Protecting Your School with IP Video Surveillance
By Eric Fullerton and Lars Thinggaard
Schools should be safe havens for education. Unfortunately, like every other part of society, they suffer their share of crime and violence. News events like the shootings at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech, as well as local school crimes in many communities, have parents, students, teachers, and administrators looking for an extra degree of security.
Providing physical protection can be difficult and expensive throughout a school system. Preferring to devote their budget to enhancing education rather than security, most educators look for maximum value in every security purchase. Two important components contributing to this value are the ability to help prevent crime and help maintain a low-crime record. Since video surveillance systems help deter crime by signaling people that they’re being watched and evidence is being collected against them, they are of high interest to educators.
The Need for Greater Security in Schools
Non-violent and violent crime continue to be prevalent in many educational institutions around the world, signaling the need for more security. Institutions that do not have adequate campus-wide surveillance face a good chance of seeing their attendance and tuition fall.
U.S. Department of Education data on fatal victimizations show U.S. youth ages 5–18 were victims of 28 school-associated violent deaths from July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005. In 2004, U.S. students ages 12–18 were victims of about 1.4 million nonfatal crimes at school, including about 863,000 thefts and 583,000 violent crimes—107,000 of which were serious violent crimes (rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault). These U.S. Department of Education figures add up to victimization rates of 33 thefts and 22 violent crimes (including four serious violent crimes) per 1,000 students at school.
The Importance of Video Surveillance in Education Settings
School systems cannot afford security forces large enough to watch thousands of students and monitor multiple buildings and wings 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Consequently, schools are looking increasingly to video surveillance for assistance.
Nationally, almost 20 percent of K-12 public schools use security cameras. According to The New York Times, nearly 1,000 new public schools opened in 2002, and 75 percent of them were equipped with surveillance cameras.
Video surveillance provides many benefits:
* Stretches security budgets. It enables coverage of more locations with less security personnel.
* Deters crime. The presence of a “watching eye” can stop many would-be criminals in their tracks.
* Provides forensic evidence. When students or teachers are brought into a school office and see a video showing them committing an illegal or unacceptable act, they will usually admit to the incident. If the incident requires legal action, a recorded video can be invaluable in securing a conviction and may help avoid a lengthy and expensive trial.
* Catches people in the act. It enables faster response to crimes, emergencies, and other situations by catching it as it happens.
* Provides a greater sense of security. Students, parents, and faculty feel safer when doing everything from remaining in buildings after class hours to using parking lots.
* Demonstrates investment in a secure campus environment. Whenever a violent crime at a school makes national news, parents immediately start thinking of the safety of the institutions they are considering for their children or their children are attending. Being able to assure parents you provide a secure environment is a strong marketing advantage and becoming a necessary standard in education.
* Supplies solid documentation. Surveillance videos provide excellent protection against fraudulent liability claims, ensuring that testimony regarding an incident does not consist solely of hearsay.
IP Video Surveillance
While video surveillance has been around for decades, the way the videos are captured and stored has undergone a major revolution in recent years.
Most people are familiar with the older analog video surveillance systems, also known as closed-circuit television (CCTV). The trouble is that these systems require dedicated security staff to constantly view live video in a room full of monitors. They also require schools to wire their buildings at a significant cost with coaxial cables. There are other issues as well. CCTV video quality is generally poor. The video is recorded on VCRs that require tape changes every few hours. And, it can take hours to wade through footage to find evidence of a particular incident.
For an alternative solution, school systems are turning to IP video surveillance. These systems connect to your local area network (LAN) or wireless network. Video is saved in on-camera buffers, digital video recorders (DVRs), or directly onto computer servers. If a crime occurs, archived video can be quickly and easily searched by date and location.
One of the most remarkable things about IP video surveillance is the intelligence of the cameras. Video analytics enables them to be programmed to recognize certain types of activities and issue alerts to security staff. For instance, Johns Hopkins University is using a system that will alert a security officer if it detects someone climbing up a fence, walking down an alley late at night, or lingering by a windowsill. Some systems can even identify whether a person is carrying a gun or has abandoned a package or briefcase (a potential bomb scenario). Other video analytics include suspicious parking lot behavior, such as loitering and moving from car to car.
