Having already suffered break-ins, thefts, graffiti and broken windows, an extremely expensive flood was the final straw. The management of a multi-school campus in Tarp, north Germany decided enough was enough. Rather than continue funding refits and repairs it was decided to invest in prevention and detection. The 600,000 euro bill for the complete refurbishment of a building which followed a weekend when stop taps were purposely left full-on, made the cost of electronic security for the site and buildings look extremely good value.
The chosen security solution, in the shape of a Geutebruck CCTV system, was supplied by DTE, a local installer from Flensburg. DTE mounted 42 megapixel cameras inside and outside the six buildings. Outdoor motion detection is used to control both video recording and the halogen spotlights which illuminate any night-time activity. In each building a GeViScope video system platform processes local traffic and archives the data. When necessary, all six units are combined into a single high performance system via the schools' Gigabyte network, so that all camera pictures can be viewed, and all the (dual control protected) archives can be searched from the central monitoring station. A facility which proved useful a short time later when a bicycle was reported stolen. Quickly identified, the offender was soon apprehended and confronted with clear, incontrovertible evidence of his misdemeanour.
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| In each building a GeViScope video system platform processes local traffic and archives the data |
Generally however, the system's visible presence, combined with the local publicity given to the project, has deterred most offenders. Since coming into operation in early 2008 disruptive and costly incidents have almost completely disappeared. As a result the system has had a new graphical user interface added and its coverage has been extended to include a nearby youth centre and adjoining grounds. Technically, this was easy, as Mr Leiber, MD of DTE explains: "The Geutebruck system is modular in structure and can be easily expanded and updated at any time. The GeViScope platform has a dedicated digital signal processor for each camera channel so updating and adding new functions - video motion detection for instance - is just a matter of loading new software."
