Page 138 - Security Today, July/August 2018

SYSTEMS INTEGRATION
SECURING CLASSROOMS:
INTEGRATING THE FIRST
UNIFIED SECURITY SYSTEM
The need for comprehensive solutions is growing By Dan Stewart
With gun violence now a reality in school corridors and classrooms, officials are faced with the sig- nificant, yet daunting, task of ensuring that stu- dents, faculty and staff are secure in what tradi- tionally has been considered a safe environment. When incidents like this occur, analysis has shown that they are often over in five minutes or less. The ability to keep intruders out and stu- dents and faculty safe on school grounds has become a priority for security integrators and, most importantly, school officials.
Founded in 1889, Littleton Public Schools (LPS) is a school district in Littleton, Colo. that serves several communities within the southern Denver metro area. With 13 elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, two charter schools, and multiple preschools and
alternative programs, it is the 15th largest school district in Colorado out of more than 250. With an enrollment of over 15,000 students, LPS is charged with not only keeping children safe, but providing secure buildings for teachers, staff and visitors.
The need for a comprehensive solution that can be continuously monitored from a central location is growing. As technologies are upgraded and integrated over the years, security systems become com- plicated; the more standalone parts, the more things that can go wrong. LPS set out to integrate a unified security system that combined all aspects of security—access control, VMS, fire detection, perimeter, mass notification, barrier protection and detection, and diagnostic sys- tems—to allow full coverage of 27 schools, plus administrative build- ings, spread out over 29 miles.
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