Arlington, Washington

Home to over 20,000 residents, the City of Arlington is a picturesque community in northern Snohomish County, Washington just 40 miles north of Seattle. Incorporated in 1903, the municipal government is known for its community involvement and provides citizens with strong public safety programs that include law enforcement services.

Bryan Terry, Director of Information Technology (IT), spearheads the deployment and maintenance of citywide technology and security infrastructure. Jonathan Ventura, Chief of Police, leads a team of 35 employees and 30 commissioned officers providing 24-hour law enforcement both state- and city-wide. As leaders in their respective fields, Ventura and Terry establish the vision, policies, procedure, and budgets for their department.

As Terry evaluated new physical security solutions, he turned to the two-story police facility as an initial launchpoint, “Our police department has the highest security needs within Arlington. It houses the city council chambers, critical IT infrastructure, holding cells, interview rooms, public records, and private communications with public safety entities such as the FBI. It was a good test site to see if the new security infrastructure would work before deploying it in other areas of the city.”

The Challenge

“We had physical keys and a proximity card system that was end-of-life and starting to become corrupt. From time to time, the system would crash and we would have no support. This would result in prox cards working for some employees but not others, and sometimes a card would stop working one day but be fine the next.”

Jonathan Ventura, Chief of Police

The legacy security solution was an on-premise camera and a proximity card (prox card) system primarily used to safeguard entryways. The cameras were strictly on-premise and not integrated with access control so there was no way to view footage and door-based events in tandem. The access system itself was initially deployed over 10 years ago, was hard to navigate, and was no longer supported by the manufacturer, which made maintenance increasingly difficult. There was one account shared among all users but only two employees were trained to use the system, leading to long incident resolutions times when security events needed to be reviewed.

Why Verkada?

“When Verkada integrated access control with their camera solution, that sealed the deal for us. We now manage all our physical security on one platform, and the ease of use allows us to share access more broadly with minimal to no training. Plus the cybersecurity, flexibility, and ease of installation are criteria that every IT director or manager should be looking at.”

Bryan Terry, IT Director

With Verkada, Ventura and Terry have centralized physical security management onto one intuitive cloud-based platform. By integrating cameras with access control, they have improved visibility over door-based events to enable faster incident resolution. To simplify credential management, end-users have tiered permission levels based on user roles. Cameras and doors can be accessed securely and remotely through their mobile devices, eliminating the need for physical keys.

Tiered Access Levels and Custom User Permissions

“We provide users with role-based permissions so they have access to certain doors at specific times. Officers are able to enter common areas during afterhours, but not the records room where supervisor approval is required.”

Jonathan Ventura, Chief of Police

To prevent unauthorized entry to sensitive areas, access to certain doors is restricted based on user roles and hours of operation. Janitorial staff can open certain doors during certain days of the week, and police officers are restricted from entering investigation areas during certain times of the day. Access Groups are used to organize similar users across the department, such as commissioned police officers and janitorial staff. From Command, Terry and Ventura efficiently manage credentials for different types of employees, and make real-time changes to door schedules for Access Groups.

Integrated Video and Access Control

“We have a camera overlooking every entry point to secure these key areas. Instantly, we can look at any door event and see the necessary footage. ”

Bryan Terry, IT Director

A camera is associated with each entry point to ensure coverage over critical doorways. Through Command, Ventura can select any door-based event and instantly review the corresponding footage. From there, he can archive the video clip to unlimited cloud-based storage and share it through a link via SMS or email. Verkada is also able to capture all instances where a door was opened without a proximity card, whether from force or held open internally. Within Command, Ventura can access a live feed of real-time door-based events to see what is happening across his organization. This allows Ventura and his team to effectively take action, monitor incidents as they happen, and facilitate investigations as quickly as possible.

Ease of Use and Remote Mobile Access

“What we really liked about the Verkada platform was the ease of use and access. I can instantly view cameras on my phone and share footage through a link, while our officers can unlock doors from their phone if they forget their key card. Anyone who can work a smartphone can work the system, which has been an amazing transition for us.”

Jonathan Ventura, Chief of Police

Verkada’s Command software platform is quickly accessible through any web browser or mobile device, enabling Ventura and his team to effectively take action, monitor incidents as they happen, and facilitate investigations. From the convenience of their mobile devices, Ventura and his team can unlock doors, view live video, and access historical events. Officers are able to utilize their phone as a credential and unlock doors through the Verkada Pass app. Ventura notes, “Our officers carry about 30 lbs of gear on a daily basis, it’s easier for them to access their phones than several different keys.”

Front office employees also use the Command app for personal safety. They remotely view camera feeds to check for activity between the parking lot and police building. If they see that the path is blocked, they know to call on a police escort as needed.

Scalable and Secure

“With role-based access, we provision end-users with personalized accounts, and remote access with no port-forwarding. Compared to NVRs which are susceptible to hacking, Verkada was a clear winner for us from a cybersecurity standpoint.”

Bryan Terry, IT Director

With Verkada, Terry has an efficient system that is ready to use. To protect against new threats in an ever-evolving landscape, system upgrades are automatically deployed with no additional cost or action required. Remote access is enabled via secure outbound connection over Port 443, eliminating the need for port forwarding or VPN configurations that expose the network to vulnerabilities.

With futureproof technology and centralized management, Terry can effectively add cameras and doors to scale. The cloud-based door controllers are compatible with most industry-standard hardware, and security cameras come with up to 365 days of onboard storage and unlimited cloud archiving. Both solutions are backed by an industry-leading 10-year hardware warranty to ensure a predictable cost of ownership over time.

Looking Ahead: Integrating Sensors and Citywide Deployment

“The city has other critical infrastructure which includes water and wastewater treatment plants, a city hall that houses employees, as well as maintenance and operations facilities containing expensive equipment and vehicles. Moving forward, we’re interested in the environmental sensors and continuing to deploy Verkada building-by-building throughout the city.”

Bryan Terry, IT Director

Beyond the police department, Terry’s next project will be scaling cameras and access control to the utilities and administration office, public works plant, airport office, and permit center. He is also looking into deploying the SV11 to monitor for environmental changes within sensitive areas, such as server rooms housing IT equipment.

To try Verkada at your organization, request a free trial camera or attend our weekly webinar.