Who dares loses!

Even a former-SAS man could not penetrate a comprehensive camera and alarm system installed by AIS Total Security to protect the multi-million pound estate of a Nottinghamshire-based businessman.

Using all his special skills and night vision glasses, he could not crack the installation – a comprehensive camera and alarm system based upon a solution supplied by Panasonic.

Valued at £3 million, the private residence is set in a 500-acre estate, and comes complete with an indoor pool.

Separate nightclub and casino

Included in the grounds, are a separate nightclub and casino, as well as a second property for use by guests. With a stock of breeding thoroughbred hunt and racehorses, there are also stables, dog kennels and a birdhouse in the surrounding grounds.

A ten-car garage houses more than £1 million worth of prestige cars.

Set in an isolated location, a lack of night-time lighting made it an attractive target for criminals.

A detailed tender specification for the estate included the requirement for multi-layered security protection with a solution based upon integrated CCTV and alarm equipment. The brief was issued to four installation companies with the primary objective being to protect both the familyand the property.

AIS Total Security Ltd – a Panasonic Premier Installer company – won the tender and designed, specified and installed to cater for the owner’s particular requirements.

There was a need for the system to be unobtrusive and not impinge upon daily lives. Because it was essentially a domestic application, control and management of the equipment also needed to be intuitive.

A specific request of the owners was that there were to be no 'blind-spots' from the cameras' fields-of-view.

Located within a dedicated 'safe room', at the heart of the property, is a CCTV keyboard controller, giving full control of the entire surveillance system.

Protecting the interior is an alarm solution based upon a Galaxy 500 panel. On the outside of the house, a combination of static and fully-functional dome cameras have been mounted to provide 'overlapping' fields of view.

Paul Douglas, MD of AIS said Panasonic's Super-D day/night cameras were chosen for their low-light performance and ability to provide detailed images switching between bright and low-light conditions.

Cameras have varifocal lenses adjustable to incorporate the necessary scene.

All cables leading to and from the external cameras, which are mounted on six metre high columns, are either hidden or buried underground, to prevent them from being cut or tampered with.

The grounds are now floodlit to improve night-time surveillance and perimeter protection includes a barrier of Rednet infra-red alarm beams, linked to the cameras' preset positioning.

In any attempt to enter the grounds – if the fence is cut or a person climbs over it – the activity will trigger the cameras to pan to that point and display the cause of the alarm for visual verification on the monitor.

Faster frame rate needed

In the safe room a hard disk recorder was installed to replace a time-lapse VCR. Tape management had become an issue and it was evident that better performance and faster frame-per-second picture recording could be had from a state-of-the-art digital solution in the event of an attempt to scale the perimeter fencing. for regular users, and a two-way intercom combined with CCTV regulates the admission of unauthorised visitors. Cameras verify the type of vehicle and examine number plates before granting entry.e entire system cost £60,000 and took just four weeks to fully install and commission. And because the owner wanted to view the system while away from the house, an Ethernet interface enables images to be observed from anywhere in the world.

The owner or key holders can now dial in to remotely view the estate using just a laptop and ordinary telephone line connection and this has become a useful off-site management tool.

Who dares, loses

AIS employed the services of an ex-Special Armed Services (SAS) member as both advisor and tester of the design. Could a skilled former member of the SAS penetrate the newly bolstered security measures?

Even with the benefit of night vision glasses, he failed on all counts to successfully bypass the installation; he didn't enter the house, nor did he negotiate the perimeter without being observed or activating the detection system.

The failed attempt was proof of the well designed and competently installed system with use of appropriate professional products, said estate manager, Mr Perez.

The owner was so pleased with the system's effectiveness, that plans have been announced to replicate the installation at a second property in Portugal.