With the successful project launch on 18 January 2013, the diamond city of Surat in Gujarat will benefit from a state-of-the-art 24x7 video surveillance and security command centre.

“There is a need to enhance the safety and security of Surat City based on its large population and concentration of key industries, such as diamond, textile, engineering, and oil and gas,” says Mr. Rakesh Asthana, Police Commissioner, Surat City. “The Surat Safe City Project is an investment designed to help ensure the safety of our people and bring a greater awareness of security amongst our citizens. This project of the government of Gujarat has been executed successfully as a public partnership by the Surat Police Commissionerate,” along with Surat Traffic Education Trust, Innovative Telecom and Verint as a technology partner.

The initial phase of the Surat Safe City Project consisted of 100+ closed circuit television cameras covering all major traffic junctions along with critical entry and exit points in the city. In subsequent phases, the Surat City Police Department and Surat Traffic Education Trust plan to extend the coverage in the city, which has a population of approximately 4,500,000 by integrating the project with the proposed state government surveillance and command centre network in Gandhinagar. The city administration plans to increase the number of surveillance locations to 5,000 by the end of the project implementation.

At the heart of the project is the deployment of a state-of-the-art command, control and communications centre with a 280 square foot “video wall” that can centrally monitor, aggregate and analyse multiple surveillance feeds in police headquarters to support the proactive physical security management of the city. The centre includes a city mapping capability that provides reports on physical security and fire alarm and water levels, along with evacuation and disaster recovery plans.

“We are honoured to be part of the Surat Safe City Project, which is designed to provide a more secure environment for citizens,” says Manish Shah, VP South East Asia, Verint. “Verint solutions help public safety organisations meet a range of modern challenges, from evolving communications media to homeland security concerns, and in doing so, help improve performance and protect people, property and assets.”

The task of implementing a state-of-the-art command, control and communications centre was successfully executed by Surat Traffic Education Trust in partnership with the Surat City Police Department. To support its focus, it invested in Verint’s Nextiva video management software and Nextiva physical security information management solutions in September 2012, taking the technology live last month as part of the overall Surat Safe City Project rollout. According to the organisations, these capabilities serve as critical components of the city’s overall command centre plan that’s focused on proactive approaches to help identify, analyse and take action on security and criminal threats.

“Surat City is a commercial hub for India’s diamond and textile markets. As such, the city is a high-security risk area for potential theft and crime. To help proactively identify and neutralise such threats, the city administration and police department initiated the Safe City Project to increase awareness and security amongst the people and help ensure 24x7 surveillance,” adds Mr. Mihir Chahwala, Director, Innovative Telecom & Software Pvt Ltd., a leading security solutions company based in Western India, and a Verint partner.