New Orleans improves public safety with a unified security platform
New Orleans is the most populous city in the state of Louisiana, United States. The city uses the Security Center unified platform to manage both video and automatic license plate recognition cameras, helping to boost efficiency and keep residents and visitors safe.
The company
With about 400,000 residents, New Orleans (NOLA) is the most populous city in Louisiana, United States. The city is world-renowned for its jazz music, Creole and Cajun cuisines, and lively festivals like Mardi Gras. During this annual celebration, 1.2 million visitors flock into the city’s famous French Quarter district, creating an even bigger stir in the bustling community. Like other big cities, NOLA is focused on enhancing public safety. As the good times carry on throughout the year, several city agencies work together to keep urban life efficient and safe.
The challenge
While the city did use a public safety camera system to reinforce citywide security, the technology was outdated, and the coverage was limited. After two shootings garnered national attention, the Mayor decided it was time for the city to undergo a Citywide Public Safety Improvement Plan. The $40-million project encompassed many initiatives including the deployment of a new citywide public safety system and the construction of the Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC). The New Orleans Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (NOHSEP) agency was tasked to manage RTCC operations, using the new technology to support all city agencies.
The solution
Speedy real-time response
Information from 911 calls get sent to the RTCC and nearby cameras automatically come up on the video wall. An operator can then gather more information and check for any related footage.
Better community collaboration
Businesses can share access to video cameras with the RTCC. This is enabled by the Federation feature which gives the team the ability to manage multiple independent Genetec systems as one.
Intuitive security platform
In 70% of cases, the team was able to provide detectives with relevant video and information that saved time during investigations. “Security Center is point-blank easy-to-use,” said Brown.
Maximizing city investments
The NOHSEP team has also shared video feeds with other departments such as the Sewage and Water Board, so they can determine the rate at which an intersection floods.
“We have essentially saved the department over 2000 hours of manual labour in physically collecting and storing video evidence. The ROI is there for us in terms of the efficiency.”
George Barlow Brown, IT Manager, New Orleans Real Time Crime Center
Results
Using the Security Center unified platform, the team can now easily retrieve evidence from over 325 video cameras and 100 automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras from the RTCC. The new security platform is integrated with other public safety solutions such as a Briefcam analytics system and a computer-assisted dispatch (CAD) system. All this information gets routed through to a central command center, speeding up emergency response.
Using the Federation™ feature, the NOHSEP team can access video from participating companies’ systems, without disturbing owners or customers. This helps them boost the efficiency of public safety teams and forge partnerships with the community to enhance safety. “There’s more time for officers to respond to calls of service and be present in our many neighborhoods, which helps build community confidence,” said Brown.