The UK Border Agency (UKBA) main control room monitors more than 1000 cameras and numerous alarms from over 60 sites in the UK and Continent.
Security Services Group (SSG) and Cortech Developments have worked with the UKBA over a number of years managing their evolving security requirements. SSG operates as a business unit within Defence Estates and they provide the UKBA with technical security. Part of that is Cortech’s Datalog security management software. In recent months SSG and Cortech have been upgrading UKBA systems. Steve Avery, Head of Physical Security for the UKBA said: “The security of our sites is of great importance. We have invested in this cutting edge technology to ensure that we have appropriate physical security measures in place. We have benefited from SSG’s and Cortech’s considerable experience of delivering the appropriate level of security into the public sector. The Datalog software has significantly reduced year on year costs by centralising many of our operations and improving the efficiency of the control room. Datalog has been a key driver in maximising alarm call efficiency, enabling us to respond to events in a faster and more effective way. Datalog provides automatic video verification of intruder alarm activations for all of the UKBA’s remote sites, allowing us to deploy the most appropriate resources in a matter of seconds. Furthermore we can call upon a full audit trail of alarms in Datalog’s history. The old disparate systems have now been replaced by a single operating routine, which has simplified our security operations. Importantly, the software is also very easy to operate for our control room staff.”
