Enhancing incident response at live events with Integra

The popularity of large events presents major challenges for organizers to provide safe environments and ensure incidents can be identified and investigated quickly. So how do you do this without incurring the significant expense of a fully-fledged surveillance system?

Finding a security solution that suits your specific requirements

Take the example of OutWest Festival, our fictional music festival which prides itself on offering a line-up of the biggest names in pop music, with upwards of 150,000 attendees across three days. The organizers wanted to provide comprehensive security to make visitors and staff feel safe and ensure it was a unique and memorable experience for everyone involved.

A fully-fledged surveillance system wasn’t suitable due to their strict budget and the time restraints involved in setting up the temporary site: thankfully, they never had to compromise on their security aspirations after a recommendation for Integra presented a solution that was fit for purpose and their wallet.

Benefits

• Simple installation and remote access for flexible system management
• Increased situational awareness to ensure the safety of attendees
• Reduced Total Cost of Ownership for the event’s security system

Your Control Room in a Box

Integra was the ideal product for OutWest because it provided everything the team needed to ensure the security of the music festival. In one box, Integra provides: a switch and power source for cameras to connect over a network, an NVR to record video and a workstation to view live events. At the festival, Integra was connected to a small number of HD PTZ cameras, providing a complete overview of the site.

During the festival, Integra performed exceptionally well in 3 key areas to exceed the team’s security objectives.

Manage your security system from anywhere

OutWest Festival needed a solution that was quick to install, as organizers could be responsible for incidents, from thefts to personal injuries, even before the festival started. A major benefit of the Integra system is that it is “plug and play” - meaning that once it is connected to cameras on site, it can start to record straight away. 

OutWest provided remote access to local Police in an off-site Control Room, while emergency responders remained on site to be closer to events. However, faced with a security threat on the first night, they soon realized that the team should consolidate off-site for more effective incident response. The problem was that they could not simply pause the festival to change their security set-up. Crucially, Integra’s VPN feature meant the team could relocate their laptops and radios and all they needed was an internet connection to easily configure the system.

Improve your site awareness to coordinate emergency services

OutWest Festival installed Integra primarily as a live monitoring solution to guarantee safety; however incidents during the festival demonstrated its value for collecting evidence as well.

Around 50,000 attendees would gather to see the headline act; one night, a fire broke out towards the back of the crowd, causing mass panic. Using Integra, the security team immediately got a complete view of the site and realized that the festival’s fire rescue team would take too long to reach the incident. Instead, operators called in the city’s fire department, reducing the time taken to respond to the critical incident without anybody getting hurt. 

Integra’s NVR records footage with dual watermarking, providing an extra level of verification to show that video evidence has not been tampered with. This proved extremely useful after an incident in the crowd led to an attendee suffering life-changing injuries. OutWest were accused of failing to respond properly and that festival infrastructure blocked emergency services. In court, OutWest Festival was able to use the dual-watermarked footage as evidence that they handled the incident properly. 

A cost-effective security solution

A major benefit for OutWest Festival was that Integra was more cost-effective as it comes in one box, eliminating the need to purchase separate devices such as the NVR, network switches and PC and it is also fully licensed.

OutWest could also reduce the staff resources required to run the system. Integra is easy to configure so fewer hours were spent on installation and high quality PTZ cameras meant that OutWest Festival required only 20 cameras to provide a complete view of the whole site. Integra is only one unit to maintain, update and service, which also helped to reduce the Total Cost of Ownership for the event organizers.

Exceeding expectations for high-profile events

Using Integra as their event security solution meant that OutWest Festival was able to provide an amazing experience for visitors and staff. Integra was simple to set up and guaranteed that from the moment it was switched on, OutWest’s security solution provided all the features required within their budget to properly handle incidents and reduce their response times to critical situations.