Liberty-Eylau Independent School District (LEISD) has been serving communities in northeast Texas since 1886. With more than 2,700 K-12 students across six schools, the district turned to D-Link in 2013 to implement IP cameras, PoE switches, access control, and storage solutions to enable a safer learning environment. After reviewing bids from multiple providers, LEISD selected and installed D-Link’s scalable end-to-end surveillance solution to help keep an eye on schools – an investment that paid off days later when a vandal was caught by D-Link Indoor Day and Night Dome IP Cameras.
“The D-Link surveillance system was online on a Friday and that Sunday evening, we had vandals break in and tear up a Coke machine,” said Matt Fry, media coordinator, LEISD. “Fortunately, one of the guys walked straight under a camera in the dark. Due to the image clarity, we were able to capture a good shot of his face and an identifying scar on the back of his head and he was caught immediately. Had the incident happened the weekend before, we would not have had a camera at that location and we wouldn’t have seen him.”
Working with local technology integrator CMC Network Solutions and D-Link, the district replaced its older analog camera solution with a 240-camera security system that included a mix of D-Link IP indoor and outdoor cameras (most offering Full HD 2 megapixel resolution), as well as D-Link switches, SAN Storage, Video Insight video management software (VMS), dedicated VMS servers, and access control solutions for tighter security at doors and entry points. CMC Network Solutions hosts all the traffic on a separate VPN network that doesn’t conflict with the district’s existing data network traffic.
“We needed high-resolution digital cameras that provided clear, accurate pictures, but we also wanted a scalable solution that integrated well with our new electronic door entry system,” said Fry. “Plus, we wanted mobile monitoring capability, excellent support from the manufacturer and most of all, an affordable solution that would give us the large number of cameras we needed for the coverage we wanted.”
With the D-Link solution’s centralized management, each campus can keep a watchful eye on its own facility, while administrators at the district office can view video from all six campuses at the same time. The new solution also allows local police officers to access video from their phones or tablets and see what’s happening on campus. “One time an officer called because he noticed lights on in the gym after hours. Even though I was out of town, I was able to pull up video images on my smart phone and see for myself, so I could address the situation,” continued Fry.
The district is planning to add a few more IP cameras to provide extra visibility and features including zoom capabilities on a few additional areas, such as entry gates.
“This was a huge purchase for our school district, and since we’re using taxpayer dollars, we take that very seriously,” said Fry. “We’ve been really pleased knowing that we've made the best possible use of those dollars by going with solutions from D-Link.”
