Major safety overhaul to begin

Sensormatic Electronics Corporation will provide the University with a $3 million-plus cutting-edge safety technology system under the provisions of a contract finalized yesterday after more than a year of negotiations. Sensormatic will establish an integrated security system including the installation of closed-circuit television cameras on the streets and biometric handprint sensors in dorms. In addition, the company will upgrade equipment for intrusion alarms and blue-light phones, and design a central command and control center for the University. Sensormatic was the official electronic security supplier for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. According to Public Safety Managing Director Thomas Seamon, the entire project will cost more than $3 million. At a press conference in Houston Hall yesterday, Executive Vice President John Fry said the University is now shifting its focus from short-term initiatives, like additional police officers and security guards, to long-term planning. "We have been working with Sensormatic for over a year on a long-term security strategy to deal systematically, thoroughly and successfully with the crime problem," Fry said. "Today, we are here to talk about bringing the premiere security technology to Penn -- and that is because of our partnership with the premiere safety and design company." Seamon said University Police and the additional security guards will complement the state-of-the-art technology that Sensormatic will bring to the entire campus and surrounding areas. He added that by bringing new technology into University buildings and residences, security guards will be able to focus their attention on the streets outside of the dormitories themselves. Once all new technology is in place, Public Safety will reduce the large number of campus security guards, Public Safety Security Director Chris Algard said. "It's not like my company is trying to be like 'Big Brother'," said Steve Hall, commercial and industrial vice president for Sensormatic's North American operations. "The purpose of technology is to free people to deal with the more crucial problems." Beginning next week, the University will install additional cellular blue-light phones, a move that will allow more freedom in where the phones can be put. Once the new phones are in place, Public Safety will install closed-circuit television cameras on the designated Community Walks throughout campus. Remote-controlled cameras will be strategically placed between blue-light phones, allowing police officers to monitor the area quickly. All programmable cameras will be able to spin 360 degrees and swing 180 degrees in less than a second, Hall said. "Closed circuit cameras are a fact of life today," Seamon said. "You can't walk to an ATM machine or a grocery store without encountering one." Hall explained that the cameras will provide police with important information like what emergency vehicles to dispatch to the crime scene. The most advanced phase of the new technology initiatives will combine personal and electronic verification in the dorms. Biometric readers will verify the person's identification and control access to buildings in a more effective and efficient manner. The readers can scan hand prints and block entrance for anyone whose print is not in the security computer system, even if the person uses a valid PennCard. And the portal system will require people to go through two separately locked gates to enter a residence. A valid hand print will allow passage through the second entrance. "This technology is necessary to upgrade dorm security so we can depend less on guards for use inside buildings," Algard said. "The new systems are the wave of the future. Penn can either catch on now or later." Biometric readers and safety gates resembling those found in airports will be installed in pilot areas within six months, Algard said. The entire identification process will take approximately eight seconds, and will not be used during times of heavy traffic. Seamon said he wants to implement all the new residence technology within the next two years. New York University currently uses hand geometry, but does not use chamber entranceways. Penn would be the first university to use the full biometric portal system. The "heart of all the new technology" will be located at a central command and control center, according to Hall. Seamon said the center will initially be located at the current police station, but will be transplanted to a new police building in the near future. The University is attempting to construct or acquire a new police building in the vicinity of 40th Street. "One of our prime concerns is getting our headquarters in shape," Seamon said. "The center will be as high-tech as we can get." Seamon stressed that the University will not "build a wall around the campus," but instead is securing the entire area for both the University and West Philadelphia communities. Fry said the University will need to "rethink" the use of funds in order to pay for the new technology, but added that University President Judith Rodin has set aside money for this project. Tuition should not need to increase to accommodate safety expenditure, he said. Seamon said he plans to work with the University community "every step of the way." Within the next few months, he will meet with the vice provost for University Life and the Residential Advisory Board, along with the University's Safety and Security and Open Expression committees. "From a University perspective, this is our largest project -- especially because Penn is one large university," Hall said. "You have a beautiful 63-block campus with over 200 buildings, but you need to properly secure it from the city environment." Rodin called the partnership with Sensormatic especially exciting, because the company has worked previously with many Fortune 500 companies and, more importantly, other colleges and universities. RAB Chairperson and College junior Josh Rockoff said the new technology seems "really interesting," but voiced concerns about the project's timetable. "As we all recognize, this is something that should have been done a while ago," he said. "I am worried [that] as the hubbub over security dies down, this project will take longer to complete."

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