Educational institutions across the globe are expanding their security and surveillance capabilities.  In Baton Rouge, LA, the Louisiana School for the Deaf is no different.  The school has 18 buildings stretched over a 122 acre campus.  Due to the scope and nature of the installation, it was decided that an IP surveillance system was the logical choice.

The system consists of 172, ACM-7411 1.3 Megapixel IP cameras.  The megapixel video allows for digital enhancement of images while the vandal resistant dome housing made it the best choice for the school environment.  The head end uses Milestone Enterprise central video management software running on 3 Intel servers with 18 Terabytes of storage.  The network infrastructure is made up of PoE enabled Netgear switches on a dedicated 1 Gigabit backbone to allow for maximum throughput of the megapixel video.  The school board chose ACTi’s partner, Latech as the system integrator for the installation due to the severe time constraints placed by the Louisiana Superintendent of Education.  “We were chosen because we could get the job completed in 30 days,” said Leland Wolf, President of Latech.  “We knew ACTi was the best camera solution for this project because they could deliver the hardware in the restrictive time frame provided.”

“It’s a better environment now,” said Liz Moore, acting director of the state’s Special School District. “It’s safer and we’re moving education in the direction it needs to go.”  The $282,000 system went online in November 2008, Moore said, and there have been no known incidents since the school’s Nov. 5 reopening.  “When the guards notice anything suspicious, they phone a roaming security guard and direct him to the location,” said the school’s security director Willie Turner. “The cameras have helped out tremendously.  Student behavior has improved because they are aware they are being watched.”

System Architecture