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Low-income surveillance

The legacy of Alarms Unlimited goes back well beyond the 1950s when the security company started providing security solutions to residential estates. Even though the company has since branched out to the commercial sector, it maintains its portfolio in its residential clientele. Among its recent projects, one in particular laid the foundation for its collaboration with Hikvision. This project was set in New Jersey, where several low-income housing projects were direct beneficiaries of technologies from Hikvision.

The story begins with crime as the main antagonist in New Jersey. Residents in low-income housing estates were traumatised by the incidence of drug offences, robberies and murders. So often were residents gripped with fear that public law enforcement services alone were insufficient to set their minds at ease.

Even if suspected criminal activities were reported, law enforcers had no way of reviewing the scenes in the premises. Furthermore, there was a time lag between the time of reporting and their arrival. Although security cameras are common today, it was difficult to lay wires around the premises in a discreet fashion and integrate them into a larger system.

Alarms Unlimited was entrusted with the task of securing these premises in New Jersey. The company brought in Hikvision by embracing its line of surveillance technologies, installing them as a part of the CCTV systems throughout these low-income residential estates.

Where there is crime, there is a camera

Alarms Unlimited opted to include three Hikvision surveillance technologies from its range of products. Several DS-2CD752MF-IFB vandal-proof cameras, DS-2DF1-672 network cameras and the iVMS2000 software were used as an integrated system.

At strategic locations throughout the apartment buildings, the two models of wireless network cameras were deployed. The DS-2CD752 vandal-proof network dome cameras were installed to capture the ongoing activities. With their powerful imaging capabilities, a 1/3-inch progressive-scan CMOS at 1600 x 1200 pixels, an electronic shutter speed of 1/25s to 1/100 000s and an angle view of 101-degrees to 30,4-degrees, it would have been virtually impossible for anything to go unnoticed.

The DS-2DF1-672 is a popular product that can capture 25 frames per second in HD720p with 3D intelligent positioning. It has a 360-degree continuous pan feature and a tilt range of -5 degrees to 90 degrees. The camera functions in a wide temperature range (-30 degrees Celsius to 65 degrees Celsius), making it well suited to the seasonal changes in New Jersey. Last but not least, the iVMS2000 software supports the imaging functions of these cameras and facilitates a wireless security network, monitored in a single location with real-time feeds from multiple cameras on a single screen 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

It is all under control

The capabilities of Hikvision’s network cameras, powered by their software, addressed the multiple challenges that seemed too overwhelming at first. The new wireless surveillance system navigated the buildings’ architecture with ease and was an effective means of recording ongoing activities around the clock. Public law enforcers can now easily review the reported incidents. Deviants are discouraged from engaging in unlawful activities within the premises; these underlie the triumph for Hikvision and Alarms Unlimited in New Jersey.

George Cifuentes, representative at Alarms Unlimited, explained that “Crime has drastically reduced since the cameras have been put in; (police) have caught numerous people for drugs, several robberies and an attempted murder. And finally, with the system in place, more low-income renters will be attracted to these apartments.”

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