Local Italian Police Department Reduces Park Crime by 80% with AI-enabled i-PRO Cameras
The Gardone Val Trompia Police Department in Lombardy, Italy, has chosen i-PRO multi-sensor security cameras with advanced, AI-based analytics. The result: the local Italian Police Department successfully reduces park crime by 80%, ensuring a safer environment for city residents and visitors in this popular community park.
- Client
- Gardone Val Trompia Police
- Region
- EMEA
- Location
- Italy
- Solution category
The Customer
The picturesque mountain community of Gardone Val Trompia lies in the heart of Lombardy, Italy. Surrounded by lush pre-Alpine landscapes and ancient forests, the city of 11,200 is a popular venue for winter and summer sports.
Mella Park is a green space located in the central area of Gardone, between the provincial road and a large residential complex. Including a playground and a bar/restaurant that is open day and night for events and gatherings, it’s a vibrant meeting place for residents of Gardone and nearby communities. The Park is particularly lively in the summer, when the city organizes events, sporting activities, and small concerts there that bring the community together. Keeping the park safe for everyone to enjoy is one of the Gardone Police Command’s top priorities.
The Challenge
Like many public spaces, Mella Park saw its share of minor criminal activity -- brawls, property damage, theft, and robberies. Gardone Police Chief Commissioner Patrizio Tosoni sought to give police officers greater visibility across the park, and improve their response time to any incidents. But the few surveillance cameras they had in place didn’t give them the data they needed to make meaningful improvements.
"The presence of only four outdated and nearly unusable cameras in the park translated into longer investigations and a less timely response to reports for us,” said Tosoni.
Gardone Police Chief Commissioner Patrizio Tosoni
In addition to managing the Gardone Val Trompia local police, Tosoni is also in charge of the Intercommunal Valle Trompia Corps, which unites the Local Police forces of six municipalities. He looked to the city’s long-time integration partner, Suardi Srl, for guidance on improving security in Mella Park with newer technology that could replace their aging cameras.
Suardi Srl President Claudio Sasso explained, “The multi-sensor devices we needed had to be extremely easy to install on relatively tall poles, offer the best resolution available, be robust, and easily integrate with systems already present in other neighboring municipalities also managed by Commander Tosoni.”
Suardi and Tosoni had also identified artificial intelligence (AI) as a key capability for their new cameras, to enable analysis of people and vehicles. Said Sasso, “Given these requirements, i-PRO cameras were our immediate recommendation. They’re a company with which we have been collaborating for years with a high degree of satisfaction."
The Solution
The security modernization project for Mella Park included i-PRO cameras, model WV-S8574L, with four lenses of 8MP each, and i-PRO cameras, model WV-S8573L, with three lenses of 8MP each. The cameras are currently the most advanced multi-sensor security devices available that also include deep learning intelligence, providing the Gardone Val Trompia police with essential support for monitoring and investigative activities.
Tosoni said, "Since updating the park's video surveillance system in May things have significantly improved. Today, just a few months after implementing the i-PRO camera system, we have seen an 80% reduction in crimes within Mella Park. We're only getting started."
High resolution and AI-enabled analytics detect objects across vast areas
Characterized by powerful pre-installed and customizable AI analytical applications with third-party analysis tools, the new S series of i-PRO cameras with wide-ranging and 4K resolution capabilities are the flagship products of the Japanese multinational company.
Designed to provide exceptionally detailed image acquisition for a 180° to 360° view in various installation environments, they have the slimmest design available and integrate an AI processor for deep learning analysis, enabling truly proactive video surveillance. All models have a superior tilt degree and IR LED lighting for image acquisition in very dark environments. The i-PRO devices' ability to autonomously detect and differentiate objects in vast areas allows surveillance personnel to focus on real areas of interest, effectively improving productivity and overall security.
An open platform enables easy integration of fast-developing technology
In line with i-PRO's strategy based on the concept of 'open' AI, the software development kit (SDK) for the i-PRO cameras streamlines integration of third-party applications. i-PRO Active Guard software is the foundation of a new AI-based strategy that can revolutionize how security personnel conduct real-time and post-event research. It enables people, vehicle, and license plate searches with quality filters including 98 analysis attributes (AI Face Detection, AI People Detection, AI Vehicle Detection, attributes which collect metadata based on attributes only) -- the highest number of search attributes in the industry.
As the i-PRO S-Series cameras integrate seamlessly into the Milestone XProtect Professional+ video management system interface via Active Guard, the Gardone Val Trompia Police Command are able to centrally manage, monitor, analyze, and record real-time video streams from the installed devices. The cameras also enable post-event searching within seconds.
Protecting privacy while improving security
The new video surveillance system in Mella Park also includes applications that provide important feedback to police without infringing on citizens' privacy. 90% of the i-PRO cameras deployed in Mella Park utilize edge-based analytics running on the camera itself. One such analytic is i-PRO AI Video Motion Detection, which generates notifications during nighttime hours to generate notifications of the presence of people or vehicles in the areas under surveillance in the park. These notifications do not collect sensitive metadata but alert the operator to possible issues, ensuring a prompt response from law enforcement.
The cameras’ advanced analytics and high resolution reduced dramatically the instance of false alarms common with legacy, non-IP cameras. Suardi’s Sasso explained, “After several days of monitoring events, we observed results close to perfection in generating notifications only when there was an actual presence of individuals, rather than due to external factors such as rain or wind, which often mislead normal analysis systems.”
Suardi’s Sasso
Some of the cameras at Mella Park utilize other analysis functions, such as vehicle counting for traffic analysis purposes or people counting for statistical purposes. The camera’s Vehicle Detection app sends generic vehicle attributes (type, color, direction) directly to the department’s Milestone XProtect VMS via i-PRO’s Active Guard application. This enables operators to perform forensic image search. In the future, by adding i-PRO cameras to expand the system without modifying the existing management and recording interface, similar needs can be addressed in other municipalities within the territory under Commander Tosoni's command. “This will enable officers to be faster and more dynamic in monitoring and investigative activities throughout the area without changing their operational logic,” Sasso said.
Gardone law enforcement is also looking ahead to other ways they can leverage the AI capabilities of the i-PRO cameras to streamline operations and improve public safety. Rapid and detailed statistical and predictive analyses, optimized resource allocation to critical areas, coordinated coverage of the territory, and more efficient investigations with a decisive acceleration are some of the activities officers can manage in real-time from the central control room.
Delivering results and peace of mind through intelligent surveillance
To date, about forty public parks across Lombardy have been equipped with multi-sensor video surveillance systems from i-PRO by Suardi on behalf of municipal administrations. This is a testament to the benefits that cutting-edge technologies can bring not only to authorities but, above all, to the community.
In these areas more than 180 i-PRO monitoring devices have been installed within 18 months -- 115 outdoor multi-sensor and multidirectional cameras with AI analytics, and approximately 70 high-resolution bullet cameras from the i-PRO S series, also equipped with AI technologies.
"We are very proud and satisfied with this investment in our local reality,” said Tosoni. “The system we have installed in Mella Park is visible to all, and the public's perception has been very positive. Intelligent video surveillance has established a tangible sense of security immediately perceived by residents and citizens.”
"This monitoring and active prevention system seems to be rapidly contributing to deterring illicit behaviors. Looking to the near future, our intention is to extend the system's coverage to additional areas, with particular attention to the historic center of Gardone Val Trompia, which is currently less monitored, to ensure continuous surveillance and instill a greater sense of serenity in our community,” he concluded.