Video and Access Control Systems

Video for Alarm Assessment and Site Surveillance

Video imagery, commonly known as closed-circuit television (CCTV), can be an important assessment tool to enhance physical security at Forest Service facilities.

Video systems are best designed by specialists who are familiar with the system’s components and their performance. However, the system design must meet the expectations and needs of Forest Service facility managers. For that reason, the Forest Service employee in charge of security must answer some fundamental questions:

• What do I need to see with this camera? Why?
  
  
• How clearly do I need to see the target on a video monitor and in a recorded image? How precisely must objects in the image be resolved?
  
  
• When do I need to see the image (in real time for immediate assessment or played back from storage for investigations)?

These questions must be answered for every camera position. Also position, questions must be answered about significant variations in scene lighting (daylight, twilight, night light, artificial light) and scene clarity (weather and seasons)—for every camera position. System designers use precise answers to these questions to define the requirements for all the components in a video system. This Web site will provide some basic information about video systems and their components so that the Forest Service employee in charge of security will be better prepared to work closely with a professional system designer to obtain the most satisfactory video system possible.

A properly integrated video assessment system can provide a rapid and cost-effective method for determining the cause of intrusion alarms. For surveillance, a properly designed video system can provide a cost-effective supplement to security responders. For large facilities, the cost of a video system is more easily justified. Video alarm-assessment systems and surveillance systems perform distinct functions.

The alarm-assessment system is designed to respond rapidly, automatically, and predictably to the receipt of alarms at the security center. The surveillance system is designed to be used at the discretion of and under the control of the security center's console operator. When the primary function of the video system is to provide real-time alarm assessment, the design should incorporate a video-processing system that can communicate with the alarm-processing system and respond to events it monitors.

A typical Forest Service facility might locate video cameras outdoors to view approach roads, public parking lots, entry and exit doors, employee parking lots, official vehicle parking lots, outdoor equipment storage areas, high-risk utility areas, critical gates, and similar areas. Indoor video cameras might monitor the public reception area and any areas that require special security.