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Orange County Sheriff’s department uses DVTel iSOC to improve effectiveness of first responder training

Laser Village training facility monitors and records with flexible, scalable system

DVTel Inc., multiple award-winning market leader in the development and delivery of intelligent security solutions over IP networks, today announced that the Orange County Sheriff's Department is using the DVTel intelligent Security Operations Center (iSOC) platform to improve training effectiveness at its "Laser Village" training facility in the city of Orange, CA.  The installation was completed by HCI, Inc., a regional systems integrator based in Southern California, specializing in digital/network video recording solutions and access control.

The Tactical Training Center is one of the most realistic simulated police training villages in the state.  The Center trains thousands of officers, agents, and private security company employees from the western United States.  The Center was built as a "laser village" in the 1980s, when practice weapons emitted a laser light.  Now, small dye-filled munitions are used.  The village has eight buildings, including three residences, a convenience store, a bank, a bar, a fast food restaurant, and a service station.  Realism is heightened by the use of actual commercial signs and props.

"Tactical training is a critical function of the training division," said Sgt. Tom Giffin, Supervisor of the Tactical Training Center.  "It is very important to be able to accurately analyze and view training scenarios in the highest possible video resolution for critique purposes.  The more accurate our critiques, the better prepared the field officer is to perform his daily functions."

For years, one of Orange County's most advanced training centres for first responders made due with just a few cameras and a rack-mounted, moveable system to record training sessions for later playback and analysis.  It became clear the time had come to take advantage of new digital, networked technology.  The Orange County Sheriff's Department chose DVTel to provide advanced monitoring and recording capabilities for the 30 plus fixed and PTZ cameras now covering the entire training facility. 

John O'Leary, Senior Communications Engineer, helped specify the system upgrade and was clear on what was needed:  surveillance that would cover anywhere, anytime, 4 CIF resolution at a high frame rate; multiple, simultaneous viewers; and an easy to operate system with an intuitive GUI.  "The staff here is focussed on training, that's the most important job.   We wanted a system we could essentially set up and forget," O'Leary said.

Because the facility is in high demand, the integrator, HCI, had to install the system and have it up and running in two weeks.  The 30 cameras are spread throughout the eight buildings and the village, and connect to encoders to feed onto the network.  Video travels back to the "ready room" where it is projected onto large screens for analysis by the trainers, and to several other users in different locations.  The system is designed to feed video to as many as six additional classrooms to handle overflow or for other sessions.

"A successful training program is going to improve first responders' reaction time and their effectiveness, even their survival in actual confrontations," said Eli Gorovici, DVTel President and CEO.  "We're pleased that our system has the image quality, performance, and ease of use to meet the Orange County Sheriff's demands, and we're honoured to contribute to an enhanced training program."

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