Leverage Leads Wireless Video Surveillance Solution for Los Angeles County Sheriff's...

Leverage Leads Wireless Video Surveillance Solution for Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department's ASAP Program
Video surveillance solution increases officer effectiveness and safety while
addressing area crime and gang violence

WOODINVILLE, Wash., June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- At Century Station in Lynwood,
Calif., a new member has joined the force of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department (LASD). A wireless video surveillance system is now working the
beat as a force multiplier, thanks in large part to Leverage Information
Systems, a systems integrator and "Enterprise Surveillance" solutions
provider. Leverage worked quickly to design and deploy a wireless video
surveillance system to help safeguard this community of 300,000 plus
residents. The results are noticeable: deputy response time has decreased and
potential retaliatory gang incidents have been interrupted.
"Wireless video surveillance is changing the way we serve and protect the
community," said Capt. James Hellmold of Los Angeles County Century Sheriff's
Station. "It is a very effective force multiplier and officer safety tool. The
quality of video is truly evidence-grade, which will serve us well not only to
deter crime, but to help our district attorneys prosecute crime."
Century Station has twice the national average of violent crime due to
frequent incidents of gang violence, illicit drug activity, and prostitution.
As part of the Advanced Surveillance and Protection (ASAP) program, the video
surveillance system will provide the community of Lynwood, Calif. additional
tools to proactively address criminal activity.
Leverage responds to a community in need
To reduce crime in their community and to improve deputy safety, the
Century Sheriff's Station concluded that various crime-fighting technologies
would be an integral part of the ASAP program. In addition to deploying
state-of-the-art Gunshot Detection and Automatic License Plate Recognition
(ALPR) solutions, the ASAP team required a wireless video surveillance system
as part of their holistic approach to enhance their crime-fighting efforts. In
working with the Sheriff's department, Firetide Inc., a leading developer of
wireless mesh and access networks, recommended Leverage as a proven solutions
integrator.
"We were pleased to be part of such a successful deployment," said Ray
Leblond, Leverage's Surveillance Practice Business Development Manager. "It
was personally rewarding to see the results in such a short time."
Leverage's efforts help LASD realize immediate results. Video cameras
located in targeted locations at hospitals, intersections, and the Century
Sheriff Station capture events live and feed real-time images directly to its
newly implemented 9-1-1 dispatch command center. Dispatchers can now
proactively inform deputies of potential incidents, or crimes in progress,
which have already shortened response times to often-repeated gang incidents
from 20 to two minutes. In addition, responding deputies gain critical
information prior to their arrival, which increases their safety.
A winning combination
Safe Cities Foundation, a local nonprofit organization, facilitated the
donation of products and services from some of the leading manufacturers and
distributors in the nation, including Firetide, Belkin International and Best
Buy. With their assistance and coordination, the Leverage team was able to
design, build, and deploy a winning solution within just three weeks. As a
direct result of this solution, Century Station deputies have already made
several arrests, including an incident after a drug deal was spotted in
progress in a park next to a neighborhood school. This immediate success has
received attention from many of the department's 40 contract cities and
unincorporated districts, who are already working to develop strategies to
deploy ASAP or some of its components within their communities.
The video surveillance system will soon include the wireless transmission
of ALPR data. This data can be run immediately against local and national law
enforcement databases to check for stolen or wanted vehicles. Upon positive
"hit" or alarm notification, area cameras can be configured to pan to a
designated position to capture vehicle behavior. Clear night-time video makes
sure that this crime fighting resource will be available 24/7.
Not just deploying cameras
Innovative technology is not new to law enforcement agencies. As the Los
Angeles County Sheriff's ASAP Team has found, this surveillance system has
become an integral part of their daily public safety efforts. As a result,
reliability and availability cannot be compromised. This "server-less"
enterprise surveillance solution has been successfully deployed in other area
law enforcement jurisdictions. "This deployment is the same proven solution
used by other innovative law enforcement agencies like Santa Monica Police
Department and Redlands Police Department," Ray Leblond added.
About Leverage Information Systems
Leverage designs reliable and scalable surveillance solutions to meet the
increasing demands to improve public safety. They understand the importance of
maximizing existing infrastructure while planning to meet future system
requirements. Leverage is also an industry leader for complete Unified
Communications, networking solutions, structured cabling, network storage,
wireless infrastructure, and information security (INFOSEC) through
engineering, operations, and maintenance management across all of our customer
verticals. With our broad clientele, ranging from Federal government and
public sector customers to Healthcare, Education and Small-Medium Businesses,
Leverage Information Systems serves clients throughout the United States,
Europe, and the Pacific Theatre. http://www.leverageis.com.
SOURCE Leverage Information Systems

Mark Domangue of Leverage Information Systems, +1-909-427-0747,
markd@leverageis.com