Using Technology to Build an Agile, Optimized Surveillance Team

In preparation for Valley Forge Casino Resort’s grand opening, top-of-the-line surveillance equipment was deployed. Cameras were expertly installed throughout every area of the resort, and the monitoring capability was exceptional. However, upon coming onboard, Jesse Silva, Director of Surveillance for Valley Forge Casino Resort, immediately identified one major gap—the team needed a surveillance incident management solution.

“It is impossible to be impactful in surveillance using just pen and paper. It was imperative we implement a solution to facilitate the logging of incidents, the investigative process, and the management of incidents through to resolution,” says Silva.

With his wealth of experience using commercial surveillance solutions as well as having helped lead the development of a homegrown system at a major Las Vegas casino, Silva knew exactly what he was looking for in a solution. “I needed a system that would enable my agents to easily track and manage our work, encourage them to work as a cohesive team, and empower them to improve our processes. I need a system that is able to evolve as we continue to evolve.”

Streamlining Surveillance by Implementing a Powerful, Flexible Solution

Valley Forge Casino Resort selected CIP Reporting’s Incident Reporting solution to power its surveillance operation.

“CIP Reporting is the only solution I have seen that goes well beyond simple logging and reporting. CIP Reporting’s Incident Reporting is fully configurable to the needs and procedures of our resort and allows me and my team, using system permissions, to make real-time system updates as we identify ways to improve our surveillance practices. The ability to make these real-time changes is what convinced me that CIP Reporting was my platform of choice,” says Silva.

With CIP Reporting’s Incident Reporting solution, the security team at
Valley Forge Resort Casino has gained the tools they need to be successful and adaptable

CIP Reporting Enables Them to Streamline the Surveillance Process by:

Automating Resort-Specific Workflows to Ensure All Incident Types Are Handled Appropriately
Facilitating the Capture and Inclusion of All Digital Assets Into the Investigative Report
Providing Extensive Search Capabilities Enabling the Immediate Recall of Incidents
Automatically Generating Reports: Incident Reports, Shift Reports, Regulatory Reports, Etc

Powering Analytics So That All Data, Trends, and Patterns Can Be Understood and Acted Upon
Creating a Dealer Audit That Requires Only the Relevant Observational and Behavior Points
Expediting the Logging of Calls and Reports Using Custom Drop-Down Options
Allowing the Team With the Right Permissions to Make Real-Time Edits to the System as Opportunities for Improvement Are Identified, With No IT Support Required

“An effective surveillance team needs to ensure every possible bit of information is collected at the time of the incident, and then needs to be able to easily recall all of that data at any point in the future. With CIP Reporting, we can attach all digital assets to an entry—video, picture, PDF, email—and we are able to easily query it. With CIP Reporting, we are certain that the investigation is absolutely complete and easily recalled if needed in the future,” explains Silva.

Creating a Team That’s Optimized to Protect Resort Assets

Within a few years of using CIP Reporting’s Incident Reporting solution to power surveillance operations, Valley Forge Casino Resort has made great strides in optimizing surveillance practices in order to ensure the protection of resort assets.

This Optimization has Enabled the Team to:

Effectively Manage 102% Growth in the Number of Entries of Logs and Reports Over the Past 6 Years With a Relatively Consistent Number of Team Members
Promote a High Team Morale by Doing Things Like Celebrating an Agent’s Milestone “Catch” (Caught Dealer Mistake), an Event That Can Be Managed and Monitored in CIP Reporting
Manage More Than 15,000 Self-Exclusions, Up From 4,000 Only a Few Years Ago

“My team’s ability to work well together is fundamental to our ability to protect this resort. CIP Reporting helps foster our team culture. There was one time, for example, that security notified us of a variance in the cage—a teller’s money was off. It took 12 shifts working together over the course of 4 days to account for every dollar. CIP Reporting empowered each shift to understand the current status of the investigation and quickly pick up where the last person left off. The team took such pride in that work. Without CIP Reporting, this would not have been possible,”
shares Silva.

More Than a Software Company, Rather a True Technology Partner

The value CIP Reporting brings to the Valley Forge Casino Resort goes well beyond the technology.
“CIP Reporting has become a real partner in helping us solve surveillance challenges. On multiple occasions, upon learning of or seeing firsthand a less-than-efficient process, CIP Reporting’s leadership jumped right in and found a way to optimize the process,” says Silva.

Creating a Self-Exclusion Dashboard

Silva and his team had been managing self-exclusions (whereby a person requests to be excluded from legalized gaming activities) by printing out each self-exclusion and maintaining them in binders. Once the number of self-exclusions reached 15,000, an alternative was required. CIP Reporting built an electronic, state-approved self-exclusion dashboard that is constantly up and running for the team to study and review.

Digitizing the Surveillance Room Visitor Log

Any visitor who enters the surveillance office is required to fill out an extensive bit of information. This had been managed in a paper ledger where accuracy was dependent on the ability to read the person’s handwriting and to enter the information accurately. CIP Reporting’s digitized visitor log ensures all fields are completed and adds an official time stamp.

“I’ve been impressed with CIP Reporting from start to finish. I’ve been impressed with the software, tailored design, training, implementation—all of it. CIP Reporting is truly amazing,” concludes Silva.

About Valley Forge Casino Resort

Located in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Valley Forge Casino Resort is a full-amenity gaming resort with more than 850 slot machines and 50 gaming tables as well as FanDuel sports betting. The resort has two hotels, The Casino Tower and a Radisson Hotel, a spa, and a fitness center. It offers multiple restaurants and nightlife options like Revolution Chophouse, Valley Tavern, and The Vault. The resort also houses the Valley Forge Convention Center, 100,000 square feet of convention and exhibit space.