Page 32 - Campus Security & Life Safety, July/August 2022

Synergy Takes Campus
Security to the Next Level AIdvances in Systems Integration Help Close Security Gaps
t wasn’t all that long ago that institutions ran their security systems as a la carte solutions. They had a video surveillance system. They had an access control sys- tem. They probably had a public address
Advanced Technology
system, as well. But unfortunately, each tend- ed to operate independently, with limited or no communication between each other. That gap in connectivity often hampered the orga- nization’s ability to detect, deter, delay or minimize the impact of bad actors.
Shifting from analog to IP-based technol- ogy—moving from proprietary systems to open standards platforms—paved the way for seamless communication between those security systems. This has made it easier for security staff to detect, identify and react to threats more swiftly, as well as contain losses and prevent negative events from escalating. With the advent of reliable, purposeful ana- lytics—both video and audio—the synergy between security systems is becoming even tighter, enabling more informative alerts and more focused responses.
While a great catalyst for action, technol- ogy is only part of the equation. Designing a tightly integrated and effective security solu- tion also depends on clearly defining the goals of the project and what kind of data needs to be captured. Equally important, organizations need to institute comprehen- sive policies and procedures to ensure that the automated flow of information reaches the right decisionmakers so they can initiate an appropriate course of action.
Providing a More
Complete Picture of Events
Ultimately, the measure of a secure campus rests on how its systems work together to capture information from multiple devices, synthesize it and deliver it as a coherent pic- ture. For instance, the synergy between video cameras and access control systems creates the opportunity for campus security to visu- ally verify whether the person swiping the keycard is the authorized user. The synergy between video cameras and audio analytics enables campus security to instantly track the source of a gunshot. The synergy between video cameras and loudspeakers gives cam- pus security the ability to spot an intruder and broadcast a verbal warning to the tres- passer to vacate the premises.
Security systems manufacturers and
application developers have made great strides in recent years to improve the flow of information within individual systems, as well as throughout overarching, integrated security solutions. Systems once viewed sole- ly as forensic, investigative tools are now playing proactive roles in predicting and fending off threats before they’re able to
develop.
In this article, we’ll look at the advancing
landscape of security technology: how video analytics are changing the face of surveil- lance, how credentialing tools are changing the face of access control and how intelligent audio is changing the face of public address systems — all for the better.
32 campuslifesecurity.com | JULY/AUGUST 2022