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Seneca Provides a Comprehensive Surveillance Solution for the NYC MarathonImportance of having a reliable video surveillance strategy at marathons

The New York City marathon was hosted in the first week of Novem-ber with over two million spectators, 50,000 runners, and thousands of staff and volunteers. When it came time to planning the logistics for a successful event for the world’s largest marathon, safety and pre-ventive actions were the most important criteria.

In order to help deliver a safe and successful marathon, a comprehensive surveillance

system needed to be installed through the five boroughs of New York City. Installing a tem-

porary video surveillance system across a 26.2 miles course is no small feat. With no room

for error the chosen surveillance system needed be able to protect against potential threat

and increase overall situational awareness.

Author

Sarah ColsonSeneca

Contributors

Toby HeathSeneca

Ron VanTasselSeneca

March 2, 2015

“ Seneca was pleased to be able to provide the solution for the New York City Marathon for a safe and secure event without any incidents.”

Ron VanTasselMarket Development Manager, Seneca

CASE STUDY

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Seneca Provides a Comprehensive Surveillance Solution for the NYC MarathonCase Study | March 2, 2015

Seneca was chosen to provide the video surveillance hardware includ-

ing the network video recorder and client viewing stations for record-

ing and monitoring at the event.

On a traditional install, contractors have months to plan, install, test,

and commission all required communication infrastructure. On a

temporary system all aspects are truncated time-wise, with the instal-

lation time taking the biggest hit. One of the biggest challenges was

providing a comprehensive system that was able to integrate multiple

technologies without failure. The communication of the network video

recorder, variety of different cameras, video management software,

analytics software, networking, and client viewing stations had to work

seamlessly with no downtime or room for failure. Ensuring that all of the

components worked together seamlessly allowed officials to monitor

any suspicious behavior and respond to prevent any harmful activities;

ensuring the safety to the New York City area and the marathon.

Project Solution (Seneca Solution)A range of different camera models were installed across multiple build-

ings, street corners, temporary poles, and traffic lights to provide cover-

age for the entire route of the marathon. All of those camera feeds were

processed and stored on Seneca’s xVault Network Video Recorder.

With hundreds of video feeds streaming into the race’s command center

through commercial-grade monitors controlled by Seneca’s xVault client

viewing stations (xView), which allowed command staff to control and

monitor tactical camera operation and video footage. The race com-

mand center showed dozen of cameras feeding real-time data to race

staff, incident commanders, and law enforcement officials to increase

the overall situational awareness for the marathon. The monitoring cen-

ter allowed staff members and law enforcement to observe the progress

of the race from beginning to end. This solution contributed to the New

York City Marathon goals to increase situational awareness and provide

preventive action as needed for suspicious events.

The volume of runners and spectators increased through the park

throughout the day which only meant that the video surveillance

solution had to work harder. In order to provide coverage across the

entire length of the marathon, the solution needed to have the ability to

actively monitor all activity through the use of advanced video analyt-

ics. From time to time during the marathon, live video was pushed from

smart phones to the race command center to view activities in more

detail. This way the New York City Marathon surveillance staff was able

to capture video footage by the senior staff’s mobile camera. This al-

lowed coverage in areas that surveillance cameras may not have been

able to capture, increasing the overall safety and situational awareness

for the marathon.

“Having the ability to push live video into the field allows security

personnel to fully understand, monitor, and react accordingly to each

potential security threat,” said Toby Heath CPP, PSP, business develop-

ment manager, Seneca.

The Result – Outcome and Benefits RealizedSeneca’s surveillance solution of xVault network video recorders

and client viewing stations that w ere deployed at the New York City

Marathon played a major role in helping to ensure the safety and

security of the entire event. A reliable video surveillance record-

ing platform and high-resolution viewing stations that accurately

portray the live/recorded images are two key aspects to any effec-

tive video surveillance system. Without these two items, all other

components bring little value.

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Seneca Provides a Comprehensive Surveillance Solution for the NYC MarathonCase Study | March 2, 2015

The ability to actively monitor all activity and

live video feeds through the command center

was one of the most important actives in or-

der to ensure safety for the entire community.

Utilizing Seneca’s client viewing solution the

race’s command team was able to effectively

monitor all activity and respond accordingly.

The command team consisted of local, state,

and federal officials which utilized the video

surveillance solution to monitor all activities

and respond appropriately to any events that

occurred throughout the day.

The command center team was able increase

situational awareness throughout the day

with a wide range of activities. These activi-

ties allowed the team to provide surveillance

monitoring to a larger area without hav-

ing to increase manpower. This strategy

started with the items that the New York City

Marathon allowed runners to carry into the

race, excluding any items that could cause

any harm and/or alarm anyone involved in the

race. The command center was very thorough

with the process of monitoring the video

feeds, obtaining necessary information, and

disseminating information about any potential

threats. Finally, situational awareness was

enhanced through the use of social media.

The New York City Marathon promoted using

social media to post suspicious person or be-

havior through media outlets such as Twitter,

Facebook, and Instagram.

The strategy executed throughout the race

provided the tools necessary to improve

the command center team’s ability to make

well-informed decisions in real time to ensure

safety for the race and community. The ability

to have features to zoom-in on suspicious

objects and activities improved overall ef-

ficiency in deploying security enforcement

officer. One of the most value tools for this success is the ability to “PUSH” video/photos to all

security/safety personnel of suspicious persons, objects or vehicles.

“Seneca was pleased to be able to provide the solution for the New York City Marathon for

a safe and secure event without any incidents,” said Ron VanTassel, market development

manager, Seneca.

The success of this New York City Marathon demonstrates the importance of having a well

thought out surveillance strategy for large public events. The surveillance strategy for the

marathon covered every aspect from proper positioning of surveillance equipment, security

personnel, and communication of increase surveillance measures to the public. Given the recent

events in Boston, it was essential to deliver a peace-of-mind to the public to guarantee a safe

and secure event.

“ Having the ability to push live video into the field allows security personnel to fully understand, monitor, and react accordingly to each potential security threat.”

Toby Heath CPP, PSPBusiness Development Manager, Seneca