One of G4S’s customers is a large sports stadium in the UK. They were looking to take a proactive approach to managing anti-social behaviour on match days, as well as theft and overnight intruders. The customer wanted to take strong and visible action following the introduction of fines for the use of flares in the stadium grounds and address pitch invasions. The customer was nervous about how these incidents could damage their reputation. They were seeing an increase in criminal damage and were concerned about visitor and staff safety.

They needed a way to control unruly crowds and stop anti-social behaviour during their peak times and to ensure maximum safety in line with regulations. Also, the stadium needed video surveillance at night, so that they could detect any intruders and protect against theft. The customer has two sites within their campus - the stadium and a training academy. Many young people have residency onsite at the training academy, so it was important to the customer to consider their safety as well.

G4S offered a custom solution that would cover both premises with state-of-the-art surveillance technology allowing this company to manage dangerous behaviour and improve safety levels for staff and visitors. 

THE GOALS

The customer wanted to be proactively alerted to suspicious behaviour in order to take decisive action as an event unfolded. It was important to be able to quickly react to any potentially critical events as soon as they took place. To allow maximum coverage, we created a strategic plan to install CCTV cameras throughout the premises with high-definition images able to identify individuals in the crowd.

Another important aspect of the security system for this customer was searchability. They wanted to be able to quickly find specific footage related to an incident, if it was ever needed as evidence in a prosecution or a defense. We realised that by using state-of-the-art AI-powered security technology, we could create a system that could automatically detect threats and unusual activity, and would also be easy to search. This also assisted with providing supporting evidence post event. 

THE SOLUTION

G4S implemented a multi-faceted solution to deal with the challenges this customer was facing. We worked together with Avigilon and Condex to design a surveillance system that would suit the premises. The system uses artificial intelligence and video analytics to detect, verify and act on critical events.

Some of the solutions we implemented included:

• Installing a comprehensive CCTV system that monitored the external perimeter of the stadium, as well as the areas within and around the stadium.
• Putting a 24 hour team into place to monitor the build-up to the game. This included CCTV operators as well as officers on the ground who are responsible for safety and welfare.
• Installing CCTV throughout the training academy, as well as perimeter fences around the site.
• Setting up a control room with three operators, trained to monitor specific areas of the premises.
• Appointing staff to monitor the turnstiles and other access points during match days.
• Establishing a remote link up between the two sites, so that if one was compromised it could still work by using the other one.

The CCTV systems were just the beginning of a larger integrated security offering, which also included guarding and stewarding as well as searching and screening.

THE RESULTS

In this custom installation, we used the latest in AI-based security technology. The Analytics Surveillance Platform uses next-generation video analytics to track and classify all footage captured by the cameras.

For example, it can use facial recognition to improve response times by quickly identifying people of interest. It can even use machine learning to recognise the movements of people and detect atypical events and unusual motion, such as flares in crowds. The AI system also allows the customer to quickly search for a specific person by selecting certain physical descriptions such as gender, clothing cover and more. This helps to improve the efficiency of security personnel and frees them up for more proactive, real-time responses.

The security team were able to quickly identify any suspicious individuals and escort them away from the grounds. The customer also collaborated closely with local law enforcement to provide CCTV surveillance for criminal activity, in order to support convictions.