Collect Generosity = Safer Schools

Background:

For the past 12 years, ASIS International (ASIS), the largest membership organization for security management professionals, has sponsored a yearly philanthropic project in the community hosting its annual convention. In 2015, Anaheim schools had the opportunity to participate in ASIS Foundation’s School Security Funding Competition.

Schools in the Magnolia School District were asked to submit short essays outlining school security concerns including risk reduction and security enhancement opportunities. A committee of security professionals from the ASIS Orange County Chapter judged the submissions and selected Lord Baden-Powell Elementary School.

The ASIS Foundation and ASIS International presented Lord Baden-Powell Elementary School with a donation of $20,000 for security improvements and reached out to TRL Systems and security industry product organizations to collectively donate an additional $100,000 in-kind.

On July 25, 2015, a team of 25 TRL Systems volunteers including project managers, install technicians and administrative staff donated their time and expertise to install a thirteen-camera monitoring system at Lord Baden-Powell Elementary School.

Goal:

Improve school security by installing both indoor and outdoor surveillance cameras to deter potential wrongdoers and provide enhanced safety for the children and staff inside the school, as well as those entering and exiting the school. Provide a five-year plan for continual school security enhancement.

Project Highlights:

The TRL Systems team started by installing the latest high-end Genetec video management platform as well as 13 state-of-the-art, two-megapixel Samsung cameras with varifocal iris lenses. During the day, the cameras show a high-resolution color image and at night they adjust to show a high quality black-and-white image. Each camera is set up to take either a wide or narrow shot depending on whether it is pointed at a playground or a hallway.

TRL Security Division volunteers then worked with the school district’s IT department to subnet the system so that the new video could “ride” on its network back-end without disrupting day-to-day operations.

Using the existing infrastructure and cabling when possible, and running new cable in the ceiling, TRL Systems also covered exposed cabling in heavy duty rigid conduit for durability. All cameras were mounted higher than eight feet and, in most cases, they were mounted at 12 to 15 feet.

The motion sensitive cameras preserve hard drive space on the storage unit, which holds six gigabytes of data or the equivalent of six weeks of video. The software provides school security staff with the capability to zoom in and move around on a recording.

The video management platform is one that the school will never outgrow. It’s software based and the school can easily add three cameras with a small amount of programming. If in the future the school requires more than three cameras, it will simply need to acquire the licenses and program the cameras.

The Donors: The following organizations donated products and services in-kind for the project:

  • Donations of $40,000+

    • TRL Systems

  • Donations of $30,000

    • DataDirect Networks (DDN)

  • Donations of $10,000

    • Navigate

    • Samsung CCTV

  • Donations of $5,000

    • Altronix/SSAI

    • Altura Communications

    • Anixter

    • Genetec

    • Kepler Networks

    • Pax Bello Security Solutions

    • Siemens Cable Company

    • University of Massachusetts (Boston)

The Results:

The preventative and forensic impact to the security of the Lord Baden-Powell Elementary School is a significant. The security improvements made possible by the donated products and services include:

  • Increase in active situational awareness. Security personnel viewing the camera feeds can now see areas far out on the school perimeter, which they normally would not be able to see without a security guard on site. In one key location, the cameras conjoin for a 360 perimeter view.

  • Cameras are installed in a position to monitor all the vehicular traffic and drop-off in front of the school, while also covering the majority of the front parking lot. The main entrance is fully covered so that everyone coming in and out of the school at any time is recorded.

  • One of the most important results from this project is communication between school officials and local law enforcement. The school staff has a better understanding of how to use technology to advance school security. It also understands how best to work with law enforcement in the event of an emergency.

SecurityDerek Purdycommunity service, School Security, security integration, Security Camera