The city of Mennecy lies to the south-east of Paris, and has a population of around 14,500, and it’s Mayor – Jean-Phillipe Dugoin-Clément – wanted to take steps to make his city safer, both for these residents and visitors. 

Combatting crime and anti-social behaviour

They had already identified areas where crime was more likely to happen and needed to make these more secure. They also wanted to make local festivals more secure. With new measures to monitor these issues, the aim was to detect any suspicious behaviour and allow these incidents to be flagged with the Police department, who could then intervene. Although, of course, these measures could help combat more serious crime like assaults, they were also instrumental in reducing ‘community crimes’ like urinating in public.

The installation team put in 78 cameras around areas that they see as strategic - schools, shopping malls and train stations. They chose network IR speed dome (DS-2DF8836) in the Smart IP series because these cameras are designed to provide effective images both day and night, using Darkfighter technology to 0.002 lux. They also put ANPR (DS-2CD4626FWD-IZH/P, DS-2CD4A26FWD-IZH/P) cameras on major roads to curb speeding, using new AI innovation to improve the system. This meant that the city could process speeding tickets, and essentially led to a reduction in speeding on those main roads. Finally, the solution was brought together and managed using IVMS 4200 and a video wall in the city monitoring centre.

Quantifiable results

According to Hikvision, the results were impressive. They saw a drop in incidents in the areas where the cameras were installed. In those places, delinquency was reduced or even removed altogether. The images from the cameras also make policing easier and provides them with good quality images if they need to put together a case.

Dominique Ancher, Director of Ibson, says: “The return on investment was excellent. The city saw fewer complaints, and we see that people were much more relaxed and happier because of the drop in crime rates, but also because of the peace of mind that the cameras give.”

The City of Mennecy plans to ramp up the coverage through the city, installing 200 cameras within five years. This is the first stage of a plan to set up a new urban supervisory centre to establish live management of camera streams throughout the city, providing a crucial resource for the Police and other organisations. They will be able to do this using Hikvision technologies, like Darkfighter X and Rapid Focus.

Securing a whole city is a massive undertaking, but  he it becomes quite clear that by tackling the key areas which have typically higher crime rates, a surveillance solution can do wonders for the local community.