Milestone Systems reports that the Federal District Court in Brazil’s capital city of Brasília has expanded and upgraded its existing security infrastructure with a district-wide solution using ​​​​cameras from Axis Communications and Bosch, all integrated with the Milestone XProtect Expert open platform video management software (VMS).

According to Milestone, the previous surveillance at the Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories (TJDFT) consisted of analog cameras connected to stand-alone DVRs, providing no integration between the different sites. TJDFT began its upgrading project in 2015 and completed it in 2022.

“We bought our cameras at different times based on cost, functionality and warranty. We had 30 buildings that were using different cameras, so we needed to feel confident that they would all integrate into the federated software system without any hassle,” said Igor Martins da Silva, Manager for the project at TJDFT.

Now, the new high-end security system can prevent defendants from escaping during trial and identify potential criminals wandering its facilities. Milestone says that its open platform VMS was approved because it offered more freedom of choice among the associated technologies. Additionally, cameras and video analytics from ​​Axis models M1125, P1435, M3046, P5534-E and Bosch models NBE-3502-AL, NDV-3503-F02 were chosen due to the best visuals and performance.  

“We chose the most critical buildings to receive the new technology: the largest ones with the greatest flow of people. At the time, we updated nine buildings with the new surveillance solution,” added da Silva.

Around 1,170 cameras are installed in common areas outside and inside, especially where criminals are held. As the largest in size with the greatest number of courtrooms, the main building received the most cameras, totaling 450. The other 29 buildings have 40 to 110 cameras each, depending on their size and needs. Axis models make up 80% of the devices.

Milestone highlights that the system is scalable and open architecture, ready to handle new devices and add more integrations. The management of all forums in the federal district is handled in a virtual machine on a SQL server. However, the video recordings are kept locally in each building to avoid overloading the central storage.

In the main building, the monitoring room has more robust servers and a video wall featuring ten 47-inch monitors displaying images. Police officers monitor the system 24 hours a day with support from the IT team, if necessary.

All 30 buildings are monitored from their unique location as well as from one central command center. If the system detects something unusual in the courtrooms, it triggers a riot alert so police can take the necessary measures.

Additionally, Milestone says that in building access control, when a person uses their tax identification number to enter, the system indicates if an arrest order was issued against them. If a warrant is found, an alarm is triggered in the system and the team closely follows this person’s path in the building. Forensic search analyzes physical characteristics and clothing attributes, so the cameras can find and track the person. 

While this person is being monitored, another police officer contacts the agency that issued the arrest warrant to determine if it is still valid and requires action.

“We were dealing with a variety of incidents such as unauthorized access, defendants, people with pending arrest warrants and robberies. The ability to see the video and react instantly, or even before an incident occurs, is a huge advantage for us,” concluded da Silva.