Iowa State Fair

Event Security Case Study

Iowa State Fair

Overview

Public safety issues, like unruly crowds, vandalism, theft or violence are just a few of the threats that accompany large public events like state fairs. Mitigating these risks and ensuring fair goers’ safety and security without hindering their experiences during the event is a top priority for Iowa State Fair. Therefore, they were looking for effective technological tools that would supplement their police department in monitoring the fairgrounds and elevate situational awareness and operational efficiency without additional replacement or hardware costs. Discover how Scylla AI-based physical threat detection technology helps Iowa State Fair meet their security challenges.

Iowa State Fair

Iowa State Fair is one of the oldest and largest agricultural and industrial expositions in the country. More than a million people from all over the world come to Des Moines every August to celebrate the state’s best achievements in agriculture and industry. The rest of the year, the Iowa State Fairgrounds host car shows, livestock exhibitions, flea markets, craft shows, concerts, trade shows and more. The Fair managers take safety very seriously and strive to provide a family friendly, safe and healthy environment.

Standing people in front of Ferris wheel

CHALLENGE

To monitor a vast area that occupies more than a square mile of land and includes various grounds and facilities.

To detect guns and other weapons.

To detect anomalous and suspicious behavior to protect fair goers from violence and terrorism.

To detect vandals, intruders or loiterers.

To pinpoint people previously identified as a threat to public safety.

To locate missing children or elderly.

To identify unattended objects or bags.

To detect smoke and fire or slip-and-fall accidents.

OUR SOLUTION

Scylla AI-powered solutions easily integrate with the Iowa State Fair’s existing cameras, video management system (VMS) and access control system, enabling 24/7 monitoring through 200+ security cameras.

Scylla Gun Detection technology is used to identify weapons in real-time and track individuals while they are in the view of the camera, even if a person with a weapon drops it or tries to blend in with the crowd.

Scylla Aggressive Behavior Detection spots behavioral anomalies identified as threats, such as fights and other aggressive behaviors.

Scylla Slip and Fall is used to alert officers to such incidents, allowing them to direct medical responders quicker, and thus preventing severe consequences and frivolous lawsuits.

The Facial Recognition module is deployed to alert staff of repeat offenders using a database from forensic analysis.

Scylla Smoke and Fire Detection is used to visually detect smoke and fire.

Scylla sends alerts through the browser-based dashboard, email and a mobile app, notifying police officers in real time.

Scylla’s technology can be easily scaled according to the changing needs of the fairgrounds.

Customer testimonial

“In today’s world, everybody wants video evidence or some type of recount of the situation. With Scylla, we don’t have to look back on it but we can prevent it as we can see it real-time as it happens. I know that it’s been a tremendous peace of mind for all of us here that we have this technology. And it will grow with us as we continue to grow as we use the crowd security system and all the tools that go with it from our camera-based system here. This helps us keep the reputation of Iowa State Fair that it’s a safe place to come, safe place to bring your kids and your family.”

Gary Slater

CEO and Manager Iowa State Fair, IA