Page 36 - Security Today, April 2017

A Virtual Gateway
The beginning of the first ‘Smart Cities’ in the Greater Houston area
BTy Mark H. Friday
hree years ago, Shrader Engineering had the privilege of designing one of the most unique security concepts in the region for the city of Sugar Land, Texas, Po- lice Department. The security system forms a “virtual gateway” throughout the city. Simply put, vehicles that
pass through the virtual gateway are automatically scanned and po- tentially linked to criminal activity. Like many modern systems, data is processed and transmitted at incredible speeds. Officers on duty can be dispatched to intercept stolen vehicles, Amber Alerts, as well as many other types of crime linked to vehicle license plates—in less than two seconds.
The First Phase
Sugar Land deployed the first phase of this security system in the northern portion of their city, where crime had been slightly higher over previous years. Since that time, chiefs of police and IT directors have been to several networking events and have exchanged informa- tion regarding the system. Today, the “virtual gate” concept appears to be catching on.
Schrader staff met with Sugar Land Police and IT officials in re- sponse to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) regarding the design of a “citywide surveillance camera project.” Like many cities, the city had been looking at deploying surveillance cameras in order to en- hance their security. The cameras would be installed at major inter- sections in areas of relatively higher crime, and would all be tied back to their police headquarters.
“We felt good about our qualifications as an engineering firm, but unfortunately we were not selected,” he said.
“Like so many security deployments I’ve seen come and go, Sug-
36
0417 | SECURITY TODAY
ar Land decided to give the design phase of the project directly to a contractor. I’ve seen this time and time again for telecommunications and security projects at all kinds of different entities,” said Craig Shrader, president of Schrader Engineering. “Organizations often do not consider telecommunications or security to be disciplines that require an engineered approach.
“Months went by, and and other projects were being designed by Schrader staff. But, suddenly, Sugar Land issued a second RFQ for a citywide surveillance project. The contractor had not delivered to the level of quality that Sugar Land expects, and the previous security project had been scrapped before it started. Shrader Engineering got another opportunity.”
Use of Technology
The world of technology, security and telecommunications can be complicated. Large scale deployments typically involve dozens of sites spread across several miles of terrain, wired and wireless com- munications, various types of security and network equipment, in- tense outdoor weather conditions, and new combinations of software and technology components. These many components and sub-sys- tems must ultimately work together to form a unified surveillance network which functions reliably. Furthermore, a lot of different manufacturers and service providers have to come together and work productively. This requires an orchestrated engineered approach.
“You wouldn’t build a bridge without hiring an engineer to design it first. You always hire an engineer to design it first, Schrader said. “While we don’t design bridges (yet), our electrical, communications and technology systems help form the critical infrastructure that our communities depend on. These systems should be engineered each
LICENSE READERS
360b/Shutterstock.com