Page 104 - Security Today, July/August 2022

Campus Audio
Keeping Today’s Campuses Safe Ilya_Rudyakov/Shutterstock.com wWith Modern Audio Technology
orst-case scenarios tend to dominate the headlines. It’s solutions can even be used to coordinate evacuation and response amid unfortunate, but it’s true. And when it comes to security— weather emergencies or other natural disasters. Video has long been a especially campus security—it’s easy to understand. Threats part of campus safety, but the rise of modern audio solutions has put of violence hit close to home when they involve schools, incredible new resources in the hands of security teams.
hospitals and other campuses. These are places where peo-
ple are quite vulnerable and they expect to feel safe, so it is no sur- Augmenting Video with Modern Audio Solutions
prise that the administrators of those facilities want the public to know that they are prepared for all possibilities.
Security means more than catching bad guys on camera. While it’s true that identifying trespassers, vandals, burglars and violent offenders remains as important as it always has been, today’s technology is allowing security teams to do more than ever before. Technology is now used more toward preventative measures—and the advent of internet protocol (IP) audio solutions has played a significant role. Thanks to modern audio solutions, security personnel can issue tailored warning messages, stopping would-be criminals in their tracks. They can detect suspicious activity such as sounds (including gunshots, breaking glass or raised voices), and video can identify the shape of guns in real time and raise the appropriate alerts. Audio
Campuses tend to be sprawling, which is part of what makes them so difficult to secure. Whether the campus in question is an education institution, healthcare facility, an airport or something else entirely, getting proper coverage can be a challenge. Fortunately, security no longer depends on a handful of security personnel watching banks of wall monitors for signs of suspicious activity. Thanks to advances in both image quality and processing speeds, modern IP cameras can be equipped with a variety of analytics ranging from simple object and motion detection to more complex facial recognition or aggressive behavior detection.
While these tools are all valuable, they don’t always tell the full story. That can lead to misunderstandings. A campus safety officer looking at a silent video might see two college students gesturing
28 campuslifesecurity.com | JULY/AUGUST 2022