Page 92 - Security Today, November/December 2020

“When we were looking at our renovation and development plan, we were trying to fit everything in terms of access control, 24/7 employee use along with all of the operational systems required.”
By Randy Smith
An Optimal Control Room
University of Toronto builds out comfortable room of campus police unit
Security Operations
Campus safety is one of the largest issues facing universities. In 2014, more than 27,000 criminal incidents were reported at public and private universities across the United States*.
This number can be particularly high for universities located in congested city landscapes, like the University of
Toronto.
The University of Toronto is located in the downtown area of the
city. Due to the location, the campus sees foot traffic from roughly 100,000 students and patrons each day. Ensuring the safety of its stu- dents is a tall order, and the responsibility falls on the university’s public safety unit, the campus police.
Ensuring student safety against a variety of threats is no easy task. Campus Police Service must be able to respond and react to a situa- tion at a moment’s notice. To do so, it requires seamless communica- tion over miles of campus space with tens of thousands of people. It is simple – communication, whether it’s with each other, fellow stu- dents, faculty or the local police, this is the key to the job.
In 2013, campus police realized their communication center, which services the entire tri-campus university, was in need of a ren- ovation to better serve and protect its students. But the space itself had its challenges. A partnership with Winsted Corp. helped turn
around the comfort and productivity of the spaced allotted for a secu- rity operations center.
Little Room to Work With
The University of Toronto Campus Police had limited workspace, compounding an already challenging situation. Unfortunately, these space limitations can be common among universities. As student populations rise, space becomes a valuable commodity around campus.
“We knew we had space restrictions because everything needed to be housed in one central room, and that space is roughly 20 feet by 40 feet, said Alan Truong, manager, Security Systems and Services of The University of Toronto Campus Police. “When we were looking at our renovation and development plan, we were trying to fit every- thing in terms of access control, 24/7 employee use along with all of the operational systems required.”
This 800-square foot space needed to include multiple desks, a video screen and a scalable computer monitor stand for the 80-plus employees to use on an ongoing basis.
Campus police began working with Minneapolis-based Winsted, a manufacturer of technical furniture and control room consoles. Win-
40 campuslifesecurity.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020