Sony’s IP surveillance system enhances school security for the Grossmont School District

Real-time digital video surveillance over TCP/IP networks

For most schools, reports of campus shootings from across the country seem a distant nightmare. Sadly, that nightmare became a recurring reality at Grossmont Union School District, an 11 high school system with 24,000 students in San Diego County. In 2001, two separate shooting incidents happened back-to-back over a two-week period. That started Grossmont's search for an economical way to protect their campuses. The district turned to Sony, a leader in audio-visual and security technologies.

This summer, Grossmont was the initial reference site for the new Sony e-Surveillance system, which allows administrators and law enforcement officers to act on emergency situations in real-time with digital video surveillance over TCP/IP networks.

Sony's solution consists of fixed and pan/tilt/zoom IP addressable cameras with built-in web servers and Ethernet ports, Sony Real Shot camera recording and video management software, and network attached servers for storage and archival retrieval. The application software runs on a Cisco infrastructure. Warren Williams, Assistant Superintendent for information and technology services for Grossmont, instantly liked what he saw.

Insurance reductions

Just a few months into the system's operation, Williams saw far greater applications and opportunities than originally imagined. Besides fostering a safe learning environment for the district's students, he said that the Grossmont school district now reports that vandalism and inappropriate use of school facilities and resources has dropped significantly. Williams also said that cost savings from maintaining the physical plant along with insurance reductions have been some of the unexpected returns from the initial investment.

Williams said: "The local police had to go in SWAT fashion from hall to hall. They didn't know where the shooter was, how many there were. In a lockdown situation, it's very valuable to have that kind of information." After which, Williams added: "Events had to be reconstructed from memory only. It would have been helpful to have evidence of what had happened to design preventive measures."

A complete security network from Sony