The challenge
The city of Menen is located in the west of Belgium and has a population of 32000 people.
Menen, as with many of today's modern communities, faces security issues at public facilities. Their new swimming pool was no exception - within six days of being open, it had been broken into six times. It was decided to deal with this problem by installing a surveillance solution.
In August 2002, the City of Menen approached Sony Business Europe to discuss possible solutions.
By combining Sony knowledge and the experience of e-surveillance solutions as well as the City of Menen's knowledge of their security issues, a Netwatch security solution was developed to meet local needs. This included on-site technical and operational services in order to select appropriate positioning and appropriate cameras to be installed. The first priority was the security of the swimming pool itself. Sony network cameras (SNC-VL10P) were placed at key locations - four in the locker rooms, one by the cash register and another (SNC-Z20P) at the entrance.
Using Sony Netwatch software, the footage from these cameras can be viewed from several monitoring stations' PCs in the city hall. The video can also be viewed at a later date as all cameras are connected via the network to a remote Sony storage device (FSV-M1 480 GB StorStation).
The installation was completed in April 2003 - there have been no break-ins since then. When there were incidents, the perpetrator was easily identifiable.
After a few incidents in the parking lot of the swimming pool it was decided to install some (SNC-RZ30P) cameras there too. Thanks to the efficiency of the security system, it was expanded by four cameras (SNC-RZ30P) to include the City centre therefore ensuring safety at night.
Benefits delivered
By choosing a Sony security solution where everything can be operated over IP, the City of Menen has benefited from a highly flexible and easily expandable solution with low installation costs. 
Sony and its distributor provided on-site training for operating the solution, ensuring that the City of Menen's personnel could efficiently manage it and immediately start benefiting from increased security.
Why Sony? Results
This reference builds on the reputation of Sony and track record of adding value to organisations and delivering against their objectives. Sony knows that in designing a relevant solution, the real key is the business value it delivers not the enabling technology.
The City of Menen selected Sony as their business partner as the solution offered was the most complete, and had the advantage of the best camera quality.
