Milestone Systems, the Gold Award Winner in the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program for Best IP Video Surveillance Solution, spearheaded an ambitious undertaking by the City of Hartford, by providing an innovative, versatile and reliable open platform video management solution to monitor the city’s public parks, streets, City Hall and more.
The city and police department were establishing its Real-Time Crime Center and Data Intelligence Center, and when evaluating tools to keep the city safe, the Hartford Police Department worked with local integrator Vulcan Security Technologies to deploy a video surveillance solution built on the Milestone XProtect Corporate* video management software (VMS) platform, with integrated Axis Communications* cameras and BriefCam* video synopsis analytics, as well as ShotSpotter* gunshot detection with Hawkeye Effect GPS locators.
(Police in Hartford, Connecticut, are using the latest video technology from Milestone Systems, Axis Communications and BriefCam to ensure a Safe City. Here, he shows Milestone CTO Bjorn Eilertsen how the BriefCam video synopsis puts intelligent video analytics at his fingertips: hours of video with collapsed time tracking can gather the evidence of all foot traffic paths to buildings for fast overview. One house has such volume of foot traffic to its door that it’s obvious – within just minutes – where the drugs are being sold. In the past, detectives had to stake out suspected locations, freezing for days and nights on end in cars or on rooftops. Now: both time and resources are saved; crime is addressed and reduced. Courtesy of Milestone Systems and YouTube.)
*Milestone Systems, Axis Communications, BriefCam and ShotSpotter are each 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Award Winners for their innovative solutions to mitigate escalating threats from home and abroad.
(Jeffrey Blair tells how The HawkEye Effect uses geo-spatial positioning coordinates to provide timely, automatic, pre-programmed responses to security incidents. This enables security professionals to connect sensor technologies with critical response systems creating a fully integrated, multi-layered approach to security. Access multiple camera feeds and sensor reads with just a click within a single screen of the XProtect Smart Client – a certified integration with Milestone VMS. Courtesy of Milestone Systems and YouTube.)
The need for an open platform solution
Milestone XProtect Corporate VMS is an open platform, IP-networked solution that works with industry standard components and designed for large-scale and high-security installations, it was the perfect fit for the city of Hartford.
With its multi-site set-up features, integrated video wall and failover recording, the Milestone open platform ensures that Hartford’s security solutions are not locked into a single vendor and provides ongoing expansion options.
The Hartford Real-Time Crime and Data Intelligence Center includes the XProtect Smart Wall with 30, 55-inch, 4K video monitors, each connected to a high-powered workstation running the Milestone XProtect Smart Client on every screen.
(This advanced presentation application enables organizations to create video walls that meet their specific security demands. It can benefit your organization by increasing operators’ situation awareness, by providing tools that improve decision making and by creating a more cost-efficient security installation. Courtesy of Milestone Systems and YouTube.)
With the Milestone XProtect VMS, crime analysts are able to monitor the 450 Axis PTZ cameras located throughout the city, view videos, as well as data feeds from ShotSpotter and Hawkeye Effect technology, 9-1-1- dispatch system and social media mining tools that monitor potentially violent or hostile events.
The analysts then use live information to assist officers with crimes in progress and investigate recordings, saving time and maximizing effectiveness.
“Milestone Corporate has netted good results and has great potential for further integrations with the city’s data solutions,” said Tyler Cullen, Director of Information Technology at Vulcan Security Technologies.
“The cameras on street corners can automatically track the escape route of a shooter, in addition to other possibilities.”
The integration with third parties
The ability of the Milestone VMS to integrate with third-party systems was key for the police department installing Axis cameras and BriefCam video synopsis, which helps law enforcement and security entities of any type search for and very quickly extract valuable, actionable information.
It enables rapid video review, search and analysis of video data for locating events of interest faster than ever before.
“BriefCam has been a game changer for us. It’s helped us take our system to the next level,” said Sgt. John Michael O’Hare, Director, Hartford Real-Time Crime Center.
“We can do things with BriefCam that we just couldn’t do before. It allows us to take large volumes of video data and examine it very quickly and share that information with our officers.”
Now, Hartford police can access information that may have never been retrieved before, since it would have required someone to sit and watch hours of video, in real time.
(With BriefCam’s Rapid Review & Search say goodbye to countless hours behind a screen watching endless footage. Your team can review hours of video in minutes and pinpoint people and objects of interest immediately. Courtesy of BriefCam and YouTube.)
And, the implementation of BriefCam with the Milestone VMS was easy, with a built-in plugin allowing users to access the BriefCam module directly from its own tab within the XProtect Smart Client interface.
This minimizes the system resource draw on the CPUs and lets operators accomplish many things from a single interface, saving a great deal of valuable time.
“Before this it would take us forever to discover and share video information, and we can now do that in just minutes,” said O’Hare.
“BriefCam doesn’t replace cops on the street, but it arms them with immediate intelligence that makes them that much more effective.”
Cullen and his team also integrated a system called HawkEye Effect, which ties the Milestone VMS to the city’s existing ShotSpotter.
(Learn about ShotSpotter and take a close look at ShotSpotter’s Incident Review Center. Courtesy of ShotSpotter and YouTube.)
ShotSpotter acoustically detects gunshots, where the HawkEye Effect uses the exact coordinates and drives all positional cameras in the vicinity either to predefined escape routes or right onto the location where the shooting occurred.
