Maximum Security Protection
Unfortunately, the process didn’t run quite as smoothly as Sansone had hoped. Prior to placing the bid, a local integrator with little experience in jail work installed a system that had been in place for six months but was more appropriate for a commercial building. Not wanting to make the same mistake again (or spend more money it didn’t have), Bergen County Improvement Authority (BCIA), which oversaw the project, was very selective during the bidding process. The contractor selected for the job would have to prove it could design and install a system within a 90-day period. Additionally, the chosen company had to have expertise deploying solutions in detention centers. Lastly, the contractor had to have the lowest bid.
While T&R Alarms had the first two qualifications, its bid was the fourth lowest, which didn’t bode well with the authority. Ultimately, though, all bids were rejected during the initial cycle; however, T&R’s offer was later reintroduced. During the second cycle, the integrator was the second lowest bidder and BCIA awarded the contract last November.
Timetable Is Extremely Tight
With the contract in place and the 90-day delivery deadline underway, T&R Alarms quickly got to work. “Of that 90 days, we only had a 30-day window to complete the installation of a $454,000 project,” explains Sansone. “All of the designs, submittals and approvals realistically had to be done within the first 40 days.”
A total of 10 team members worked on the project, including Project Manager Michael Serven and Vice President of Construction Andy Komisar.
Installation began the first week in January. Inmates residing in the facility had to be relocated during the 30-day installation period. Because other correctional facilities were already at maximum capacity, and the authority didn’t have the funds to shuttle the prisoners back and forth, it was crucial the project be completed on time.
Though the end user made product suggestions to T&R, picking the products was up to the integrator. A proud member of the PSA Security Network, T&R Alarms looked to the co-op organization for help in obtaining the best solutions for the job. The integrator chose Vicon, TOA Electronics, Com-Tec and Magal-Senstar Inc. (MSi) products for the project.
Integrating Multiple Systems
Using the ViconNet virtual matrix system, the integrator connected 32 Vicon V9-10A IP cameras with the TOA IP network intercom system, and a TOA door/gate control and alarm to manage the secured doors. The cameras monitor all entrances, hallways, cells and medical rooms within the unit. Forty-nine intercom systems are located throughout the hallways, cells and medical rooms to communicate with the control command center, where two master intercom units are located to communicate with all other intercom devices.
Together, the video and intercom systems provide an access control solution. If a correctional officer, doctor or nurse needs to get through a door, he/she presses the button on the intercom. A camera will pull an image of that person and display it on one of the VM-717 LCD monitors located in the control room. The monitoring officer can then verify if the person is allowed entry into the facility. If the person is indeed authorized, the monitoring officer will press a button and the door will open automatically. Additionally, Com-Tec provided a PLC control computer with two touch-screen monitors to control all doors, intercoms and cameras throughout the jail.
Located in the control room are two Vicon NVRs with 500GB of internal RAID storage. One NVR is used for recording storage and to control camera function; the other is simply used for storage.
To address the possibility of an officer being attacked by an inmate, the integrator used the MSi portable duress alarm system in case of a man-down emergency. Thirty-two ceiling receivers triangulate into diffe
rent quadrants that let the monitoring officer know where a problem is located within the facility. There are 75 personal alarm transmitters available to the correctional officers. If an officer is attacked, he/she can simply press the panic button and the prison will automatically go into lockdown. If the officer is pushed down and he/she doesn’t have the opportunity to press the button, the alarm will automatically go off and lockdown will take place.
Outside the facility are five Vicon pan/tilt/zoom (p/t/z) cameras installed on the roof to monitor the rooftop, parking area and outside walls of the jail. To integrate the system, T&R Alarms used five Cisco 3750 24-port IP switches. Three of them are power over Ethernet (PoE) devices that power the cameras and intercom units.
As a maximum-security facility, everything used in the project had to be rugged and tamper-proof to prevent escapes.
“The wiring has to be up in such a way that nobody can get at it, either in conduit or above ceilings that are not penetrable,” says Sansone. “Anything you do has to be extra heavy-duty. Unlike the public sector where you would use fail-safe locks on different things for fire code issues, in a prison setting, it’s fail-secure, and [someone] will need to perform a manual override to get through it. But you definitely don’t want the doors to pop open if you lose power.”
If by chance there is a power outage, the integrator installed a battery backup capable of keeping all the equipment up and running for approximately 55 minutes, or until the backup generator starts working.
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