Increasing visitor safety with cloud surveillance
The South Grand Community Improvement District (CID) is a political subdivision in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. The CID secures a 90-vehicle parking lot using Security Center hosted which gives them video access from anywhere, at any time.
The company
The South Grand Community Improvement District (CID) is a political subdivision in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. The South Grand CID was organized under state legislation in 2001 to enhance public safety, maintenance, building improvements, and economic development beyond the services supplied by the city. The CID is managed by a board of directors comprised of unpaid volunteers—all of whom are assessment-paying property owners and/or business owners within the district.
The challenge
One of the services offered by the South Grand CID is free parking. At any time of the day, drivers can park in a central 90-vehicle lot to visit businesses or residents. While this lot has always been convenient and safe, license plate theft was troubling nearby areas. To deter license plate theft in their own community, the South Grand CID board decided to add video surveillance to the lot. They also wanted to provide video access to the local police department to help reinforce security. One challenge persisted—the lot’s location made it difficult to extend reliable network connectivity to cameras.
The solution
Finding evidence quickly
“I can narrow down my search based on dates and time and watch the event unfold with all camera feeds up on the monitor. It’s really that simple,” said Witt.
Sharing video with police
The South Grand CID has given video access to local police. This means that when a crime is reported in the district, officers can conduct investigations without leaving their desks.
An affordable video solution
Everything from installation to software and hardware are bundled into a low quarterly subscription fee, which fits into the CID’s annual budget.
Open to change
“Technology evolves so quickly and can become obsolete in a matter of years. After the contract, we have the freedom to change things up or upgrade our cameras,” said Witt.
“Using the cloud video system, I was able to find and view the video in seconds. With the addition of Security Center hosted, we’re able to show everyone that we have strengthened the security in our community.”
Rachel Witt, Executive Director, South Grand CID
Results
Today, the South Grand CID secures their parking lot using Security Center hosted. With this cloud-based video monitoring system, Rachel Witt, Executive Director at South Grand CID, can easily view video from anywhere, at any time. To ensure a reliable connection to the surveillance cameras, the security advisor, Secure View, set up a secondary wireless network which loops back to the district’s main office network.
Only two weeks after installing the Security Center hosted video monitoring system to secure the parking lot, a visitor reported that their license plates had been stolen. “The visitor provided a description of the car, and a timeframe in which the incident likely happened. Using the Security Center hosted system, I could clearly see the suspect enter the lot, remove the plates and leave in his own car,” said Witt.