Two CCTV applications from overseas.
In August 2001, Glasgow-based installer Pointer opened Pointer Asia in Bangkok, Thailand, soon after a successful tender of two prison projects (Rayong and Ratchaburi) for the Thailand Department of Corrections (DOC). Ken MacDonald, the UK manager responsible for the Thai project said: ?We recognized an opportunity in Thailand early in 2000. However, it was obvious to us that we needed a permanent base in Thailand to show a long-term commitment. Thailand is growing faster than other countries in the SE Asia region, and has a stable government that is investing in the modernisation of the country.? In the two prison projects, manufacturer Pelco is supplying all of the video security equipment – almost 600 cameras (including Spectra domes, Esprit, and Camclosures), System 9760 matrix switches, Genex multiplexers, time-lapse VCRs, and monitors. The CCTV systems will be part of an integrated system including motion detection, perimeter electric fencing, PABX, and some physical security. Pelco CCTV equipment has been used in similar installations in Thailand.
Co-ordinators of the G8 summit meeting in Genoa in 2001 sought CCTV to meet the stringent security needs. Cameras were wanted mainly to help Italian police control the crowd and monitor areas around town. After a security exhibition in Milan in November 2000 in Milan, Videoline TVCC Warehouse were awarded the project. Videoline supplied 40 Pelco Esprit cameras to installer Telematic Solutions. Marco Lazzaroni, co-owner of Videoline, said: ?We had only a month and a half to complete the installation before July 20, 2001, the start of the G8 Summit Meeting. Thanks to its fast and easy installation, the Esprit Positioning Systems simplified our jobs. In addition, we had to arrange a wireless radio transmission since it was impossible to run coaxial cables throughout town. It was easy to integrate the Pelco protocol and control the Esprit cameras with our PC-based control equipment. The Esprit cameras were used to control the access to the gates for the ?Red Zone? of the city centre of Genova during the G8 Summit. The cameras allowed live images to be viewed both locally and from the Italian Ministry of Interior Headquarters in Rome 600km away.? Several cameras were installed in the highest buildings in town to provide a bird?s-eye view of the crowd. Lazzaroni added that the City of Genova was looking at expanding the CCTV system.
