1) RSI Video Technologies partnered with Mace CSSS and recently did a case study on the Detroit Public School system, where 30 schools were outfitted with RSI's Videofied solution instead of traditional video surveillance, saving the city $5,000 per school instead of $100,000. 2) The Videofied system, which provides video verification of alarms rather than continuous monitoring, was shown to be much cheaper at just 5% of the cost of a full surveillance system. It also proved effective, resulting in 45 apprehensions over 4 weeks with no false alarms. 3) Savings were realized not just from the lower upfront costs but also reduced liability, cleanup,

1. Get verified or get extinct?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 15:16
I was speaking with Keith Jentoft over at RSI Video Technologies today about yet another partnership,
this time with Mace CSSS. Earlier this week it was CMS.
Keith was telling me about a recent case study RSI put together about the Detroit Public School system.
Apparently there were a large number–100–public school buildings in Detroit that were closed and in need
of protection from thieves and vandals. An RFP was issued and a bid accepted. 30 schools were outfitted by
D/A Central of Security-Net with the Videofied solution as apposed to traditional video surveillance at a cost
to the city, according to RSI’s study, of $5,000 as opposed to $100,000 for each school.
That’s a lot of money and a lot of savings.
Keith’s point is that a Videofied system–which he is quick to point out is NOT video surveillance (”We’re not
monitored by a special boutique in the back. The ordinary worker bee does Videofied. Why? Because we’re
not video surveillance. All we’re trying to do is answer the question: ‘Is there someone there?’ If there is
somewhere there you dispatch.”)–is much cheaper and more effective. Case in point: the Videofied solution
costs just 5 percent, again according to RSI’s study, of the full-blown surveillance solution. What’s more, it
was effective.
According to the case study, after Videofied was deployed in the remaining buildings, and monitored by
Exton, Pa.-based The Protection Bureau, the powers-that-be got 45 apprehensions in four weeks with no
false alarms… That’s a pretty good track record.
Jentoft pointed out the savings didn’t stop at the lower price of the Videofied solution. There’s savings in not
having to board up the vacant buildings as tightly, savings in the form of not having to clean up graffiti,
savings of pipes and cabling that weren’t stolen, savings in the form of reduced liability from lawsuits from
those who break in. Some of the unprotected buildings in the original lot were so damaged by looters and
vandals that, according to Jentoft, they had to be torn down at great cost to the city.
Jentoft’s main point, however, is that many municipalities are moving toward actively changing their dispatch
procedures to prioritize alarms that are accompanied by video verification. NYPD was named specifically.
I called Long Island City, N.Y.-based American Security Systems’ senior security consultant Edwin Day for
some background. Day has been around and has an impressive law enforcement resume. During his 22-
year career with the NYPD, he was awarded 40 citations for meritorious and heroic actions in the line of
duty. Day is an active member of ASIS and the Detectives Crime Clinic of New York and New Jersey. He
has completed the Facility Security Design and Physical Security Technology and Applications courses, and
is also the recipient of the Detectives Crime Clinic Award for Excellence, the NYPD Detective Bureau
Certificate of Exemplary Conduct, and the Detectives Endowment Association Certificate.
Speaking of dispatch procedures at the NYPD, Day said he had advocated for understanding of what a
video-verified system could do. “They have made a structural change in the approach to video verification of
alarms,” Day said. “When I first saw this product my first reaction was ‘this is fantastic.’ … My belief was
basically that the typical burglar alarm is a victim of its own success. Everybody’s putting them out there. I
know, as a cop, it’s a low priority job as a necessity simply because there are so many false alarms.”
Jentoft said cities in California were following suit. I have emails out to officials at CAA to follow up on this
assertion. I wrote a story recently for SSN that postulated the genesis of a trend toward all alarms having
audio or video verification.
With prices coming down, perhaps now is the time to get into video and two-way voice.