HD Surveillance System Credited with Massive Crime Drop

The Selma (Ala.) Police Department (SPD) and city deployed a high definition (HD) surveillance system to boost community safety and reduce criminal activity. The Avigilon HD surveillance system was deployed at the SPD and at the Selma Housing Authority’s George Washington Carver (GWC) complex, a 215-apartment facility with more than 500 tenants, and has helped reduce criminal activity, according to Avigilon.A citywide HD system connecting the SPD and the Selma Housing Authority offers greater surveillance coverage across the municipality. Since installing the system, Selma has seen a reduction in criminal activity at GWC – crime reporting has fallen 75 percent, from 40 to fewer than 10 incidents per week.The system is more reliable and functional than the SPD’s previous analog-based system, and has become an important investigative tool, says Chief William Riley.The city has installed more than 30 HD cameras ranging from 3 to 5 megapixels to monitor the exterior of the GWC complex and at police headquarters to monitor the parking lot, main lobby, booking rooms, holding cells, magistrate’s office, and the Selma Municipal Court.The SPD installed several Avigilon analog video encoders to create a hybrid surveillance system so as to improve the performance of its existing analog cameras.The Avigilon solution is monitored around-the-clock at both the SPD and GWC complex and stores up to 45 days of footage.”The city has taken advantage of a wide area network to weave together an effective information system that addresses the needs of multiple organizations, and at the same time now has the ability to investigate and share indisputable video forensic detail,” says Dave Tynan, vice president of global sales and marketing, Avigilon.Selma manages the surveillance system using Avigilon Control Center network video management software (NVMS) with HD Stream Management.