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College Installs New $1.7 Mil Security System
Kansas City Kansas Community College has gone the extra mile in assuring the safety of its students, faculty, staff and members of the community with the installation of a new state-of-the-art $1.7 million security and fire alarm system.
Financing of the project was made possible by an 8-year, interest free loan from the State of Kansas. Read News Story Here
“We’re excited about it,” said Chief of Campus Police Greg Schneider. “It’s the latest technology in helping us fight crime and provide for the safety of the community. With such instances of campus violence that have occurred at Columbine, Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois and other schools, campus security has emerged as one of the top concerns, especially for students and parents when selecting colleges and this helps us meet those concerns.”
With a staff of 13 full-time and 20 part-time officers, KCKCC has long had a record for very few major crimes such as homicide, rape, robbery and assault. However, Schneider says that is not enough.
“My philosophy is what is major?” asks Schneider. “If a student, for instance, is the victim of a crime, it still has its effects. The theft of a text book may not be classified as a major crime but it’s something that must be replaced and the student might not have the money for its replacement. So for that student, it’s a major crime.”
Schneider said the most common crimes are those of opportunity, the theft of unattended or mislaid property. However, the installation of the new security system will be a valuable assistance to helping officers track down such perpetrators.
With the installation of 104 cameras throughout the campus, police are not only able to keep a surveillance on entrances, hallways, offices and rooms but they are able to go back through video to look at specific areas at the time the crime was committed.
In addition to the 104 surveillance cameras, the new system provides card access to all campus buildings, campus-wide notification of fire, tornado and other warnings and a React system.
The card access system allows only select individuals to gain access to exterior doors when the college is not otherwise open.
“Not only does it give us controlled access to the building but it also allows us to lock and unlock exterior doors at certain times and to lock down the building immediately if necessary,” said Schneider.
Previously, custodians had to go to each door to either open or close.
The fire and tornado alert replaces a long-outdated warning system that was installed with the opening of the new campus in 1972.
The new fire alarm system provides not only detection of smoke and/or fire with state of the art sensors but the capability to identify exactly where the incident is occurring and is a major upgrade that has added to the safety of the campus. Fire and other first responders will know exactly where to concentrate their initial efforts.
More than 1,000 smoke and/or heat detectors have been installed across the campus, all connected by fiber optic cable to a central command module.
Also, the single fire/security system is in every building on campus, a significant upgrade from the prior system, which was a patchwork of systems that were added to the original 1972 system as new buildings were added to the campus.
In addition to having the capabilities to provide an alert to the entire campus for a fire or tornado, the system provides voice direction and guidance to specific areas.
“For instance, if we had a fire in the lower Jewell, we could direct people away from that area instead of them going to it,” said Schneider. “Or if we had a shooter in the Humanities building, we could give the voice command to lock down all the rooms. And all doors are locked when they are closed so there’s no fumbling to lock a door in an emergency.”
The React system allows for quick notification to campus police in the case of emergencies. “We have 50 computers on campus capable of notifying us immediately by simply clicking on an icon,” said Deputy Chief Jason Sievers. “From the emergency button we will know exactly where the emergency is happening. Also, it allows us to text, e-mail or call in case of emergencies to all faculty and staff who have signed up for immediate, emergency notification.”
