Panasonic’s surveillance capabilities emerge victorious at the Bradford Leisure Exchange

Panasonic WV-CL274 static CCTV camera with housing

One of the largest leisure developments in the UK, Bradford Leisure Exchange, provides the city of Bradford in West Yorkshire with an entertainment complex that caters for thousands of visitors each week. Comprising 205,000 square feet of prime leisure space, its tenants include a Cine UK multiplex cinema, Hollywood Bowl, Pizza Hut, Frankie & Benny's, Nando's and a large Holiday Inn hotel. With a multimillion pound annual turnover, Bradford Leisure Exchange is renowned as an integral part of the regeneration of Bradford city centre.

Due to the success of the complex, an increasing number of its visitors are choosing to spend ‘many hours' on-site, quite often visiting multiple attractions during their stay. The safety and welfare of visitors is a top priority for the management of Bradford Leisure Exchange - and to further reassure customers of their continued safety on-site - an update to the existing CCTV design and technology was planned. The existing system had been installed when the leisure complex first opened its doors in 2000 and over the life of its operation, the system proved to offer only limited use for site management purposes. From the outset, some surveillance blind spots were becoming apparent in the overall camera coverage of the site. Consequently, the gap in the original system's coverage had resulted in occasional anti-social and criminal behaviour, escaping observation by security staff. This had meant that if an incident was detected, its subsequent events might sometimes not be available for monitoring and therefore go untracked, making any consequent prosecution difficult to progress, due to a lack of available visual evidence. Additionally, adding weight to the case for upgrading, the system had been superseded by advancements in CCTV technology.

Panasonic Premier Integrator, Reflex Systems of South Yorkshire, have significant expertise in this sector and is a long-term partner at other similar sites owned by Donaldson's, the management group of Bradford Leisure Exchange, and so was an obvious choice to meet the owner's objective of better site management through a significantly upgraded surveillance system.

Working in close liaison with Mike Jeffries, Bradford Leisure Exchange's Operations Manager, Reflex was tasked with conducting a comprehensive site-wide survey and audit, to determine a design and technical specification for the upgrade. Mike Jeffries' performance criteria for the system was agreed and met with the strategic placement of leading-edge camera equipment supplied by Panasonic, with the goal of creating a high-performance and cost-effective surveillance system.

Using Panasonic WV-CW860 dome cameras throughout the site meant that the number of cameras deployed could be half that of the previous fixed camera system. With the integrated housing of the WV-CW860 camera specifically developed for ‘all weather' outdoor use, the unit was the ideal choice to be used to cover all the complex's external areas. Camera images are subsequently transmitted to the system's on-site control room equipped with Panasonic WV-CM1780 17" colour monitors and a WJ-HD316A 16-channel digital recorder, which records 120 images per second, allowing operators to review crystal clear images of any incidents captured. Video playback and review is controlled via a Panasonic WV-CU650CJ/B controller that also manages the system's WJ-SX150A matrix. Catering for changing operator shifts and differences in the way staff prefer to use the equipment, the Panasonic controller proved to be the ideal choice for Bradford's busy control room environment.

Since the new system was commissioned in September 2005, detection and tracking of both the occasionally serious crime - and more usually of petty, anti-social behaviour, has increased dramatically; this allows the facility's radio equipped security staff to deal with incidents before they escalate. Mike Jeffries enthuses: "Having gained the benefit of the new overall design and using the new Panasonic based system, our trained operators can detect potential incidents much earlier and be much more proactive - thanks to the flexibility of the system and the high-definition imagery and clarity of the control room pictures. This means incidents can be anticipated and dealt with by our ground staff quicker and more effectively than before, leading to better detection and minimal disruption for our visitors. Without a doubt, the new system is an invaluable asset to our business."

Bradford Leisure Exchange's management now own and operate a multi-purpose CCTV system that is providing a vital management tool at one of the region's busiest leisure complexes. Summarising his thoughts on the system, Mike Jeffries concludes: "The re-design and installation of a branded, quality CCTV system has proved itself to be the number one tool in the management toolkit and an invaluable asset to the busy entertainment venue."