For more than 16 years, Columbia Borough, Pennsylvania, has relied on Milestone’s open platform video technology to strengthen public safety, improve incident response and build a scalable security system that continues to evolve alongside the community.
Columbia Borough needed a reliable, scalable video security system to protect its downtown, public buildings, parks and outlying facilities across a geographically varied landscape with a complex infrastructure path connecting them. Traditional wired approaches were impractical, and early wireless plans encountered obstacles that required a full architectural rethink. The borough also needed a system that officers and dispatchers could operate without specialized technical training and that could grow alongside the community’s evolving security needs.
Working with App-Techs, a Lancaster-area security integrator, Columbia deployed a borough-wide video security system built on Milestone Systems XProtect open platform video management software. App-Techs engineered a distributed wireless network reaching municipal facilities, parks and borough properties across the community, supporting roughly 83 camera feeds with a mix of 4K multi-lens and PTZ cameras, primarily from iPro. Recording and management data runs on dedicated servers housed in the municipal building and a remote park office, while mobile and in-vehicle access extends the system to officers in the field.
Over the years, Columbia’s video security system has supported faster incident response, real-time dispatcher awareness and stronger evidence for criminal prosecution. Crime call volume has trended downward for five to six consecutive years. The system has helped close cases and serves as a visible deterrent, reinforced by public signage. Dispatchers and police officers rely on the system daily, and the platform continues to expand as Columbia’s safety and security needs evolve.
Columbia’s dispatchers use XProtect daily to monitor cameras and support officers in the field. In one case, a dispatcher spotted someone breaking into a vending machine outside a laundromat and immediately sent officers to the scene. The arrest ultimately helped resolve a series of vending-machine thefts across multiple counties.
The system also gives officers access to live and recorded video from patrol vehicles and mobile devices, helping them maintain situational awareness during incidents and large community events.
Chief Brommer is careful not to attribute declining crime directly to the video system, but Columbia has seen call volume and crime trend downward for five to six years. The borough also posts signs identifying camera coverage as an additional deterrent.
Looking ahead, Columbia is exploring additional capabilities including object search, license plate recognition and gunshot detection technologies.
For more than 16 years, Columbia has continued to expand its video system as technology and community needs have evolved. Throughout that time, App-Techs has remained a trusted partner, helping the borough maintain and extend the system.