Overall, IP video surveillance brings many new benefits and capabilities to campus video surveillance. These include everything from easier operation, less expensive installation, and better image quality to automation and improved cost effectiveness. What’s more, by installing or transitioning to IP video surveillance, schools can both significantly improve their security operations and assure students, parents, and teachers that appropriate measures are in place to ensure their safety.
Where to Start
If your school is ready to invest in an IP video surveillance system, the place to start is with the video surveillance management software. It is the single most important component because it is the interface through which you connect, share, and manage all the cameras and other devices connected to your video surveillance system.
The usual purchase channel is through a systems integrator or security dealer. You will want to get your IT department involved in the purchase process since they will be responsible for installing, integrating, and maintaining the system.
If you already have an existing analog video surveillance system, you can begin to reap the benefits of IP video surveillance by turning your system into a hybrid solution. The ability of IP video surveillance management systems to integrate video from both analog and digital cameras enables you to manage all your surveillance operations with a single solution.
Eric Fullerton is president of Milestone Systems Inc., a leading developer of open platform IP video management software, www.milestonesys.com. Lars Thinggaard is president and chief executive officer of Milestone Systems A/S.
Sidebar
Specifying Door Access/Egress at Your School
By Beverly Vigue
To properly specify the right type of ingress/egress to apply at each door in your access control system, it is best to start by understanding why controlled access is required on this particular opening. Is it a matter of privacy, such as protecting personnel and student files? Is there a safety issue, such as providing access to and quick egress from the boiler room? Are there theft problems in the supplies area? Are there vandalism problems in the bathrooms?
To answer these very general questions, keep in mind that access control is simply the controlling of who can go where and when.
Controlling the Who
To control people, they need to be identified. The simple key is a form of identification. When you give a maintenance worker a key, you are saying, in effect, the bearer of this piece of metal is authorized to enter the door with the lock matching this key.
Instead of keys and their management costs, you might consider using something the user knows for access – for example, numerical codes to work with electronic keypad locks. Codes can be easily added and deleted from electronic keypad locks, eliminating the high costs associated with re-keying a mechanical lockset.
However, people can also forget or share codes. Think how many passwords and numerical codes you already have, from ATM codes to PC passwords. So they don’t forget, people often write down passwords and codes, keeping them in sight, so they’re easy to see and to steal.
For greater security, access may be limited to something the user holds that is difficult to duplicate. User credentials such as magnetic stripe cards and proximity fobs can be selected. They also make access control easy. A quick swipe or presentation of the credential to the reader, and the cardholder successfully gains access through the opening.
However, an authorized credential does not necessarily mean the holder is authorized for access to the opening. Credentials can be lost or stolen. A missing credential could be in the possession of an individual with harmful intentions until that credential it removed from the system. That could be immediate for online access or hours or days for offline access.
For higher security, one might consider a linked access arrangement where an authorized user must hold the appropriate credential and know the appropriate numerical code associated or linked with that credential. This is the application so common with bank ATM cards. The card and a four-digit personal identification code are required in order to gain access to the appropriate bank account. It significantly reduces the probability that a lost or stolen ATM card will compromise the security of the bank account.
Keep in mind that whatever the credential type used, there will be the cost issues and logistical requirements associated with the administering of the credentials.
Lastly, you might want to consider a biometric, which looks for an unalterable personal attribute or grants access for something the user is. A biometric verifies an individual’s actual identity. Additional benefits are that there are no credentials or codes to administer, and biometrics can’t be shared, stolen, lost, or left behind.
Controlling the Where
Think of all the openings you have in your school – principal’s office, outside doors, laboratories in high schools and more. Bottom line – you have a variety of openings needing different levels of security, some that are not so obvious at first glance. And, don’t lose site of the need for exit devices or panic bars. Egress control is equally important as access control.
Then, there’s the question of an online system vs. offline or standalone systems. Do you have the budget or, if building a new school, does the facility’s construction allow for online, hardwired systems? If not, software managed offline locking systems provide most of the benefits of an online system at a fraction of the material and install cost. You might want a mixed facility, one where the perimeters are managed by online systems, and internal openings are managed by offline systems to meet budget and performance targets.
