Cook County Jails Camera Security Plan & Design
Level-1 designed a campus-wide IP surveillance system for Cook County Jail, enhancing safety, compliance, and real-time monitoring.
Spanning eight city blocks and managing thousands of detainees daily, the Cook County Jail is one of the largest correctional campuses in the United States. Many of its core facilities dated back to the early 20th century, with some divisions constructed as early as 1929. These aging buildings suffered from blind spots in camera coverage, failing analog systems, and disconnected security networks that hindered real-time response and jeopardized inmate and officer safety. Recognizing both the operational urgency and compliance risk, the Cook County Department of Capital Planning and Policy, in coordination with the Sheriff’s Office, initiated a transformational project to modernize surveillance, networking, and code-compliant infrastructure across the entire jail campus.
Level-1 Global Solutions was selected as the low-voltage design partner for this multi-phase, multi-agency modernization effort. As a minority-certified firm with deep experience in justice and correctional environments, our team was uniquely qualified to deliver a scalable solution grounded in both policy compliance and correctional best practices. Working closely with County officials, the Sheriff’s Office, and Illinois Department of Corrections consultants, we designed an integrated system architecture that not only met Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), Americans with Disabilities (ADA), and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, but also supported real-time monitoring, operational resilience, and future facility expansion. Our design not only addressed camera placement and data flow but also informed how housing units, medical wings (Cermak Hospital), and program areas could evolve to reflect best practices in modern corrections.
Our design connects over a dozen buildings, including Divisions 3 through 11, the Intake Center, medical and programmatic spaces, and perimeter control into a single high-bandwidth fiber optic grid with centralized video surveillance and security controls. Where previous coverage was siloed or nonexistent, we restructured the jail’s technology core to bring every tier, yard, corridor, and control center into a unified view.
What We Designed for
- Campus-wide fiber optic surveillance network upgrade
- Integration of 1,000+ IP cameras across all housing divisions and support facilities
- Integrated video management system (VMS) enabling real-time multi-building monitoring from a central command hub with secondary backup control room
- Tamper-resistant, detention-grade network cabling and conduit infrastructure
- New control center for centralized command and remote camera monitoring
- ADA-compliant upgrades integrated into facility design
- New housing pods supporting direct supervision models
- Infrastructure design to support the integration of intercom, alarms, and door controls
- Facility-wide upgrades aligned with PREA, improving sightlines, reducing blind spots, and supporting proactive incident response
- Stakeholder coordination with Capital Planning, the Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Technology, and Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC)
What emerged is a resilient, campus-wide system that supports the Sheriff’s operational goals and meets state-level inspection benchmarks. By modernizing the surveillance infrastructure and contributing to a new architectural vision, Level-1 helped reposition Cook County Jail as a national model for safe, secure, and rehabilitative detention environments.