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| Bold system at the Port Police now enables the control room to receive and handle all types of alarm signals |
Security for the site has been provided by its own Police Force since 1811 when the Liverpool Dock Police was formed. Having undergone many reorganisations since that time, responsibility now falls to the Port of Liverpool Police whose officers have full police powers in addition to carrying out specialist tasks relating to the security and operation of the estate. The Port Police has legal jurisdiction over a mainly populated area of 70 square miles, with high levels of activity and traffic, on both sides of the River Mersey.
One of the core services provided by the Port Police is central station alarm monitoring of the site. In the fully equipped Force Control Room, operators handle and deploy resources in response to incoming alarm signals. When they recently required a new solution for security monitoring, they considered the technology available and who would have the specialist experience to deliver and support the best solution. Bold Gemini central station software was selected on the basis that systems integration has been designed into the product rather than, as so often, added later on.
Although the core Gemini product is the most functional solution available for the central station monitoring market, it is also one of the most rapidly evolving with third party interfaces constantly being developed for both new and legacy security applications. This is significant, particularly for a client like the Port Police where it is important to be able to adopt new technology as it becomes available.
This rapid product development is by supported by the experienced software team at Bold, using Microsoft technologies like .Net and SQL. It also means that project customisation can be quickly and effectively completed.
A further important consideration for central station software is system usability. The ability to create tailored operator profiles and provide a familiar Microsoft user interface helped in the speedy deployment of the system. This was further facilitated by Bold's project management expertise, training and support.
The Bold system at the Port Police now enables the control room to receive and handle all types of alarm signals, with comprehensive operator instructions, system logs and reporting, and with the capability to manage third party CCTV and Access Control systems, as the needs of the customer evolve.
A Port Police spokesman commented: "We were interested in a system which met all our present and future security monitoring needs and which could be delivered in a single project. Bold were able to take care of all aspects of the installation, including working with existing equipment, and they also provide 24/7 support. The operators are positive about using the system which performs in exactly the way Bold described."
