Video surveillance is a critical tool in protecting the K-12 community. According to the National Center for Education Statistics “Safety and Security Practices at Public Schools” report, published in 2022, 97% of public schools surveyed in 2019-2020 are using security cameras. A 30% increase from 2009-2010.
The challenge for the K-12 sector continues to be how to support the safety of staff, students, and visitors through monitoring solutions, protecting facilities from vandalism and providing protection from incidents. While education providers want to upgrade their surveillance systems, the total cost of ownership and prior investments in their existing infrastructure is an obstacle to overcome.
i-PRO understands the problems school districts face. For this reason, we continue to design new technologies with feedback from K-12 school administrators in order to meet their unique needs. If you are looking to optimize your surveillance cameras and advance your K-12 security systems from reactive to proactive, here are four ways i-PRO can help:
- Increase Situational Awareness
In critical situations, speed saves lives. By implementing industry-leading edge AI cameras and robust video management systems (VMS), schools can increase situational awareness to adapt to various scenarios and trigger alerts. i-PRO’s new S-series cameras include built-in advanced AI processing that transforms the camera into an edge-computing device to improve surveillance operations. S-series cameras use an AI processor which enables on-board analytics to identify various elements, such as faces, people and cars.
With i-PRO’s S-series cameras and deep learning technology, the new i-PRO Active Guard plug-in brings powerful search functionality to the VMS. School safety personnel can proactively conduct searches based on specific attributes and quickly locate a person of interest. For example, you can search for a specific individual wearing a red shirt and blue ball cap and relay real-time information to your school’s safety personnel. This enhances real-time situational awareness and enables proactive security. The same process can be set up for fast data mining of events during investigations.
- Lower Total Cost of Ownership
One of the greatest cost challenges facing many educational providers stems from their prior investments in security-based hardware, software and infrastructure. School administrators list the total cost of ownership as a critical consideration when upgrading their security surveillance systems. Schools can advance their existing systems with i-PRO’s seamless solutions. Every i-PRO camera is bundled with a Video Insight VMS camera license. This means there are no annual licensing fees to maintain the security system — giving school administrators flexibility to invest in other security aspects.
i-PRO’s Video Insight VMS is a complete open-platform solution that integrates with over 4,000 camera models from more than 150 manufacturers.
- Enable a Safe Environment
While video cameras are necessary to mitigate risks in the education sector, it is essential that surveillance cameras blend in seamlessly to enable a safe learning environment. Districts can opt for i-PRO’s powerful, discreet cameras to secure their schools.
In high-traffic areas, such as cafeterias, hallways, stairwells, and parking lots, i-PRO’s multi-sensor camera is the perfect solution to help schools save money and enable a safe environment. Our multi-senor cameras feature the world’s thinnest profile design and include robust edge AI analytics, 4K resolution and FIPS 140-2 Level 3 encryption. Instead of installing four cameras to capture key zones, schools can strategically place one camera with four sensors using one cable. In traditional systems, districts pay for additional camera licensing.
Even at night, the multi-sensor camera’s built-in IR-LED allows AI apps to function in low light and capture images in 4K resolution to provide wide-area coverage. Security leaders can use the camera’s built-in AI processor to help identify people and vehicles. This is important in order to identify threats on campus and prevent incidents.
A low-profile camera strategically placed in the reception area will help monitor visitors as they check in. The i-PRO mini blends seamlessly with office environments and features a built-in microphone, edge AI analytics apps, and a sleek, discreet design.
A 2021 study by Omdia, on behalf of the Security Industry Association, states that school resource officers (SRO) and campus police forces have started implementing body-worn cameras (BWC) to provide incident evidence, promote de-escalation of events, and aid in training and process improvements. Adding i-PRO's BWCs to campus security personnel offers an extra layer of protection to capture video and audio evidence in virtually any condition. When incidents do arise, SROs wearing i-PRO BWCs can provide real-time situational awareness and react swiftly to events by broadcasting live footage over Wi-Fi to the VMS.
- Expand Perimeter Safety
From i-PRO’s industry-renowned line of cameras, server solutions, Video Insight VMS, and accessories to MonitorCast access control and bus solutions, we offer a complete surveillance security solution that seamlessly integrates to ensure school district administrators have the easy-to-use tools they need to secure the future.
In the recent CIO Review article, “i-PRO to Enhance Video Insights VMS”, Adam Lowenstein, Director of Product Management at i-PRO Americas, said, “Our latest VI 7.9.3 update is giving K-12 schools and campuses the situational awareness to respond to security events more proactively. VI has always been known in education for its simple user interface, ease of use and low cost of ownership. With AI application development currently exploding, i-PRO provides the perfect vessel with our edge AI processors to deploy those analytics in an efficient way. Our deeper integration with Vaxtor is just one example of how customers can leverage the best analytics applications along with the best AI-enabled cameras.”
By combining i-PRO‘s MonitorCast access control software and bus fleet management solutions with our AI-enabled cameras and Video Insight, schools are able to strengthen security districtwide. MonitorCast provides security leaders with the ability to control doors, manage users, set schedules and more. In the event of an emergency, instantly lock down your entire campus or select zones. MonitorCast offers unlimited scalability, real-time reporting and multi-site support. The MonitorCast platform is no additional cost when integrated with the Video Insight 7 video management system.
Since school buses are an extension of the campus, it is important for school districts to use video surveillance on buses to monitor their students’ and drivers’ behavior during routes, to record illegal passing by motorists and to respond to incidents in real-time. Our in-vehicle Video Insight expands safety all the way until students are dropped off at their bus stops. Each bus records its own video and upon returning to the depot, automatic video data wireless transferring occurs where the video is uploaded to the local server.
School administrators can advance their surveillance systems by implementing i-PRO's industry-leading edge AI cameras and a robust VMS, designed with feedback from K-12 administrators. i-PRO can tackle any security challenge within the campus environment by delivering an end-to-end security solution that is customizable, scalable, and easy to use, all while providing one of the best total cost of ownership in the industry.