Preventing incidents on-the-go
Milestone XProtect Corporate is flexible and allows the Hartford Police Department to set up temporary, pop-up command centers for major events, such as the Hartford Marathon and the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
At such public events, temporary operational centers are built around utility poles with Axis cameras. They are installed prior to the event and dismantled afterward.
During the marathon, for example, trucks with Axis Q3709 cameras are temporarily installed on their sides that provide 360-degree, high-resolution coverage.
The Milestone Mobile client adds the ability for police officers to view and capture video easily on their mobile devices, on foot or in a patrol car.
They can quickly record evidence from a crime scene or an event in-progress and transmit it back to the Crime Center, as well as view any video from the central system to get fast overview of a situation and make better decisions on the fly for optimal action.
A system that makes the city safer
Overall, Milestone XProtect Corporate VMS alongside Axis PTZ cameras and BriefCam video synopsis has worked perfectly to create a safer, more responsive city.
“It is a great hub for us and has been so reliable and quick with everything we do,” said O’Hare.
“That’s helpful when we need to get a fast license plate or catch a shooter walking down a street. Reactivity is the number one piece of the pie, and Milestone is best at it.”
Milestone Takes Home the Gold in 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program
Milestone Systems
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Best VMS IP Video Surveillance Solution
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Milestone XProtect Corporate Video Management Software
The Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program is specifically designed to honor distinguished government and vendor solutions that deliver enhanced value, benefit and intelligence to end users in a variety of government, homeland security and public safety vertical markets.
The 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program drew an overwhelming response from industry leaders with a record high number of corporate and government nominations received, as well as record breaking ‘ASTORS’ Presentation Luncheon Attendees, with top firms trying to register for the exclusive high – end luncheon and networking opportunity – right up to the event kickoff on Wednesday afternoon, at the ISC East registration!
Over 130 distinguished guests representing National, State and Local Governments, and Industry Leading Corporate Firms, gathered from across North America, Europe and the Middle East to be honored among their peers in their respective fields which included:
- The Department of Homeland Security
- The Federal Protective Service (FPS)
- Argonne National Laboratory
- The Department of Homeland Security
- The Department of Justice
- The Security Exchange Commission Office of Personnel Management
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Viasat, Hanwha Techwin, Lenel, Konica Minolta Business Solutions, Verint, Canon U.S.A., BriefCam, Pivot3, Milestone Systems, Allied Universal, Ameristar Perimeter Security and More!
The Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards is the preeminent U.S. Homeland Security Awards Program highlighting the most cutting-edge and forward-thinking security solutions coming onto the market today, to ensure our readers have the information they need to stay ahead of the competition, and keep our Nation safe – one facility, street, and city at a time.
The 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program was Proudly Sponsored by ATI Systems, Attivo Networks, Automatic Systems, Desktop Alert, and Royal Holdings Technologies.
2018 Champions Edition
See the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Champions Edition – ‘Best Products of 2018 ‘ Year in Review’ for in-depth coverage of the outstanding products and services of firms receiving American Security Today’s 2018‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards.
Nominations for the AST 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program will officially open as of January 1st, 2019 at americansecuritytoday.com.
Enter Early to Maximize Media Coverage of your Products and Services at Kickoff, and Get the Recognition Your Organization Deserves!
And be sure to Register Early for the 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Presentation Luncheon at ISC East 2019 to ensure your place at this limited- space event!
Why the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program?
American Security Today’s comprehensive Annual Homeland Security Awards Program is organized to recognize the most distinguished vendors of physical, IT, port security, law enforcement, and first responders, in acknowledgment of their outstanding efforts to ‘Keep our Nation Secure, One City at a Time.’
Why American Security Today?
American Security Today is uniquely focused on the broader Homeland Security & Public Safety marketplace with over 70,000 readers at the Federal, State and local levels of government as well as firms allied to government.
The old traditional security marketplace has been covered by a host of security publications that have changed little over many years.
American Security Today brings forward a fresh compelling look and read with our customized digital publications that provides our readers with solutions to their challenges.
Our Editorial staff provides a full plate of topics for our AST monthly digital editions, AST Website and AST Daily News Alerts.
The editorial calendar and AST’s high drawing website features 23 different Technology and Marketing Sectors such as Access Control, Perimeter Protection, Video Surveillance/Analytics, Airport Security, Border Security, CBRNE Detection, Border Security, Ports, Cybersecurity, Networking Security, Encryption, Law Enforcement, First Responders, Campus Security, Security Services, Corporate Facilities and Emergency Response among others.
These sectors are part of the new integration, where these major applications communicate with one another in a variety of solutions to protect our cities and critical infrastructure.
AST has Expanded readership into vital Critical Infrastructure audiences such as Protection of Nuclear Facilities, Water Plants & Dams, Bridges & Tunnels, and other Potential targets of terrorism.
Other areas of concern include Transportation Hubs, Public Assemblies, Government Facilities, Sporting & Concert Stadiums, our Nation’s Schools & Universities, and Commercial Business Destinations – enticing targets for extremist or lone wolf attacks due to the large number of persons and resources clustered together.
Learn More…
(Live Earth also helps Hartford’s Real-Time Crime Center perform days of investigative work in hours. Sgt. John Michael O’Hare and Stephen Biancardi describe in their own words what brought them to Live Earth and the immense value Live Earth brings to their operation. Courtesy of Live Earth and YouTube. Posted on Feb 14, 2018.)
