The Ysleta Independent School District has installed a state-of-the-art security system to keep a close eye on students and the district.

KFOX14 got to visit the surveillance room nicknamed the "war room" where the security team monitors almost 600 cameras across the district.

Long before the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, Jr. Martinez, chief of security and security surveillance specialist Oscar Mendoza hatched a one-of-a-kind surveillance system for the school district.

"I'm proud to say, I don't think anyone else has anything like this to be honest with you. If they do I haven't seen it," said Martinez.

The $2 million system, which has been up and running for close to a year, puts extra eyes on the ground, which has helped prevent and intercept several incidents. Everything from arson to unauthorized personaland inappropriate behavior. Every high school in YISD is usually staffed with two El Paso police officers and three to four security guards, but the cameras are an extra set of eyes.

"Now that we have an eye on the ground, we catch a lot," said Mendoza.

YISD also became one of the first school districts to use thermal imaging.

"We have night vision and thermal as well," said Mendoza.

The cameras record all the time so whether it's bullying or a theft, all it takes is hitting the rewind button.

"We are always watching, if we do miss it, we have the capability to go back," said Mendoza.

"The beast" is Martinez' and Mendoza's invention and newest member of the security team. It's a tall, self-contained unit with multiple cameras at the top; it's giving the security team an extra reach.

In the event of an emergency or incident, the beast will roll out and be able to send video back to the surveillance team giving them in up-close view of the situation from hundreds of feet away. Mendoza explained the idea for the beast was conceived after a gas leak near one of the district's schools.

"Now, we are able to deploy in what is called the 'hot zone' and zoom in and know what is going on," said Mendoza.

When the school day ends and even on the weekend, someone is in the 'war room', keeping a watchful eye on the district.

"We are here twenty-four, seven," said Mendoza.

Martinez said oftentimes law-enforcement officials come to use the system to assist them in investigating something.

Safety is the number one priority for both Mendoza and Martinez.

"You can't put a price on safety," said Martinez. Both men have an even deeper motivation to protect the students and employees of YISD. Martinez, his wife and four children all went to YISD. A proud graduate of Bel Air High School, Martinez said his granddaughter will soon start school at YISD. Mendoza's 6-year-old daughter is also a student in the district and as a parent, the system gives him an added sense of security.

As the district expands, the war room will too.

"We are running out of wall space," said Martinez.

While the cameras can't catch or prevent everything, it sure is nice to have.

"This is not the end all, cure all -- but it certainly helps us with another layer of protection for the kids and try to make them feel safe because if the kids don't feel safe at schools they won't learn," said Martinez.

In 2011, the YISD security team won an award from the Texas School Safety Center. It's a state award given to one law enforcement agency annually.