If the door has high frequency use, you automatically will need to review magnetic locking systems that can handle the constant locking and unlocking it will experience. Your installer can help you review the many possibilities.
Controlling the When
Schools have schedules. For your students, perhaps, the front door will automatically unlock at 7:15 a.m. You may want it to automatically lock at 5:30 p.m. For teachers, though, you may want to establish time zones, allowing entry weekdays between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. However, maintenance workers can be allowed in two hours earlier and two hours later plus Saturdays. The principal can enter at any time.
Yet, what if you want to perform an inventory on a Saturday, undertaken by staff members? In that case, your system must provide on override period. And, of course, you are always employing temporaries. For them, you will want to establish a time activation and expiration, perhaps this Monday through Friday at teachers’ hours only.
Beverly Vigue is vice president, educational vertical for Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies.
Product Roundup: Security
Matrix Systems
Matrix Systems has introduced a fault-tolerant door controller option with triple-tier data distribution redundancy for assured access control connectivity. When the control of access or alarm point monitoring is threatened by a disabled common controller or network segment failure, the Matrix System Gateway (MSG), an intelligent ethernet-to-485 converter/switch, automatically maintains connections between the system’s third-tier intelligent door controllers and second-tier building controller. The MSG’s unattended fail-over capability reroutes all communication to an alternate controller and allows the system to maintain all higher level access functions despite a key component failure.
www.matrixsys.com
Astaro Web Gateway
Astaro Corporation has announced the availability of its new appliance line, Astaro Web Gateway. Available as a software, hardware or virtualized appliance, the Astaro Web Gateway provides educational institutions with a comprehensive solution for securing Web traffic. Using Astaro’s award-wining technology, the Astaro Web Gateway allows administrators to block students from viewing Web sites that contain inappropriate content. The appliance also provides malware detection of viruses, spyware, and active content. Administrators can manage access and use of instant messaging and peer-to-peer applications.
www.astaro.com
Videx Rechargeable CyberKey
Videx has introduced the new Rechargeable CyberKey, which brings additional flexibility to the CyberLock Electronic Lock System by giving customers two choices of keys. The Rechargeable CyberKey is an excellent choice for schools that want a small, environmentally friendly key. The “original” CyberKey is ideal for those that desire the convenience of a key without the need for recharging. The programmability of both keys is the same so they can be used interchangeably with the CyberLock system. The new Rechargeable CyberKey joins an impressive line-up of products offered as part of the CyberLock Electronic Lock System.
www.videx.com
FacilityTree’s Key Management Module
School administrators and teachers can track, document, and control all physical keys using FacilityTree’s Key Management Module. This easy-to-use, on-demand software – one application in FacilityTree’s suite of Web-based facility management software – provides a centralized solution to enhanced security and total control over who has access to your facilities. This application will support any lock and key manufacturer or combination of manufacturers, and operates in a key-only or key-and-cylinder mode. It includes a reporting function, including complete key history from creation and issuance through removal of key from circulation.
www.facilitytree.com
NetSupport
Wherever computers are shared, there is the potential for one person’s hacking or innocent mistakes to disrupt others’ computing experience. With NetSupport Protect desktop security software from NetSupport Software, the IT staff of educational institutions can readily prevent users from exploring, changing or damaging their Windows operating system, installing unauthorized software, or deleting important files. NetSupport Protect 1.51 can hide files and folders, lock control panels and settings, prevent renaming and deletion of files or folders, prevent file creation by type of file, restrict Internet downloads and control access to USB devices and CDR or DVD drives.
www.netsupport-inc.com
EasyLobby
EasyLobby, an industry leader in enterprise-class secure visitor management solutions, has announced that its flagship product, EasyLobby SVMTM 9.0, now offers biometrics support for fingerprint capture and matching. Instead of just capturing a visitor’s scribbled, unreadable name in a guest book, EasyLobby’s more secure visitor management and badge system electronically reads the visitor’s ID (driver’s license, passport or business card) and accurately captures all relevant information about them in a SQL Server or Oracle database. In 20 seconds or less, the visitor is professionally checked in and a high-quality, customized visitor badge is printed in full color.
www.easylobby.com
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