Case Study: Charlestown Police Station achieves scalable, community-wide surveillance and faster response with Milestone Systems' XProtect

Charlestown, R.I. police build IP video technology into new station for flexible future expansions in community-wide security

Charlestown, R.I.’s police department, operating from a new station built in 2006 with about 20 full‑time officers, faces large seasonal population surges (including a 10,000‑person camping area) and rising coastal crime — notably domestic violence, traffic incidents, and property crimes — while also handling local fire and rescue dispatch. They needed a flexible, scalable surveillance and evidence‑recording solution to improve oversight of the station, detention areas, traffic corridors and public spaces without significantly increasing staff.

The department implemented Milestone XProtect video management software, installed by Certified Partner Danetech, to manage a mix of Axis and Videology cameras (with analog infrared cameras via encoders) on standard Dell servers. A central dispatch/control room with wall monitors provides comprehensive interior and exterior coverage and recorded footage has been used successfully in court; the IP‑based system is readily expandable to parks, beaches and Town Hall to bolster communitywide safety and response times.

Charlestown Police Station

Patrick J. McMahon

Emergency Services Unit, Charlestown