BLOCKING ground-level attack

Oct 1, 2001 12:00 PM, BY PAUL ROTHMAN

Terrorism, it seems, has always been a distant threat. Whether the news reported car bombings in Tel Aviv or suicide bombers in London, it never actually hit home for Americans. The tragedies in New York City and Washington D.C., however, have abruptly put terrorism on the front burner. For David Dickinson and Delta Scientific, terrorism has been a major concern for decades.

Dickinson is the senior vice president of Delta Scientific, a Valencia, Calif.-based supplier providing solutions to protect embassies, airports and military bases around the world from the threat of terrorism — namely, protection from vehicular assault.

“I'd like to think that a vehicle barricade system will be a deterrent,” Dickinson says. “It's a low-level approach to anti-terrorism. If someone sees the site is protected, they may choose a softer target.”

WHAT CAN BE DONE FOR PREVENTION?

Although there is no practical way to protect a building from an air attack, at the ground level, Delta Scientific helps end-users increase anti-terrorism and vehicular access control. Delta has three product lines and 30 types of vehicle barrier systems that include portable, decorative and permanent bollards. Delta also builds and equips embassies and other installations with ballistic-rated (bulletproof) guard booths and parking equipment focused on deterring theft.

The bollards, which can be hydraulically retractable, portable and/or aesthetically pleasing, can stop 400,000-foot-pounds of kinetic energy. They can stop a truck weighing as much as 15,000 pounds going 50 mph.

“We had barriers at the World Trade Center and The Pentagon,” Dickinson says. “They are probably using them now to help with perimeter control. The terrorists had to use extreme measures because they couldn't get a car or truck bomb into the buildings.”

TERRORISM CREATES DEMAND

On Oct. 12, 2000, the USS Cole was severely damaged when an explosives-laden boat pulled alongside it and detonated while the vessel was in port for refueling in Aden, Yemen. The blast ripped a hole in the side of the ship and drove the main deck into its ceiling at the point of impact. Seventeen naval officers were killed in the apparent terrorist attack. The next day, terrorists bombed the British embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. Luckily, no one was killed.

After the attacks, Delta Scientific sent two truckloads of barricades to the United States embassy for protection.

After the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, Dickinson says he is filling rapid orders for portable barricades that can be raised either manually or hydraulically. The barricades are most commonly found on construction sites, used for portable security until permanent barriers are in place.

“We have had more than 100 inquiries from the District of Columbia alone requesting we send anything we have in stock,” Dickinson said.

“Unfortunately, we can mark our transitions by tragic events,” he comments. “With vehicle barricades, 15 years ago, only the most visible clients were using the products. [After the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Okla.] it's a requirement that all federal systems be secured with vehicle access control systems — plus a whole scope of other access control products.”

The recent attacks in America have also spurred demand from the nation's airports. New Federal Aviation Administration guidelines for airport security were enacted after the Sept. 11 hijackings. Dickinson has received dozens of e-mails and inquiries. The new FAA guidelines include an increased standoff distance from parked cars to the terminals. Logan Airport in Boston needed to move 9,000 parked cars before reopening.

“Airports have been securing all added entrances,” Dickinson says. “Again, we are concerned with vehicles driving through fences to get on the tarmac. It's a tremendous upgrade in the overall security of the airports. Many airports need better protection — in some cases installed right away. The threat is real.”

Some major airports already have considerable systems in place, adds Dickinson. Los Angeles and San Francisco International Airports, as examples, have full perimeter control systems in place with crash-rated sliding gates, wedge barriers and bulletproof guard booths. Similar installations at Kennedy Airport in New York and O'Hare in Chicago are still in the planning stages.

Overall, the demand on Delta increases tenfold during times of crisis and tragedy.

“The immediate reaction [after a terrorist incident] is that clients with projects in the works are rapidly accelerating them, so we understand that the paperwork can catch up. The most important thing is getting a system in place,” Dickinson explains.

DIVERSE METHODS OF PROTECTION

The system put in place depends on the site and situation. At the U.S. embassies in France and Berlin, for example, America's prime concern is securing the perimeter. The foreign governments that own the land around the embassies, however, want the bollards to be somewhat unobtrusive to the environment.

“They don't want ugly poles everywhere,” Dickinson says. “So we use attractive cast bollards. In the security world, it's a trade-off of convenience and protection.”

Other places, Dickinson points out, want the exact opposite. “Some companies want the toughest-looking, most powerful systems. It's a challenge for us.”

Approaching embassy security starts with simply looking around. The first thing to do is define a perimeter line with overall access perimeter security. The objective is to keep the distance from the perimeter to the front of the building as far as it can be. The perimeter is so important because it is ultimately used to control who comes in and who can get closer to the building, Dickinson notes.

PROACTIVE MOVEMENT

Dickinson says he has noticed a proactive movement in the security industry as a whole.

After the Oklahoma City bombing, every federal building's security was reviewed and mandated for immediate improvement. It is an ongoing process. Similarly, the FAA's new airport security guidelines will demand immediate action to increase overall security. Even before the attacks on American soil, United States embassies around the world were in the process of upgrading security standards to make each embassy's security uniform.

“Once I was at an embassy in Trinidad,” Dickinson recalls. “It had some of our barriers, but the people didn't really want to talk about them and they didn't want the barriers. They said Trinidad was so peaceful. A month later, there was a coup in Trinidad and a riot right in front of the embassy.”

FOR THE RECORD

ABOUT THE COMPANIES

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Delta Scientific 12

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paul Rothman is associate editor of Access Control & Security Systems.

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