If there is one constant in the K-12 school security market is that it is ever-evolving. The current COVID-19 pandemic figures to alter safety protocols for at least the current school year if not longer, but security technology needs will remain consistent from access control to an expanding video surveillance presence. While these technologies may be required to integrate previously low-priority options like touchless and frictionless hardware for access control systems and temperature monitoring and people-tracking video analytics, schools will still be faced with the issue of having to do more with less, since district budgets face even greater cuts given the economics of the pandemic.
This issue, Security Technology Executive editor Steve Lasky is joined by three security experts close to the school security issue in general and video surveillance in particular for our regular series of sponsored Roundtables-in-Print. Tom Cook is representing this month’s sponsor Hanwha Techwin America. Cook is the Senior Vice President of Sales for Hanwha and has been active in the security industry for 33 years. He has been Hanwha Techwin’s Senior Vice President of Sales for North America for eight years and has helped the company to become one of the premier video companies in North America. He previously ran sales in North America for Vicon and Panasonic Video. The panel’s end-user participant is Jeffrey Gibson, Assistant Commandant of Operations who manages Safety and Security for the Army and Navy Academy in Carlsbad, CA. He is responsible for the security of a 20-plus-acre campus that houses around 300 students and employs over 100 staff members. Prior to joining the Army and Navy team, he spent several years working on protective security details with the Department of State in Afghanistan serving both as a protective agent as well as a tactical medic. Gibson served eight years in the United States Marine Corps. Our final expert is from the integrator side of the house. Michael Tremblay is a Senior Account representative with JMG Security Systems. He has been in the security industry for the past 28 years in Southern California. Tremblay is responsible for working with commercial/industrial clients in sales and system designing of large-scale security, access control, video, and fire alarm projects throughout Southern California. This includes project management services, consulting, and assisting with clients' account management on a daily basis.
Steve Lasky -- When you are assessing a prep school or K-12 campus, what are you seeing in video surveillance solutions that are trending and how are they being integrated into a total security and risk mitigation roadmap?
Tom Cook -- When assessing a prep school or K-12 campus, it’s important to know whether your project includes a single building or multiple buildings since that will inform the design. It’s also critical to assess if you will protect individual or multiple perimeters, and if security solutions can be combined since video products will most likely work alongside audio and access control systems. Budgets are frequently an issue due to the ways in which schools receive funding for projects. It’s important for schools to future-proof any investments and design extensible systems that can scale over time.
What’s trending is a way to combine capabilities and save costs since many facilities will have to evolve their solutions over successive budget cycles. The goal is to put in a working system, knowing that it can and will expand as budgets and requirements permit. Multi-sensor cameras that replace four individual cameras with one housing is a popular way to save costs. Cameras that include audio intercom capabilities are also ideal for entrances. One of the biggest requests we receive is for our cameras that include audio analytics such as glass-break and gunshot detection. These cameras can significantly save on the cost of installing all these features individually. Having an automated response that can automatically alert Security Resource Officers (SROs) and administrators of such critical events allows them to quickly trigger lockdowns and is a key part of many risk mitigation plans.
Jeffrey Gibson -- Mainly, the focus is on getting the most value out of any system. Multi-sensor camera locations and analytics are allowing system architects and integrators the ability to cost-effectively cover large areas with a single IP address as well as develop analytical trigger points that will alert the operator to a potential issue. This feature serves as a force multiplier to a team that is usually already spread thin from the start. Each of these systems and processes serves as an individual slice of the collective site-security plan pie.
Michael Tremblay -- When dealing with campus environments and K-12 schools we’ve had success using a combination of their infrastructure and multi-sensor camera technology to save on installation costs. Schools have challenges when it comes to integration due to the enormous budget and approval processes they must endure. Unfortunately, this can lead to independent project silos that can only be completed in phases based on budget cycles. This often works against their integrating security and additional risk mitigation plans.
What works best is to use a simple stand-alone platform that has the ability to integrate with their other installed or planned systems in the future. Educational organizations want guarantees that the systems they can afford during a given budget cycle can scale and grow and provide a solid ROI for years to come. The ability to use analytics is particularly important to schools looking for more automated event notification, and ease forensic search since most of the time they research incidents post-event.
Lasky -- What sort of video surveillance solution would be recommended for districts and facilities that either don’t have the budgets or the infrastructure to initiate digital technology and how do they set a path to eventually migrate to that digital platform?
Cook -- There are excellent quality analog solutions available for a low cost that can retrofit and run on existing coax or any type of video wiring that exists. These analog cameras can represent a significant upgrade from older monochrome, tube-type technology. If they want to have a pathway to migrate into IP-based digital cameras, then a hybrid approach frequently works best. They can invest in a hybrid NVR/DVR that supports both analog and digital signals and swap out analog cameras for IP-based cameras as budgets permit. Instead of a major upgrade, they can have a seamless migration plan. By strategically installing the highest quality IP cameras which included digital features like audio analytics where you most need them, schools can use lower-cost analog cameras where they’re looking for additional coverage. A hybrid system means nothing needs to be thrown away as the system evolves.
