Securing a strategic city with new surveillance systems

Known to some as the home of mariachi music and to others as the home of a great number of renowned writers and artists, Guadalajara is without a doubt a major cultural hub of Latin America. It is also the second largest city in Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco, making Guadalajara a strategic place for both businesses and government. It is therefore not surprising that the municipality is modernising its internal revenue and land registry offices with new IP-based CCTV surveillance systems.

Safely transferring funds

The surveillance system is intended to ensure the secure transfer of funds and to protect the safety of the office staff during daily operations at nine different offices. The installed cameras therefore monitor areas where monetary transactions occur, such as at the tax collection windows, as well as various personnel workplaces.

Heading up the project is the municipality of Guadalajara. A select group of the city's civil servants are working with a local support team of engineers from the international distributor, Rios Representaciones Internacionales, and the Mexican installer company, Ingeniería en Telecomunicaciones e Informática (ITISA). Together, they are setting up a centralised video surveillance network. The system will register the activities occurring in each of the buildings. Working alongside the core deployment team is TKH Security Solutions USA, manufacturer of advanced video surveillance solutions marketed under the Siqura and Optelecom brand names. TKH Security Solutions USA is providing cameras, storage, software, and support.

A Siqura solution

Using the existing IT network and Cisco switches, engineers from Siqura and the tax collection office IT personnel have designed and deployed a virtual LAN (VLAN) for the security system. VLAN enhances network performance as well as the security of the system. It connects the offices through a fibre link.

From a variety of locations and situations, Siqura IP cameras will transmit image material to the video management system (VMS), Siqura VMS Pro, at a centralised control room. From there, operators can ensure the safety and security of both personnel and property.

Siqura VMS Pro is a multiserver, multi-user IP surveillance management system used for monitoring real-time and recorded video, audio, and text data, and to control cameras and I/O devices. The software supports surveillance systems consisting of digital IP cameras and recorders in IP surveillance networks.

Through the intelligent search options and event handling included in Siqura VMS Pro, relevant recordings will be saved on one of ten hardware network video recorders (Siqura i-NVR Compact). Ultimately, this enables personnel to verify the immediate safety of the tax collection offices, their employees and visitors, as well as to use video images for forensic verification when necessary.

A successful start

Although the implementation of the project is still underway, the system is already up and running in two offices, with pleasing results.

"TKH Security Solutions USA has provided excellent support in designing, configuring, and installing the software and the cameras," said Raul Rios, director of Rio's Representaciones Internacionales. "The equipment was tested in the local network. We enlarged selected material to test the image quality and examined the cameras' ability to cope with various lighting conditions. After adjusting the lens, the system performance has proven to be perfect."