Large Shopping Center in Loudoun County Adds Upgraded Video System in Guest Amenities

Surveillance Secure is proud to have helped a large indoor shopping mall in Loudoun County Virginia with their surveillance system.

With over 1 million square feet and many shopping, dining, and entertainment choices, this sizeable indoor mall needed upgraded video security systems to ensure the safety of both their guests and their numerous amenities.

This shopping mall’s management knew that in order to provide the best experience for their guests, they needed to have effective surveillance in place. That’s where Surveillance Secure was able to step in and help.

Identifying the Client’s Security Needs

In order to provide the most enjoyable environment for their guests, this mall’s security team needed a new video surveillance system and security operations center. Surveillance Secure was able to deliver their new system seamlessly and with minimal disruption to their guests.

Surveillance Secure President Kim Hartman and Vice President Will Biggerman agree that the effort of over nearly a year of planning, design, coordination, and implementation could only have been completed by working closely with mall management and all the various partners engaged in the effort.

Kim remembers, “At the beginning, we knew there was a need for enhanced video images as well as better coverage in areas previously underserved. We also identified the need for a much greater ability on the part of both the security department and management to easily and quickly access video images for any purpose, including investigations.”

The Surveillance Secure team knew that management needed to easily access video in real time and remote playback when necessary. Fortunately, mall management was able to be an integral part of the guidance process for both their IT infrastructure to support the surveillance system and the needs for this particular project.

Features of Their New Security System

At the mall, the Security Operations Center houses the entire security system and facility monitoring devices in order to provide continuous information about the status of the mall’s systems.

Surveillance Secure worked to deploy 60 security cameras in both the interior and exterior of the building. These cameras ranged from fixed and pan to tilt and zoom lenses and views. In addition, three wall-mounted monitors display different sections of the mall from multiple angles.

Security personnel also has the ability to group cameras by area, such as the food court, or by function, such as loading docks or different types of stores.

Identifying the location of all cameras at a glance is essential, so the Surveillance Secure team worked to create a graphical display map of each level of the mall with each camera’s location.

This process—known as Pick-a-Point—allows each individual camera to be highlighted on the map. Security personnel can immediately bring the view from the camera up, which accelerates the process of viewing a specific area for observation or incidents.

One of the mall’s security officers notes, “It’s great to be able to just click on a camera to get the view you want. The clarity of the picture is amazing. The ability to choose both the upper and lower levels and to group sets of cameras is extremely useful.”

The Impact of Upgrading

The Security Director of the mall knew how essential surveillance was to augment their security practices.

“The surveillance system is the backbone of our program,” he shares. “The IT and network infrastructure must be in place to support the hardware; otherwise, you’ll get slow pictures and playback.  That could hinder the effectiveness of our investigative effort, especially when we need to provide information to law enforcement.  The Client’s IT Site Manager and Kim made sure we had what was needed.”

With their upgraded security systems and integrated IT infrastructure, this director says that the mall could be used as a shelter facility in a community emergency. The system will also be invaluable when it comes to handling and directing an unusual number of people for a non-traditional use of the mall.

“Surveillance Secure has been there throughout the entire process to ensure we’re prepared to fully utilize the system.  This is a great tool for our facility and guests!”

Surveillance Secure is pleased to have helped this shopping mall provide the best to its guests to ensure repeated visits.