Leverage Leads Wireless Video Surveillance Solution for Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's ASAP Program

June 6, 2008

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

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