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Shopping for peace of mind

The South African retail industry has experienced rapid and significant growth in recent years. With this growth comes an increasing demand to provide a comfortable, secure environment in which customers can shop. Growthpoint Properties, the largest property investment holding company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, relies on the latest technology to provide this level of safety and security for both tenants and patrons of their shopping centres.

Nestled in the heart of the leafy Constantia Valley, Cape Town, The Constantia Village Shopping Centre combines the convenience of a shopping mall and the ambience of a village square. In the centre of the Cape Peninsula, the Constantia Valley is the ideal Cape Town base and it offers tourists and locals a variety of places to stay and things to do.

“We have 1100 parking bays, a wide array of speciality stores, fashion outlets, restaurants, coffee shops, anchor stores, and various banking institutions that feature prominent ATM facilities,” explains Divan Snyman, facilities manager for the shopping centre. “We wanted a surveillance system that contains a level of technology that not only assists with the onsite security function by providing a high quality reactive capability but also offers an intuitive solution that can pre-empt criminal activity.”

The RFP for the upgrade was overseen by Diversified Security Engineering’s Nigel Versfeld, a veteran of the security industry. After a thorough and rigorous bidding process, which included detailed site inspections, MeyCom was identified as the preferred contractor and Axis was selected as the product of choice. MeyCom has used Axis products in a number of successful installations and one of Growthpoint’s largest mixed use sites is monitored by an Axis solution.

Determining the pressure points

Specialist fire and security contractor, MeyCom, has been providing security-related services for almost 20 years. This extensive knowledge and experience of the specific challenges faced by the retail environment (within the South African context) ensures the efficacy of their solutions.

“Our focus was on covering the entire shopping complex, with particular emphasis on the remote and dangerous areas such as rooftops and the parking facilities,” says Andrew Briton, MeyCom director and project director of this installation.

The threat of access via the shopping centre’s roof space has been neutralised with the installation of Axis thermal network cameras. These cameras use thermal imaging, which allows users to detect people, objects and incidents in complete darkness and difficult conditions such as smoke, haze, dust and light fog.

“Potential intruders no longer have the ability to go undetected in these zones,” says Briton. “The thermal camera is ideal for monitoring an area that requires 24-hour security.”

Of critical importance to Growthpoint is the external parking areas. “Extensive coverage of the exterior of the centre reduces the risk of parking lot incidents,” says Snyman. “A lot rests on the quality of the footage available from these areas.”

AXIS Q60 PTZ domes are designed specifically for this type of demanding video surveillance application. The AXIS Q60 is an advanced, high-speed PTZ dome camera that enables exceptional coverage of large areas and offers great detail when zooming in.

“The cameras have proved the perfect solution and continue to provide excellent footage. We are able to make use of licence plate recognition even when we are experiencing difficult lighting conditions,” says Snyman.

A security yardstick

Since completion of the original installation of 64 cameras, the system has already been expanded by an additional 17 cameras.

“The upgraded solution at Constantia Village immediately became our benchmark surveillance system for the Cape Town region. Besides the anticipated benefits, we have experienced a few unexpected advantages. For example, we are now able to have construction meetings in our management office and view areas being discussed without even leaving the room,” says Peter Dicks, Growthpoint retail facilities manager.

With the active participation of the various role players, such as South African Police Services, the community neighbourhood watch, and the advanced digital surveillance system, the centre has been able to proactively prevent crime. At the same time, the footage is being used to solve many other crimes.

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