In November 2004, several plainclothes officers from the Fresno County Sheriff's department covertly attended a lecture presented by a well-known animal rights activist at Fresno State University.

During construction of the new Massillon Middle School, in Massillon, Ohio, school security administrators worked closely with the Ohio Facilities Committee to install an advanced surveillance system that features 48 digital cameras. The cameras are situated both inside and outside of the facility with their primary goal being to protect students from potentially harmful outside forces and intruders. In recent weeks the cameras have also proven extremely useful in capturing footage of students committing criminal acts.

A recent report from Frost & Sullivan North American Video Surveillance Software Markets has predicted that revenue from IP video will grow a staggering 70% in the next seven years - from $139.76 million in 2006 to $826.7 million in 2013. One of the catalysts behind this amazing growth? Schools.

One of the biggest concerns many people have when in the market for a video surveillance camera is "How do I know it'll work?" Their concerns aren't completely unfounded - surveillance cameras are great at identification and constant monitoring, but what happens when you have a true emergency on your hands? Security With Advanced Technology has introduced a system it hopes will demonstrate the potential that developing technology has for improving video surveillance.

School buses in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana will have a new flair come September. No, it's not snazzy new seats or a bold departure from the ubiquitous yellow paint job, but a system of video surveillance cameras.

The University of Pittsburgh recently unveiled a new multi-million dollar security system designed to significantly increase campus safety. The new system features a bevy of surveillance cameras providing comprehensive coverage of the entire campus. Video feeds from the cameras are transmitted to a new campus communications building loaded with monitors for in depth viewing and analysis. The wide-reaching surveillance coverage gives operators an extensive view of campus life, allowing them to quickly respond if suspicious activity is detected.

Arkansas football fans won't be the only ones doing the watching when they attend Razorbacks games this fall. As they observe the players on the field, the fans themselves will be closely monitored by a new 60-camera surveillance system recently installed in Razorback Stadium.

In the wake of the worst school shooting in US history, worries about student and classrooms afety are at an all-time high. Schools around the country have implemented security systems - ranging from the simple to the highly complex - in an effort to make the learning environment as safe as possible.

One of the great advantages of IP surveillance over traditional analog CCTV is remote video monitoring. IP surveillance allows authorized users to access streaming video feeds via the Internet on any PC with a network connection. In the case of Michigan's Carman-Ainsworth High School, this technology will soon provide the local police department with full access to the school's security cameras at all times.

Students at Dartmouth High School in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, are calling for increased security at their high school after a rash of violent assaults and fights - incidents which have landed several students in the hospital.

The Nashville school system has made plans to equip three schools and an administration building with high-tech security cameras featuring facial-recognition capabilities. The 75,000-student district is the first in the nation to use face-recognition technology. The cameras operate using sophisticated video analytics which allow them to spot unfamiliar faces as well as the faces of specific intruders who have been barred from school grounds.

Palo Alto High School installed a new video surveillance system earlier this year, and so far the added visual security has been especially helpful in deterring locker room theft. The system uses fixed-dome security cameras in conjunction with electronic keycard door locks. The cameras monitor the gym locker rooms while the cardkey system prevents unauthorized intruders from entering the facilities.

In the small town of Sergnano, Italy, which employs just two police offers to protect 3,000 inhabitants, an IP camera system has been deterring and catching criminals-- particularly vandals-- so successfully that the system paid for itself within a year of its implementation. The system covers an area of thirteen square kilometers, which made traditional analog CCTV impossibly expensive. Instead, IndigoVision, the company that installed the system, came up with a combined wired and wireless network for the cameras, facilitating cost-effective IP surveillance of remote areas.

The shock of a recent double homicide on the Louisiana State University campus has had the school's security forces scrambling to find new ways to keep Tiger students safe in their studies.

Grossmont High School in San Diego has been reeling since late 2001 - when two shootings happened at the school in just two weeks. Grossmont's environment has been improving since August, however, since Sony equipped the campus with a new IP camera surveillance system called e-Surveillance.

An attempted abduction at Westview Elementary School in Champaign, IL had school administrators scrambling to find ways to boost their security. The answer? A school security camera.

New Hampshire's Merrimack School District received voter approval this week to install security cameras in all of its schools in time for the 2008-2009 school year. The surveillance cameras will help to cut down on vandalism, theft, and property damage, as well as bullying, drug dealing, violence, and other unwanted threats on school grounds.

There's no signs of typical high school tomfoolery at Long Beach High School - not since a comprehensive system of Axis IP cameras was installed last year. The bathroom bullying is over, and there's no more sneaking out behind the dumpster between classes either - thanks to the system of 216FD, 215PTZ and 225FD surveillance cameras, students at the Long Beach City high school know that they can't get away with much anymore.

