Oregon District Deploys Surveillance Network

• By Scott Aronowitz
• 10/05/09

Canby School District of Canby, OR has deployed an IP-based video surveillance network across several of its campuses. The system was installed by integrator Technocom and supports 48 JVC fixed mini-dome and brick-style cameras, as well as four network video recorders (NVRs) at nine facility sites, including six elementary schools, a middle and high school, and the district business office.

Canby High, the district's sole high school, has deployed 32 cameras on its five-building campus. They are all triggered by motion detection and record automatically to one of two 16-channel VR-N1600U NVRs. There also eight cameras and an NVR at Ackerman Middle School, and eight more cameras divided between the elementary schools and district office, which houses the fourth NVR.

"We chose the JVC cameras based upon their great picture quality and reputation for reliable operation, especially in low-light and extreme weather conditions," said Joe Morelock, IT director for the Canby School District. "Other compelling features included Web-based setup and access, and a JVC app enabling monitoring on an Apple iPhone."

CSD already had in place a fiber optic-supported virtual local area network (VLAN), which allows users to view stored and real-time video without interrupting regular enterprise traffic. This allows administrators to handle surveillance and respond immediately to a security problem, as well as to review potential security breaches, captured by the cameras as they occur, at day's end.

"School security has become an extremely important issue and trend," Morelock explained. "The closed-circuit security system was funded as part of a bond issue that voters approved for the construction and renovation of Canby's public schools. The mere presence of these cameras acts as a deterrent as well as an investigative tool that is already serving to keep our schools safer."