Security and safety in large venues: how smart video can help
Keeping visitors safe is the top priority for any large venue. However, with expansive areas to cover, and sometimes millions of visitors a year to look after, manual patrols and security video management are the major challenges these places are facing. To address them, leading auditoriums, arenas and stadiums around the world are deploying smart video solutions that can automate routine security checks and trigger alerts in real time in the event of an accident or other incident, helping security staff respond faster and more effectively.
Security and safety challenges at large venues
At large venues and sports stadiums, large numbers of visitors increase the likelihood of crowding, accidents, and fire safety risks. For these reasons, the security staff has to constantly keep an eye on all areas of the site. However, the sheer scale of these kinds of sites makes this very difficult, or even impossible, to use traditional manual approaches and patrols to protect the entire complex.
The better way: an automated, large-scale, smart video solution
One way for auditoriums, arenas and stadiums to protect staff and large crowds of visitors is to deploy smart video solutions. These keep track of large areas in high definition and generate automated alerts in the event of accidents and emergencies, helping security teams to assist visitors far more quickly. The leading smart video solutions also provide ‘tags’ in video footage that allow security teams to search for, and find, footage of incidents much more quickly, which help to deliver further time savings.
Outside large venues, smart video solutions with license-plate recognition (ANPR) capabilities can be deployed to control vehicle access and to help large numbers of visitors to park more quickly. This supports better security and safety outcomes, while also improving the visitor experience, especially during popular events.
Excellent results at Zayed Sport City
Zayed Sport City, which is the number one sports destination in United Arab Emirates (UAE), is a great example of how smart video can improve the safety of sports fans and visitors. The venue, which welcomes 1.7 million visiting sports fans each year, has deployed a Hikvision solution that incorporates more than 600 smart video cameras with different functions and types, deployed across the entire site. This includes coverage of the Zayed Sport City stadium, ice rink, bowling center, tennis center and a range of other sports facilities.
With the Hikvision solution, many routine security tasks can be handled automatically, reducing the risk of missed incidents, speeding up responses, and reducing staff workloads and costs. “The Hikvision system’s AI features are very valuable in investigating incidents, and it reduces the time required by our staff significantly.” says Khalid Al Mutawa, Director of Operations for Abu Dhabi Entertainment Company, the company that manages and operates Zayed Sport City, “Streamlining our processes with this system has allowed us to become much more efficient in ensuring both safety and customer experience throughout the complex. The automated security alerts and the HD Video helps us to respond quickly and work with peace of mind.”