In an effort to deter crime campus-wide, Grambling State University has installed an IP-based surveillance solution that utilizes 220 Axis network cameras. The system operates over a fiber optic backbone using IP video technology to deliver comprehensive surveillance footage that can be viewed remotely, and stored at a centralized recording center on campus. The new system is a major upgrade over the University's previous one, which consisted of pockets of analog cameras scattered around campus.

A newly installed surveillance system will soon allow administrators and security officers to easily access video footage from cameras monitoring a pair of Illinois high schools. Romeoville and Bolingbrook high schools are now equipped with network-based surveillance systems featuring IP cameras that transmit digital video which can be viewed remotely from any network PC. This provides administrators and authorized personnel with the ability to monitor live and recorded footage even when outside the facilities.

The University of East Anglia, in Norwich, recently installed an IP-based surveillance system that employs Axis IP cameras and video servers, operating with Milestone Enterprise video management software. The system uses a mix of IP cameras, including the Axis 232D, and Axis 233D Network Dome cameras, to monitor the university's 320-acre campus. The cameras will help to ensure a safer environment for the 15,000 students and 3,000 staff who currently spend their time on the University grounds.

Liverpool's Knowsley Community College has completed installation of a large-scale video surveillance system featuring 324 Axis network cameras. A study based on the installation has concluded that the IP-based solution saved the school a considerable amount of money when compared to the costs of an analog CCTV system. The bulk of the savings result from the difference in maintenance costs. While the analog system would have required yearly system maintenance from a contractor, the IP video system can be maintained by an in-house IT team.

Alaska's Anchorage Christian School has completed installation of a new IP-based surveillance system that features high-resolution megapixel network cameras from Mobotix. Previously the school was monitored by a 30-camera analog CCTV system. The upgrade to Mobotix IP cameras brings far superior image quality, better reliability, and a host of sophisticated features and functions.

Jackson High School in Cleveland, Ohio has installed a new IP surveillance system that uses high-resolution Mobotix IP cameras, MXControlCenter video management software, and two-way VoIP communication. This cutting-edge solution provides vastly improved image quality when compared to the school's previous analog CCTV system. The new scalable IP video system also offers considerable savings in installation and maintenance.

Axis announced this week that Michigan's Chippewa Valley School District has installed over 600 Axis network cameras and video encoders to improve school security. The school district, which serves over 15,000 students, chose a network video solution because of the superior image quality, centralized management and storage, and easy integration with the web and the district's active directory.

IP video technology has enabled schools of all shapes and sizes to increase their overall level of security with scalable, cost-effective surveillance installations. Recently, the Louisiana School for the Deaf was in need of a new video security solution, and opted to choose a system incorporating ACTi network cameras and milestone video management software. The IP-based surveillance system provides comprehensive video surveillance for the sprawling 122-acre campus that features 18 buildings.

Dare County School District in North Carolina's Outer Banks has upgraded its existing video surveillance solution to now include network cameras and other IP video equipment from Axis Communications. The move was spurred by a series of break-ins at one of the secondary schools, and repeated thefts and acts of vandalism at several others. The district already had analog CCTV cameras in place but wanted to move to a digital IP-based system to take advantage of benefits such as remote video monitoring and digital storage.

The Deer Park Independent School District, located 20 miles south of Houston, is in the midst of installing over 700 network cameras to monitor 16 of its elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. The district chose to use a combination of fixed, fixed dome, and PTZ network cameras from Axis Communications. Most of the cameras are installed in school hallway interiors, some exterior locations, and also in several support buildings. The main goals of the IP surveillance system are to increase the level of safety for students and staff, and to provide better access control for school facilities.

John Bauer, an upper secondary school with 28 campuses throughout Sweden, has chosen ACTi network cameras for its school surveillance needs. Each campus surveillance system will utilize ACTi CAM-7411 megapixel IP cameras managed by Ethiris IP video software. The ACTi CAM-7411 network cameras offer megapixel resolution for detailed wide-area surveillance. They're also vandal-resistant with a rugged dome casing.

The Montgomery County Public School system in Maryland features over 200 schools, 138,000 students, and 21,000 employees. That's one large school system. Recently they decided to increase the video security in their schools by installing an IP-based surveillance solution featuring IQeye network cameras. Previously, each school was equipped with an analog system featuring 16-32 cameras running to a VCR. The new system is a serious upgrade. It allows remote monitoring and recording, and works as part of an integrated security solution featuring video surveillance, access control, visitor management, and alarm monitoring all on a common platform.