Gibson -- With any security solution considered, a solid threat assessment is a vital component in the entire decision-making paradigm. Using the risks, threats, and vulnerabilities discovered during the assessment, a district can start with a smaller system that will allow them to scale with time and needs. With many of today's NVRs or cloud-based systems, it is relatively cost-effective to design a system that will meet your current needs and at the same time remain scalable for later development. Also, the additional glass break, gunshot, scream detection as well as other audio analytic capabilities will serve to bolster an existing physical security system.
Tremblay -- By digital technology, I’m going to assume we mean IP-based network video solutions versus analog solutions and infrastructure. Many schools are five years behind or more with regards to their video security technology if they have it at all. Depending on the age of the building, it can be laborious and costly to add CAT5/6 cable runs.
Wireless technology is always an option, but it’s critical that we don’t saturate the available bandwidth with video and bring their existing Wi-Fi applications to a standstill. If budgets are tight and they have existing coax, we might suggest utilizing IP over coax converters to limit installation costs to allow them to invest in multi-sensor cameras from Hanwha Techwin and benefit from network-based megapixel technology. In the end, it’s about future-proofing their investment with the budget they have available.
Lasky -- How can an intelligent video solution help schools create more proactive and data-rich security programs?
Cook -- Traditionally, most schools are more reactive than proactive with their security since they mainly use their systems to do post-event analysis. An intelligent video solution can enable systems to be more efficiently tied together including real-time event notification to the police and integration with access control. For schools that want to be more proactive, they can extract additional data through the use of analytics that can show trends in how the school is utilized both during the school day and also after hours. If people congregate late at night in certain areas, administrators can generate a report and share it with the police. By gathering anonymous data on motion patterns and trends around the campus, the security system can more effectively market its usefulness to parents and the community. Most importantly, it’s essential that schools be transparent about what they are doing and broadcast it everywhere so that the system and its capabilities are well known to everyone in the community. This provides a deterrent that extends far beyond what any system alone can provide.
Gibson -- School security programs and administrators are entrusted with the responsibility to protect the lives of every child attending school. In today’s environment, the list of threats is nearly endless. Having the ability to intelligently search for the owner of an abandoned backpack or the ability to quickly tag video for review is a great benefit for schools and law enforcement for follow-up action. As the third-party API integration grows with the various VMS platforms, the functionality and overall integration of security and access control will further enhance a district’s overall security posture.
Tremblay -- That comes down to VMS and software, such as Hanwha’s WAVE, Genetec, Milestone or ExacqVision solutions. It’s important to have a platform that can utilize cameras to their fullest potential with tight integration and analytics. We did an install at the Army and Navy Academy recently where we paired top-down speakers with some of the Hanwha Techwin cameras. We utilized the onboard analytics and sound playback capabilities to trigger announcements that asked people to get off the property when someone crossed a defined path.
Lasky -- What role do you see video surveillance technology playing in the new normal of a COVID-19 school landscape and how can it integrate with other solutions?
Cook -- There are some amazing new applications available for cameras to assist students and staff going back to school. Our Wisenet X series and P series cameras can now detect whether or not masks are worn. If someone enters an area without a mask, the cameras can directly play out an audio message asking students and staff to respect school guidelines and wear a mask. These analytics can even detect when a mask is worn improperly. They can also trigger an alarm event that can be used to trigger a beacon or access control system. These same triggers also flow to a VMS system so operators can be informed when policies are being ignored.
Another problem is exceeding occupancy limits in common spaces such as libraries. Our newest AI cameras can count people entering and exiting a space and directly drive a video display to show the current occupancy of a room. When the maximum occupancy of an area is reached, the application automatically displays a red ‘Wait’ message along with the number of people currently inside to help students conform to the social distancing policy. When numbers are below the threshold, a green “Welcome” message is displayed. The messages are completely customizable. All of this runs in-camera with no server necessary, so it’s a perfect example of how surveillance technology can help get students to maintain a safer school environment.
Gibson -- I am not a huge fan of the “new normal” ideology. While I will agree that this is an unprecedented event, I would argue that we can apply this “new normal” to any disease outbreak, CBRNE event, etc. Video surveillance in these situations allows for a greater standoff distance when observing events. Using other means of communication such as speaker systems (PA) can be used to give verbal commands. The ability to review historical footage to develop a greater understanding of who a person may have been in contact with can increase the effectiveness of a program's contact tracing.
Tremblay -- With the advent of AI and machine learning, traditional motion-based analytics become extremely reliable and allow schools to better manage their environments. Machine learning and object detection bring new types of analytics to the education market as well. These new cameras can send alerts if face masks are not worn in certain areas. It’s even possible for the cameras to detect when masks are worn incorrectly. The same cameras can accurately count people and inform everyone when occupancy limits are exceeded for communal areas like gyms and cafeterias.
Now more than ever, schools need help to monitor the day to day flow of students in this new normal. They can identify choke points and when integrated with the right VMS system, they may even be able to do some level of contact tracing in the near future. These capabilities could truly make a difference as schools seek to reopen in a safe and secure manner.