the different entrances and surroundings of the restaurant and the university's hall of residence. The ease of use, notably for later searches and remote troubleshooting, as well as the high image quality, helped Vidéoconsult stand out from rival analogue offerings.

Result

Vidéoconsult was able to win over the decision-makers thanks to its scalable network video solution consisting of 19 cameras

Mr. Charpentier, Director of University Restaurants at Saint-Denis, expressed his satisfaction with the video surveillance solution installed almost one year ago. The goal of securing employees and buildings has been achieved, and the system also allows for a better understanding of the function of the buildings through the analysis of the flow of people and the sensitive areas.

In an establishment such as the University Restaurant Paris 8 Saint-Denis, the primary objective of video surveillance is to secure employees who may be required to collect money. The students may also be exposed to risk inside their hall of residence. Finally, the buildings require protection against attempted vandalism and intrusion from individuals coming from outside the establishment and the theft of property.

Even though video surveillance may have a deterrent effect on petty crime, it is no threat to hardened criminals. In such cases, its role then switches from prevention to punishment, since the system permits the clear identification of those involved and the ability to transmit the data to law enforcement. It was this desire for clarification that led Mr. Hadad to rapidly launch a call for tenders for the replacement of his analogue system, thanks to the awarding of a state subsidy (CROUS). Vidéoconsult presented Mr. Hadad with a turnkey video surveillance solution for his establishment. Consisting of 19 network cameras, the proposed system allows the surveillance of all surroundings of the buildings, as well as the different indoor and outdoor access points to the restaurant. It includes Axis 211M Network Camera, a megapixel camera offering excellent identification features thanks to its high resolution, Axis 221 Day & Night Network Camera which offers very high sensitivity to light and can operate 24 hours a day, and Axis 215 PTZ, a motorised day/night camera with a 12x zoom to permit the identification of all details in a wide-angle shot.

The system allows the surveillance of all surroundings of the buildings, as well as the different indoor and outdoor access points to the restaurant

The CROUS records 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for a period of 3 weeks. The system is primarily used for analysing incidents after the fact, which can be performed with a few clicks thanks to Vidéoconsult's intuitive event searching solution. At night and on weekends, a security firm receives alerts and then contacts Mr. Charpentier, who performs remote troubleshooting and evaluates the need for intervention.

"Our video surveillance protection system, although it is IP-based, is completely independent of the rest of the establishment's network," explains Mr. Da Silva, a colleague of the Information Systems Director of the Créteil CROUS. "The only access point is via the storage servers. The importance of this IP-based system lies in its scalability. If we want to increase the storage capacity, we don't need to buy a proprietary storage system. We can choose a standard computer peripheral."

"The RJ-45 cabling, although extensive in view of the size of the buildings and the height at which the cameras are positioned, also allowed us to make some savings compared to electrical cabling," comments Mr. Hadad.

The CROUS is satisfied with its video surveillance protection system, which fully meets the initial goals of securing the employees, students and buildings. To date, no major incidents have occurred, but some malicious acts have been cleared up by identifying the wrongdoers. The system has also proven to be useful for analysing the function of the premises: flows of students, areas of congestion, etc. Finally, it allows the activities of third-party companies employed by the CROUS to be monitored: patrols performed by the security firm, delivery times for the restaurant, etc. The Créteil CROUS is now planning to switch to network video at other establishments of its Academy, and to make increasing use of video analysis for the raising of intelligent alarms.