After five years of evaluating several internet protocol (IP) camera management software systems, the Board of Trustees for Mission CISD chose American Surveillance Company Inc. to assist with camera installations and a Milestone system configuration for a number of the school campuses. In 2011 they approved a $1.7 million Safety and Security Initiative to continue rolling it out in all locations.

In 2013, Mission CISD created a command centre manned by certified technicians who maintain the cameras and ensure the servers are fully operational. Arecont Vision megapixel video cameras include 180 and 360-degree panoramic options and audio-enabled models, with motion detection, day/night functionality, vandal-resistant housings and remote focus/zoom.

As of early 2015 Mission CISD operated more than 600 IP cameras and 260 analog cameras, with encoders to convert analogue video to digital. There is a dedicated server at each campus, with multiple servers in select locations. Perimeters are protected around each campus, and cameras are deployed at points of entry in school gymnasiums, cafeterias, libraries, hallways and playgrounds.

Mission CISD covers 41 square miles along the U.S.-Mexico border. It serves almost 16,000 students in four high schools, four junior high schools, 14 elementary schools and two special-needs schools, and includes administrative offices and several other departments. The district is supported by the Maintenance, Child Nutrition, Transportation, Warehouse and Technology Departments.

Rene Flores is the Security Management Coordinator at Mission CISD. An important criteria for Mission CISD was to accommodate an expanding school district.  “The Milestone open platform lets us easily add to and manage our system. It’s both adaptive and very user friendly, which means we can add users when we need to with minimal training,” reports Rene Flores. “We’re building a new college learning centre for the incoming school year, and we’re remodeling an old high school and adding on to several other facilities. These will require new cameras and I want to get it right from the beginning. Using Milestone ensures that we have the infrastructure and software necessary to grow in a way that makes the most sense for our district.”

Jaime Escobedo is President and CEO of American Surveillance Company Inc. He says, “Mission CISD has a complete field of view 100 percent of the time, with an important digital zoom capability for investigation needs. With one Arecont Vision camera, Mission CISD can now cover the same area as six or seven analogue cameras used to. The resolution of the video now is so high that you can easily see all the details to help resolve disputes or handle situations both live and after the fact.”

“Milestone Federated Architecture is a critical tool,” Flores adds. “I can pull up the feed from any campus to see what’s happening anytime, or troubleshoot a problem with a camera or a server - all from one convenient location.”

The integrated map features lets Flores quickly toggle between different security points. In addition, he has Milestone Mobile activated on his phone so he can log in remotely.

“Most of the principals have Milestone Mobile on their laptops and have already asked to have it on their phones or Ipads for the coming year. They’re usually walking around their campus, checking in on different buildings so they want to be able to monitor security wherever they are, whether they’re in their office or not,” says Flores

Mission CISD covers the Mission, Palmhurst, Alton and McAllen police departments. Milestone allows Mission CISD to work seamlessly with the different police departments to assist them with investigations.

“Sometimes the police will contact us for access to videos for a case they’re working on,” Flores says. “They give us a date, timeframe and a brief idea of what they’re looking for. We can drop the video into their desktop and the files are exported with a viewer. It’s that easy.”