Downtown Norfolk, Virginia
has been transformed in
the last twenty years.
The Waterside Festival
Marketplace, locally known
as “The Waterside” has
proved to be a magnet to
new hotels, office buildings,
and tourist attractions
as well. More than twenty
years after The Waterside
opened in 1983, the downtown
Norfolk area is clean,
attractive, and still growing
quickly. Boat cruises and
ferries depart daily from the
adjacent waterfront. The
location is served by public
transit, and covered parking
is available in several
garages close by. The
Waterside, located at the
mouth of the Elizabeth
River on Norfolk's downtown
waterfront, encompasses
numerous specialty retail
stores, an international
food court, plus several sitdown
restaurants and
night clubs under one roof,
and has become a major
day-to-night draw both for
tourists and residents of
the area.
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Panasonic Vandal-Proof Color Dome Cameras protect the Waterside Drive
area in front of the mall, where cabs pick up late-night departing guests.
The units feature Day/Night operation to deliver the highest quality images
in any lighting condition.
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When it was time to
consider upgrading the
physical security at
The Waterside, General
Manager Lane Brown
decided to add to their
existing infrastructure, and
they chose Panasonic
Security Systems. "For us,
it was a question of cost
vs. value," said Brown.
"We had looked through
references and found good
reviews on the Internet as
well. Also, Steve Wilkins,
who is the Operations
Manager here, and I have
both had experience
with Panasonic Security
Systems at Military Circle,
a one-million square foot
shopping center also in
Norfolk."
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Super Dynamic dome cameras from Panasonic provide optimal identification capabilities for these busy escalators,
leading to the walkway to a parking deck through the doors above. Seen from the other direction, an interior
walkway leads through the food court to the escalators
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The previously existing
system at The Waterside
included sixteen cameras
feeding into a DVR and
another seven cameras
that were connected to an
older VCR. Working with Tri-Tronics Ltd., a video
surveillance, electronic
security and audio
communications specialist
based in Virginia and North
Carolina, Brown added
two new Panasonic
WJ-HD300A Series DVRs
with sixteen channels and
six additional
Panasonic
WV-CW474A
Super Dynamic
Vandal-Proof
Day/Night
Color Dome
Cameras to the
system. "We
added cameras and put
some outside and into
other locations in the mall
that needed more
coverage," said Brown.
“We have had essentially
no problems with the
Panasonic equipment,
which made it an easy
choice when it came
time to upgrade.”
Panasonic’s WJ-HD300A
Series DVRs provide over
500 TVL, high density
recording (60ips/120ips@CIF)
with full rate live multiscreen
resolution (60 to
960 ips) and a base disk
capacity of 250GB that’s
expandable to 7.5 TB.
Featuring Panasonic’s
exclusive Super Dynamic
technology, WV-CW474A
Vandal-Proof Color Dome
Cameras
eliminate
common
backlighting
problems
that typically
impair most
surveillance
installations.
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Day/Night vandal-proof color dome cameras with Super Dynamic
technology eliminate common backlighting problems that typically impair surveillance installations.
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The units feature Day/Night
operation to deliver the
highest quality images
in any lighting condition
and feature high-impact
resistant domes with
spring-mounted lenses for
demanding locations.
The Waterside’s enhanced
video surveillance system
is controlled with
Panasonic’s WJ-SX550
Matrix Switching System to
provide advanced automated
camera tour switching
sequences, alarm/event
triggered operations and
programmable monitoring
assignments. The powerful
matrix switching system is
expandable to accommodate
future growth and
satellite monitoring and
control locations.
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R. Lane Brown (seated) of Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate Services and General Manager, The Waterside;
and Steve Wilkens, Operations Manager, The Waterside
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"One area within the mall
that needs the most
surveillance would be the
food court," said Brown.
"During the week we
sometimes have entertainment,
and that location
draws a much larger
crowd. On the weekends
we have a late-night
crowd, so it's important to
monitor the door adjacent
to the crosswalk where it
crosses over Waterside Drive. The crowds disperse
at 2:00 in the morning."
In addition, Brown noted
that with multiple tenants
bringing waste to the
dumpsters, it can be useful
to review surveillance data
when garbage is found all
over the loading dock in
the morning. "We can go
right over and see who
did it."
At The Waterside, surveillance
data generally is
archived and monitored in
real time when warranted.
"We have an in-house
security staff of eleven and
there is somebody here
twenty-four hours a day,
seven days a week. The
building is locked down
between 2:00 am and 7:00
am, when the cleaning
crew comes in," said
Brown.
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| Panasonic’s WJ-HD300A Series DVRs provide over 500 TVL, high density recording (60ips/120ips@CIF) with full rate
live multi-screen resolution (60 to 960 ips) and a base disk capacity of 250GB that’s expandable to 7.5 Terabytes.
Panasonic’s WJ-SX550 scaleable Matrix Switching System provides advanced automated camera tour switching
sequences, alarm/event triggered operations and programmable monitoring assignments to control the enhanced
video surveillance system. |
"We can easily access the
recorded video directly
from the Panasonic DVRs
or through the matrix
switcher and often use the
video surveillance system
to review incidents after the
fact. We can go back in
time and review any and all
cameras to see where an
incident started and how it
followed through. This has
been useful countless
times to verify what actually
happened."
"For example, there was
one incident in which
someone was injured, and
the story we were given
turned out to be very
inaccurate," said Brown.
"The parents were very
much up in arms and were
prepared to start causing
all kinds of legal problems.
But when we watched the
recorded footage, we got a
completely different story
on the sequence of events."
"We consult surveillance
recordings obtained with
our Panasonic video
surveillance system two or
three times a week to go
back and investigate
something to see what
really happened," added
Brown.
In addition, the Panasonic
video surveillance system
has been a helpful tool for
law enforcement officials.
"We have provided information
to the local police
department," said Brown.
"I have had police officers
come over with reports
they believe to be accurate.
We verify and supplement
their reports by accessing
the video footage of an
incident and reviewing it
from start to finish from
different camera angles.”
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Steve Wilkens views video from the escalators provided by the Panasonic dome cameras
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In addition to the Panasonic
cameras and DVRs, the
upgraded system at The
Waterside will include four
new CRT monitors and one
42-inch plasma display.
"The CRTs will be placed
into a security/information
kiosk in the food court area,
to give the security officer a
place to be and to serve as
reinforcement to visitors that
there is a surveillance function
in the area for their safety
and security," said Brown.
"Tri-Tronics Ltd has been
with us for close to ten
years, and we've seen
them design some of the
top systems in the area.
They helped us design the
system originally, but we
do our own troubleshooting
when there is a problem
with a connection,"
said Brown. "We have had
essentially no problems
with the Panasonic
equipment, which made it
an easy choice when it
came time to upgrade."
Panasonic’s fixed cameras are used in HVAC areas to monitor equipment
status and contractors that provide service.
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The central meeting area of the mall is protected by Vandal-Proof dome
cameras with Super Dynamic technology
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