Safety authorities have given SkyBet League 1 side Peterborough United FC champion safety reviews to upgrade to closed-circuit television (CCTV).
The Safety Advisory Group and the Sports Grounds Safety Authority are delighted with The Posh’s safety record and the fact they have invested in enhancing CCTV to bring their ability to run a safe environment on match days up to standards that may well be the envy of many Championship sides.
Peterborough United appointed Tensor plc to provide a comprehensive CCTV solution at its London Road stadium. But with resources scarcer in the SkyBet Leagues than in the megabucks world of the Premiership, they wanted to retain existing analogue cameras in the solution.
Security experts Tensor were asked to devise a system to bridge between the old analogue and brand new HD cameras that Tensor supplied to create a genuinely seamless hybrid solution.
Tensor used the EyeLynx SharpView system to record and manage existing analogue cameras via digital video encoders and provide the ability to add HD and MegaPixel CCTV cameras.
The system now records over 30 cameras covering the entire site, both within the stadium, such as for crowd control of both home and away fans and even in the players’ tunnels, and outside, such as the gates, ticket offices and car parks.
David Stent, safety officer for events and match day safety at Peterborough United, said: ‘SharpView is a great asset and tool that gives us the hands-on real-time first visual impact of what’s happening before, during and after a game to ensure we can maintain safety for all users of the ground on match days.’
Tensor and EyeLynx worked with Mr Stent and security personnel at London Road to provide specific features that allowed them to perform all their responsibilities seamlessly, for example, sending an image of a barred person to police with a single click. At the same time, they continue to monitor their movements.
EyeLynx can integrate video surveillance into other security systems such as automatic number plate recognition, access control and facial recognition to enhance safety and security at multi-site facilities.
Mr Stent added: ‘That’s our priority – a safe ground for all. But the system also allows us to go back and review quickly and take HD quality video and stills, which can be provided as evidence to police to assist with intelligence gathering and may be used if they are pursuing prosecutions.
‘For us, it’s all about safety, accountability and demonstrating that we have assessed all risks and mitigated them as far as possible by taking all reasonable precautions to minimise and avoid them.’
