10 days of celebration in downtown Ghent
The Ghent Festivities, Ghent's 10-day city festival, is known for its week of non-stop festivities in the city center. For “the Ghent cops,” this is a period when increased vigilance is necessary.
At the headquarters in Ekkergem is the nerve center of the festival: the command post (CP). For the Gentse Feesten, in collaboration with our partner Barco, we expanded the existing command center. As a result, the nerve center now functions as a multidisciplinary command post. A strong coordination center where police, fire and medical services work together for the safety of the inner city.
Dieter Langeraert, Deputy Director of Operations Police Zone Ghent, explains why this expansion was necessary: “The expansion of the command center was essential for proper management of our events. The Ghent Festivities is an open festival, where we welcome between 100,000 and 200,000 visitors to our city center every day. On the one hand we have to manage the crowd, on the other hand we have to deal with judicial incidents. Good management is indispensable here. Technological support makes it easier for the 5 to 10 colleagues in the command post to work together, quickly share information and visualize situations. This enables managers to better assess what is happening in the field and respond more efficiently.”
A short decision period with excellent results
The decision to expand the command center in Ekkergem was made a month ago, leaving a tight time frame for this project. Together with partner Barco, we were only too happy to take on this challenge.
Ruben Vansevenant, Head of Service ICT Police Zone Ghent, tells us more about this: “The time frame for this project was tight, but it was very well realized. The room was already equipped with the UniSee video wall and the OpSpace system, but for the Gentse Feesten we wanted more cameras etc. to visualize more things. All this was finished within a month and a half.”
A multi-deployable command post
The headquarters of the Ghent Police Zone has two command posts: one for daily downtown control and one specifically for events. The event command post not only serves as a coordination center during events, but can also be used as a large meeting room. In addition to the UniSee video wall, a comprehensive videoconferencing solution was installed, allowing for hybrid meetings every time. The nearby meeting rooms were also equipped with a professional hybrid framework.
The collaboration with Play AV and Barco
Ruben Vansevenant, Head of Service ICT Police Zone Ghent, shares his experience about the cooperation, "As always, the cooperation with Play AV and Barco was excellent. Both parties immediately understood the operational importance of this installation and proactively thought with us about the right set-up."
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