For Norman Dimick, service director for Integrated Electronics, the ease of installation makes the cameras a wise choice for campuses. In fact, the only challenge facing the project was there were not enough pathways for electrical conduit to deploy the cameras. However, a week and a half before the project began, the university’s facilities management crew installed pathways and created new mounting locations.
“From our perspective, the install process is the same as any other type camera,” he says. “We had two technicians at the site, and it took a total of eight man-hours over the cour
se of a couple of days.”
Prior to the cameras, patrol and community service specialists performed routine area checks. Since installing the thermal imaging cameras, the frequency has been reduced. In addition to the apprehensions of 10 unauthorized intruders, the cameras have also helped Huerta eliminate the need for routine area checks, which saves on the cost of personnel, as well as vehicle fuel, maintenance and nighttime lighting.
“With the technology, we know that it’s not probable to be a false alarm, so we can immediately dispatch to officers. Thermal imaging allows our staff to tell the officer the specific place to go, which makes search and response time much faster and more accurate.”
Dimick agrees, noting the cameras would also be beneficial for correctional facilities.
“With the alarm functionality of the Sarix TI camera, it’s really good for prison applications where they have perimeter detection,” he says. “It allows users to set up a zone within the frame. In the event that a person or object enters a zone, it can be programmed to send out an alarm. Thermal cameras can look over very large areas and set up a digital perimeter within the program. Rather than dealing with false alarms from other types of perimeter detection, this is kind of a foolproof way to do it.”
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Ashley Willis is associate editor for Campus Safety magazine. She can be reached at (310) 533-2419.
