SECURITY/County improves facility safety with technology
Westchester County, N.Y., has installed a comprehensive electronic security system to protect two of its buildings and an adjoining parking structure. The system, installed last July, includes video surveillance cameras, digital video recorders, barrier turnstiles, X-ray equipment, intercoms and metal detectors.
Prior to the security system upgrade, Westchester County only had a basic access control system in place at its main building, called the Michaelian Office Building, and its courthouse. Under the system, employees needed access cards to go into certain areas. More than two years ago, Westchester began making plans to purchase a new system because the manufacturer of the basic access control system no longer supported it.
The county decided to hire a consultant to prepare a report on options for a new system; the county would then study the report and make a decision on a new system. However, the Sept. 11 attacks changed the timetable.
“After Sept. 11, we listened to the warnings from federal agencies and changed plans that were slated to be implemented within a few years and moved them to the forefront,” says Salvatore Carrera, Westchester’s director of economic development — real estate. He also oversees the county’s Department of Public Safety.
The county began by upgrading security in the Michaelian Office Building, a nine-story facility that houses offices for the county executive, board of legislators and a number of departments such as public works, planning and public safety. It also upgraded security at a nearby courthouse and parking deck.
The county turned to Antar-Com, a White Plains, N.Y.-based systems integrator, which planned and managed the installation of the security equipment in less than four months. The components of the system are integrated through a C-CURE 800 access control system and NetVue video integration software by Lexington, Mass.-based Software House.
“I was not going to buy something that would be obsolete within six months or a year,” Carrera says. “We can easily expand this system to more facilities or add biometrics if we want. This is a good, long-term investment for the county.”
The access system is used to lock and unlock the public entrance to the Michaelian Office Building automatically. Visitors enter through one door and are required to show a picture identification card (usually a driver’s license). A public safety officer uses a driver’s license scanner from Yonkers, N.Y.-based Bartizan Data Systems and Passage Point software from San Jose, Calif.-based STOPware to create temporary ID badges. The scanner and software integrate with the C-CURE system. Visitors are then directed through a metal detector, while items such as purses and attaché cases are placed on a conveyor belt and examined by X-ray equipment from Fairfield, N.J.-based Control Screening.
A temporary badge is issued to visitors to be worn inside the building. When leaving, visitors are required to swipe the badge at a turnstile from Lillington, N.C.-based Tomsed Corp. The badge is logged out of the C-CURE system and is invalidated.
The county uses a C-CURE Vision badging system to produce photo IDs for employees. The access system permits a variety of time, day and area restrictions for each badge. Currently, the county maintains nearly 25 clearance codes. Employees may enter the building through specific access points, each requiring a valid ID badge.
The system also integrates intercoms from Roanoke, Va.-based ValCom. The intercoms are located within the building’s parking garage and can be used to contact a public safety officer in the main security control room.
From the security control room, officers monitor the intercoms, access control and video surveillance systems at all times. More than 70 cameras monitor the entrances, hallways, parking areas and ground-level airway vents. County officials also are preparing a single point of entry whereby all goods coming into the Michaelian Office Building — including mail, packages and even lunches — will be screened by an X-ray machine.
Carrera says that, at first, county employees were a little suspicious of such a comprehensive system. But now that it has been in place for several months, they have adjusted and appreciate the added security. He adds that he has not had one complaint from the public.
As for the courthouse, the lobby is currently being renovated, Carrera says. All visitors currently pass through a metal detector to enter the building. Employees are also required to carry photo ID cards. Soon, a visitor pass system, similar to that used in the Michaelian Office Building, will be installed.
County officials are preparing a report with recommendations on which additional county-operated sites will undergo a security upgrade. By using the C-CURE system as a standard, Carrera says, the county will have the ability to link any and/or all of the facilities into a central server or operate each facility as a standalone C-CURE system.
(This article is reprinted with permission of Access Control & Security Systems (www.securitysolutions.com), a sister publication of American City & County. It has been edited to conform to ACC style and space requirements.)
