The Rutherford Police Department in New Jersey has deployed a unified video surveillance and access control system from Axis Communications to manage public safety and monitor a high-traffic transit corridor.

Located near New York City and MetLife Stadium, the borough of Rutherford experiences heavy traffic and large crowds during major sporting and entertainment events. Operating with a lean police force, the department required an integrated system to provide real-time situational awareness, utilising analytics such as weapon detection to manage dangerous situations and deploy officers effectively.

To streamline evidence collection, the deployment integrates video feeds with door access logs through the AXIS Camera Station Pro software. The system features forensic smart search capabilities, allowing investigators to locate relevant footage based on specific attributes such as vehicle colour, object type, or clothing, which reduces the time spent manually reviewing video records.

The network hardware utilises AV1 video compression technology to manage data loads. This reduces bandwidth and storage consumption by approximately 20 percent, enabling the department to retain larger volumes of high-resolution video for post-incident analysis and objective record-keeping.

Designed to accommodate evolving municipal requirements, the infrastructure is highly scalable. Initially installed with 70 network cameras, door controllers, and video intercoms at the new police headquarters, the department has already expanded the surveillance network outward into local parks and public spaces.

“The Rutherford Police Department shows how public safety agencies can extend the value of their video infrastructure as their needs grow,” said Dean Cunningham, segment development manager for public safety at Axis Communications. “By bringing video, access control, and intelligent search capabilities together, RPD can use the same security ecosystem to address everything from securing its headquarters to monitoring traffic and supporting investigations across the community.”