The Allé school in Denmark was one of the most affected schools in its community, the Fredericia local authority district. And because of this, Dallmeier and its partner SCANVIEW A/S installed a modern CCTV monitoring system which has paid for itself in its first year, according to the company.

Originally the equipment was installed with the aim of protecting against break-ins and vandalism, and so reducing the cost of damage caused. All the monitored schools exhibited a clear reduction in thefts and vandalism. Now that the system has been in service for a while both the teachers and a majority of all pupils can't imagine being without it.

Just the physical presence of a surveillance camera reduces theft, vandalism and violence to a much lower level. In conversations with the school managers it was found that the teachers as well as the caretakers and the cleaning staff feel considerably safer since its installation. One cleaner who is sometimes on site from 4am commented, "Of course we know that if someone attacks us the surveillance cameras do not provide immediate assistance, but the Dallmeier CCTV system nevertheless gives us a feeling of security and protection."

And this feeling is also expressed in the figures. Immediately following the system's installation damage caused by break-ins sank to zero.

According to the individual needs of each education facility Dallmeier offers different recorders. All devices are high-resolution digital recording systems where the connection with external data sources and/or higher-level management systems is possible. Motion detection for the camera inputs is built-in. For easy installation and maintenance the devices have a removable BNC terminal board and LCD servicing and status indicators. Extensive monitoring features (dynamic fan control, external and internal temperature monitoring, voltage monitoring, etc.) ensure high operational stability and durability.

The SmartFinder, an intelligent search system for motion in the picture, enables fast and efficient analysis of the recorded data in predefined picture areas. The SEDOR technology ensures additional protection through automatic camera sabotage recognition (de-focusing, redirecting, masking and spraying).

Furthermore Dallmeier is offering vandal-resistant dome cameras (e.g. the DDF3000AV or the IP dome camera DDF3000IPV), allowing the surveillance of particularly vulnerable areas. Thanks to the innovative Cam_inPIX technology the high-resolution Dallmeier colour cameras provide clear, high-contrast and colour-true pictures without any blooming or smearing even in the most difficult lighting conditions.

PView Software provides a practical management tool for one or more Dallmeier recorders.

Data protection regulations are not breached by monitoring schools. Only the school exterior is monitored (playground, sports grounds etc.), and in any case the cameras can be turned off during the school day. Some cameras such as those monitoring the bicycle stands are set to record continuously. If no theft is reported the data are automatically over-written after a specified period (e.g. two days if that is what the customer chooses).

Rights for viewing the pictures are allocated according to the pre-determined user profile. For example the on-site operator, perhaps the teacher responsible for security, has the right to view the recordings and if necessary copy footage to a DVD. This access authorisation can also be set up to require that two people each enter their own password. This ensures that recordings can then only be viewed in the presence of, say, the head teacher or the pupil representative. Any criminal prosecution which follows is handled by the police.

In Denmark the local authorities footed 50 percent of the overall project cost, with the remainder being carried by the individual schools. In every case the system paid for itself in 15 months or less. According to Torsten Ussing, SCANVIEW's MD and the local project manager, the systems in small schools paid for themselves after only 8 months. "We were all surprised by the more than significant decline in vandalism, break-ins and violence among the pupils. And in addition there were no more trespassers in the school yard. Of course CCTV monitoring cannot replace preventative measures for reducing violence but they can be a sensible and successful addition"

Because of this positive outcome other local authorities have expressed interest and plans are in train for the installation of further CCTV monitoring solutions in other schools.