Security on the Scene Washington DC

Across the country, government and municipalities are taking security into their own hands. The Parker Fire District (PFD) in Parker, Colo., recently deployed Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies', Campbell, Calif., Schlage wireless access control at four stations in an effort to beef up security and make approved access easier. Prior, doors were accessed via standard mechanical keys. "Our firefighters work in 24-hour shifts," said Robert Krause, PFD director of technology. "Coming or going, they carry all their bunker gear, so their hands are full when coming into the station. We wanted them to be able to simply access the door through a proximity card kept in their wallets or with a fob on their key chains."

Proactive measures

Parks and recreation centers are other facilities that warrant safe premises. Digital Internet protocol (IP) cameras from New York City-based Mobotix have been deployed at the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department in North Carolina. The perceived need for increased security and surveillance started with a series of burglaries at one of their 27 recreation centers. Four digital IP cameras were installed and now enable staff to view detailed incidents. The department recently contracted to have 50 additional cameras installed in 10 different park sites in high-crime areas and plans to put surveillance in every facility in the future.

The niche for volumetric sensing is also expanding as the country looks for solutions to border security and critical infrastructure protection. NSSC, located in Willowbrook, Ill., recently acquired Perifeld-M Volumetric Perimeter Intrusion Detection System (PIDS) from Siemens in Germany. Perifeld-M is currently installed in numerous Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) facilities and provides overhead detection of up to 20 feet. The PIDS has one of the highest probabilities of detection with low false nuisance alarm rates, according to Robert Ryan, a consultant with NSSC. It performs under adverse weather conditions including wind, rain, snow, and lightning, critical for government and municipal infrastructures, he added.

From parks to ports, enhancing the safety of people, goods and services is at the forefront of security audits. Verint Systems Inc., Melville, N.Y., reported recently that the Port of Beaumont, located 84 miles east of Houston is expanding its deployment of the company's Critical Infrastructure Solution to enhance security of its cargo and railway locations and at the facility perimeter. The Verint Solution was designed with Texas-based partner Adesta LLC, a port security integration specialist.

Across the globe, IndigoVision, headquartered in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, is providing monitoring for a traffic 'calming' system in the Belgian city of Antwerp. The closed-circuit television surveillance system monitors a series of automated bollards that regulate traffic on city streets and alert police to malfunctions, accidents and acts of vandalism.

Protection for local, state and federal governments and municipalities takes many shapes and forms but it's a given that there's some sort of electronic security present and more on the way.