Strengthening Security and Efficiency for South Mississippi Housing Authority

The South Mississippi Housing Authority (SMHA) serves 14 counties and thousands of residents across the southeastern region of Mississippi. SMHA is one of eight regional housing authorities in Mississippi, making it critical that the staff can provide the services needed to its residents in safe and secure communities. As SMHA has grown, their need for easy-to-use and scalable physical security to reduce operational burdens has become crucial.

Their previous legacy physical security system caused their team to spend needless hours searching for video footage, had reliability issues, and put an additional burden on the IT team because it was not user-friendly or scalable. With Rhombus, SMHA has deployed a scalable solution that allows stakeholders from across the organization to easily find and share footage securely, keep residents and employees safe, and reduce physical security costs.

Challenges

SMHA faced several challenges, including safeguarding remote facilities, installation issues, and a difficult-to-use system that made it impossible for other employees to use their legacy physical security system. At some locations, higher neighborhood crime rates—including issues like abandoned vehicles and theft, added to the security concerns for residents and staff. Traditional hardwired security systems presented logistical challenges, such as high installation costs and the risk of damage during storms. This limited SMHA's ability to scale security efforts, was time-consuming to operate, and required significant manual effort to investigate incidents.

Solution

SMHA deployed Rhombus’ cloud-based cameras and native access control system across its properties. SMHA used a mix of Rhombus cloud cameras, including a Wi-Fi-enabled option, to meet their organizational needs and reduce costly infrastructure work at their most remote locations. Out-of-the-box SMHA was able to gain easy access, management, and security. By implementing Rhombus, SMHA achieved:

Comprehensive Security Coverage

Over 100 cameras were installed, with plans for further expansion. Some properties faced challenges in achieving full coverage due to their remote locations and susceptibility to tropical storms. Traditional hardwired systems require expensive underground or overhead installations that are vulnerable to storm damage. With Rhombus, SMHA installed the cameras that best fit their needs at each location. Rhombus’ wireless cameras provided a flexible, cost-effective solution for their remote locations and properties prone to severe weather. This allowed SMHA to cover previously inaccessible areas without the need for costly infrastructure.

"Without Rhombus’ wireless solution, we would’ve had to run a 70-yard cable through storm-prone areas—an impractical and costly endeavor," noted Jones.

Operational Efficiency

Rhombus’ intuitive interface transformed how IT, security officers, property managers, and other staff monitor security footage. Previously, reviewing footage for incidents could take days due to the limitations of older systems, which required remote access to a server or physically retrieving data from on-site storage. These issues forced the IT team to search for any footage needed and manually share it with the correct stakeholders. This wasted precious time in resolving incidents. With Rhombus, staff can now access live and archived video from anywhere via the cloud, drastically reducing investigation time.

Improved Safety for Staff and Residents

Security is a top priority for SMHA, from keeping residents safe in their communities to ensuring staff safety at their facilities. To achieve security across all 14 counties they serve, SMHA uses Rhombus to make it easy to quickly find footage and share live feeds and video clips with local authorities, significantly improving safety across SMHA properties. This ability to provide law enforcement with real-time footage and archived video has helped speed up response times and proactively address criminal activity.

"We can now send a live feed link to the police, allowing them to monitor incidents in real-time, which wasn’t possible with our old system," said Jones. This enhanced collaboration with law enforcement has provided peace of mind for residents and staff, knowing that incidents are being addressed quickly and effectively.

Results

Since implementing Rhombus, SMHA has improved security operations and workflows across all facilities. From streamlining security processes to saving time and reducing costs, the deployment has addressed key challenges faced by the housing authority.

Unified Security Solution

Rhombus provided a unified platform that integrated cameras and access control, which was critical for streamlining SMHA's approach to security. Andrew Jones shared, “There has not been a competitor to Rhombus that is as user-friendly. It's made it easy to give access to property managers and share footage with the police.”

Transformative Time Savings

Rhombus has radically improved operational efficiency, especially when it comes to incident investigations. "With the old system, I spent over 20 hours looking through footage for a single incident. With Rhombus, I found the footage in 10 minutes," said Jones. Rhombus’ powerful AI features—such as human and vehicle movement detection and color search—allow staff to quickly locate the relevant footage, resolving issues faster and more effectively.

Significant Cost Reductions

By transitioning from hardwired systems to Rhombus’ cloud-based solution, SMHA has cut security costs and eliminated unnecessary vendor contracts. Instead of incurring monthly fees, SMHA opted for a three-year licensing model, reducing expenses and providing long-term financial predictability. “We’ve been able to cancel contracts with multiple vendors, saving money and consolidating systems,” said Jones.

Enhanced Community Safety

SMHA’s residents and staff have seen tangible improvements in security and peace of mind, thanks to Rhombus’ real-time monitoring and seamless police collaboration. Footage captured by Rhombus cameras has been instrumental in aiding law enforcement, even contributing to multiple arrests following an uptick in gang activity at one property. "Residents feel more secure, knowing they’re protected by a system that helps prevent crime and keeps their community safe," Jones noted.

Looking Ahead

SMHA plans to continue expanding its deployment of Rhombus, including adding more cloud cameras, deploying access control across the counties they serve, and leveraging license plate recognition (LPR) to improve safety and security. The ability to more accurately monitor entrances and exits of properties will further strengthen their security strategy and assist local law enforcement in preventing and responding to incidents.