The Selma (Ala.) Police Department and city has deployed a high definition (HD) surveillance system to boost community safety and reduce criminal activity.

The Avigilon HD Surveillance System was deployed at the Selma PD and at the Selma Housing Authority's George Washington Carver complex, a 215-apartment facility with more than 500 tenants, and has helped reduce criminal activity, according to Avigilon.

A citywide HD system connecting the Selma PD and the Selma Housing Authority offers greater surveillance coverage across the municipality. Since installing the system, Selma has seen a reduction in criminal activity at GWC—crime reporting has fallen 75 percent, from 40 to less than 10 incidents per week.

The system is more reliable and functional than the Selma PD's previous analog-based system, and has become an important investigative tool, according to Chief William Riley.

The city has installed more than 30 HD cameras ranging from three to five megapixels to monitor the exterior of the GWC complex and at police headquarters to monitor the parking lot, main lobby, booking rooms, holding cells, Magistrate's Office, and the Selma Municipal Court.

The SPD installed several Avigilon analog video encoders to create a hybrid surveillance system that dramatically and cost-effectively improves the performance of its existing analog cameras.

The Avigilon HD surveillance system is monitored around-the-clock at both the SPD and GWC complex and stores up to 45 days of footage.

"The city has taken advantage of a wide area network to weave together an effective information system that addresses the needs of multiple organizations, and at the same time, now has the ability to investigate and share indisputable video forensic detail," according to Dave Tynan, Avigilon's vice president of global sales and marketing.

Selma manages the HD surveillance system using Avigilon Control Center network video management software (NVMS) with HD Stream Management.