The installation was performed by the Long Island office of IT Savvy, a Chicago-based IT products and technology solutions provider. The new Vicon Valerus system encompasses the entire property, which includes the oldest continuously run Greek Orthodox School in the United States and the adjacent Church of Zoodohos Peghe and community centre. It includes cameras within the interior and around the exterior of all buildings and surrounding grounds, and is managed and monitored through web-based Valerus VMS software, making it accessible to school administrators both onsite and to those logging in remotely via an internet browser. The Valerus interface provides customised views for each system user. Based upon log-in credentials, cameras that are of greatest interest to each administrator are displayed as part of their default settings.

IT Savvy worked with GAI to identify camera placement to maximize coverage of all indoor and outdoor publicly accessible areas, selecting high resolution Vicon cameras models that could deliver clear visibility in a cost-effective manner. The use of 360 degree hemispheric cameras, in select locations, provide expansive coverage with no blind spots in busy areas where students often congregate. The new systems satisfies parents’ requests to provide enhanced security for the children who attend the school, and provides administrators with tools to investigate and prosecute any future criminal activity.

Demos Lorenzos, President of GAI’s School Board, says, “The Valerus system is simple to use but very advanced. Someone who isn’t technically savvy can easily navigate through it.” Bret McGowan, Vicon’s Senior V.P. of Sales and Marketing says that the system was designed with specifically that intent. “Schools and Places of Worship have been the scene of too many tragedies in recent years. Our Valerus system is designed to provide these types of facilities with sophisticated security solutions that are easy for non-technical administrators to use to their full capabilities.”