Mississippi’s Pass Christian School District is using Axis network cameras to enhance the safety of students and faculty in the public school district. Security is a top priority at Pass Christian. In 2005, 85 percent of the district was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. Four years later many of the students are still living in temporary housing or in damaged or temporary structures. The school district includes two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school, serving a total of about 1,500 students.

LaGuardia Community College, located in Long Island City, N.Y., is using intelligent network cameras from Sony to drastically improve its video security system. The Sony IP cameras are mounted throughout the campus and will aid in remote video monitoring of building corridors, streets, and parking lots. As part of the surveillance upgrade, most of the school's 200 existing analog security cameras have been replaced with a mix of Sony IP network cameras, including the Sony SNC-DF85N and the Sony SNC-DF80N intelligent mini-dome cameras.

The University of Texas recently installed IP cameras from D-Link to provide video security for the school's new Health Science Center. The surveillance cameras allow operators to see who's entering and leaving the high-security facility, and work to provide effective access control. The system is also used for monitoring and recording activities within the data center, for reviewing any reported incidents, and for monitoring what tasks are being performed throughout the day.

The British International School in Cairo (BISC) has chosen ACTi IP cameras for its new school surveillance installation. The video security systems features 44 ACTi ACM-5711 box cameras and 4 outdoor ACTi CAM-6630 speed dome cameras all managed by ACTi NVR Enterprise IP video software. The cameras were installed at key locations througout the school to increase the overall level of security for students, faculty, staff and visitors.

Oregon's Canby School District has deployed a new IP-based surveillance network supporting 48 IP cameras from JVC. The system features a combination of fixed mini-dome cameras and box cameras monitoring nine facility sites, including six elementary schools, a middle school, high school, and the district business office. All of the cameras are triggered by motion detection, and record to JVC network video recorders.

Anyone whose ever attended a college football knows that emotions can run high, both on the field and in the stands. While the players are trained to rough each other up, the fans are expected to express their feeling via clapping and well-timed comedic heckles. Any acts of violence in the bleachers are of course uncalled for. Unfortunately, these things happen. The combination of alcohol and manic fanaticism does lead to the occasional fight and confrontation. So what can stadium security crews do to prevent such outbursts? Some are turning to high-tech video surveillance systems.

Excelsior Academy, based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, is using Axis 216 FD fixed dome network cameras to increase security in each of its five schools and colleges. The academy was facing a serious problem with vandalism, and hopes that the new IP cameras will help to deter such activity, while also creating a safer environment overall.

Axis Communications is heading back to school, at least in Portugal, where the country's comprehensive safe school project has resulted in the installation of 12,000 new Axis IP cameras. The massive IP surveillance installation began in August and will continue into the coming year. The goal of the project is to increase security in public schools in a cost-effective manner.

Cody High School in Wyoming recently upgraded their analog video surveillance system to a new IP-based surveillance solution powered by Axis network cameras. The school decided to make the switch after encountering problems with the video quality of their analog cameras. The images from the outdated system were coming back so pixilated that when crime or other inappropriate incidents occurred, the culprits could only be identified about 15 percent of the time. Since installing the new cameras, school administrators and authorities have been able to identify 100 percent of the culprits due to the clear, high-quality images from the Axis cameras.

In the wake of the tragic disappearance of Kyron Horman in Portland, Oregon in early June, Portland Public Schools is considering outfitting schools with Arecont Vision cameras. Skyline Elementary School, where Kyron was last seen, installed the high-resolution cameras before the new school year began.

With over 400 facilities and 53,000 students, staff and visitors to contend with on a daily basis, efficiently monitoring the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus was a challenge for the 55-member campus police force. To help combat everyday challenges such as thefts on and around campus, including a string of laptop thefts from the university library, security officials turned to Milestone video management software and Axis network cameras to provide the school with a secure surveillance solution that would help the police increase security around campus.

Nestled in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains is Loveland, Colorado. Home to Thompson School District (TSD), the area has more than 30 school buildings across 362 square miles. TSD values surveillance for maintaining safety and security of its property and more than 18,000 students and staff. With so much space to cover on a limited budget, TSD poses a significant surveillance challenge. Additionally, TSD uses both Apple and PC computers, so it requires a management program that can accommodate both platforms.

Nestled in the Appalachian mountains of northwest Pennsylvania is Clarion University. Here, a system of vandal-proof Panasonic WV-NW502SIP cameras managed by Panasonic's WJ-ND400 network video recorder monitors campus to help keep students and faculty safe.

When Platte Valley Schools (PVS) decided to begin a network video program, authorities looked for an easy to use and affordable solution. The northern Colorado schools selected ACTi IP cameras and software to monitor its elementary, middle and high school buildings, which are located on one large campus.