GUARDING THE CITY OF ANGELS

Aug 1, 2002 12:00 PM, By KATE HENRY

Los Angeles is a metropolis unlike any other: It has a population of nearly four million socio-economically and ethnically diverse residents, occupying more than 400 square miles of varied terrain. It is never out of the national news for long, whether the Olympics have come to town, racial tensions have erupted in violence, its police have engaged in a surreal low-speed chase, or its Hollywood galas are entertaining Americans nationwide.

All are part of L.A.'s unique brand of public relations, and in the past year, security has begun to share the limelight.

From the beaches to downtown to the Valley, the city has more than 900 buildings dedicated to public service, including a historic City Hall building that recently underwent a $300 million renovation. Protecting those buildings and the citizens they serve is the purview of the Department of General Services, which has begun working closely with police, emergency response departments, the Mayor and City Council members to implement a strategic security plan first outlined in 1997. What sets the security mission of the second largest city in the U.S. apart from others is its focus on inter-departmental cooperation, technological innovation and public service.

A MULTI-FACETED MISSION

Lieutenant John Incontro, a 23-year veteran of the LAPD, is currently on loan to the Department of General Services' Security Services Division as acting director of security. With considerable tactical, operations, SWAT and auditing experience to his credit, Incontro was appointed after Sept. 11 to evaluate the city's approach to public building security and to hasten implementation of the strategic security overhaul.

The Department of General Services is an overarching department, covering most city buildings and services other than police, fire and functions such as water, power and airports — which have their own proprietary security forces.

“The department is a combination of a non-sworn security force, and a sworn police force with limited power. It oversees contract security services for the city, and assists the police department as needed, so it's a uniquely service-oriented division,” Incontro says. “What began years ago as a basic security presence for City Hall and selected locations has grown significantly to include police and specialized security services and responsibility for L.A.'s security technology development.”

Incontro says that before Sept. 11 the city had begun to implement certain aspects of the strategic plan, but that the catastrophe sped up the process in terms of funding.

“We are one of the most diverse cities in the world and when it comes to a terrorist threat — though there is no specific threat at this time — the potential is there,” Incontro says. “Yet we can't overreact, and we must remain focused on our primary purpose and mission — to reduce vagrancy, vandalism and violence — thereby serving the public.”

Adds Jon Mukri, general manager of the Department of General Services, which has ultimate oversight of the Security Services Division: “It's a tough balancing act since Sept. 11, because our core security concerns have not changed, but the perception of the threat may have. Our operations are really Monday-through-Friday, so the most vital aspect of our security operation is vigilant day-to-day monitoring and immediate response. We need the right procedures, processes, training and people in place.”

The city has identified more than 80 buildings as high-risk. Issues related to domestic violence, potentially dangerous interactions with mentally ill homeless people and the temptation to deface the gilded beauty of the renovated City Hall building, for one, are daily threats to the city's citizens and property investments.

Mukri says implementing the strategic plan has been gradual. Determining which of the 900-plus buildings were most at risk, maintaining a balance between public access and public safety, and justifying the considerable cost of protection were major challenges. But the pace has picked up.

“We have a new Mayor and new Council members, and there's no question they're committed to bringing the appropriate level of security to these buildings,” Mukri says. “They want us to work with LAPD, which is responsible for certain key issues such as identifying terrorist or dissident groups — as well as with other departments, to determine the solution.”

The focal point of the solution is access control and surveillance capabilities that will be monitored from a state-of-the-art central monitoring station.

THE NEW CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS

As in any municipality, L.A.'s security budget comes down from a mayor and council members who gauge its cost-effectiveness.

Incontro was well-qualified to help assess that risk and to shepherd the many facets of its resolution, but like all savvy leaders, he knew when to ask for help. “My first day on the job, I was talking to the Council about all the aspects of a $3 million technology upgrade, yet being a police officer, I don't necessarily have the security technology knowledge,” he says.

Adds Dwayne Letcher-Healy, administrative section head for the security services division and project manager for the citywide upgrades: “Another problem the city had been wrestling with was a fragmented approach to security systems, and it had been hard to get a handle on what was happening in a given location in real-time, because most of our systems were limited, ‘piggy-backed,’ and unable to communicate with each other.”

The Department of General Services turned to consulting firm TRC-EASI Consultants (Engineered Automation Systems Inc.), Tustin, Calif., to recommend specific system solutions.

“We began the city-wide assessment plan before Sept. 11, so the plan is not a reaction to that, but since then, the issues have become more complex,” says Greg Brandon, EASI's chief consultant to the project.

EASI determined that a core component of the upgrade would need to be a sophisticated access control and photo ID system — with a biometric fingerprint component in the critical City Hall building — monitored in real-time from a new central monitoring station. It selected InfoGraphic Systems' DIAMOND II system, HID proximity cards, BioScrypt fingerprint readers and motion detectors for the job. By next summer, the company expects the integrated system will be up and running, monitoring 40,000 users at dozens of sites on Christie DLPs, or plasma-like screens, which provide precise image quality in a large format. The command center will also centrally monitor the fire systems in place throughout the city.

“I'm not aware of another city with a standardized, city-wide system,” says Brandon, adding that LAPD and fire department functions can be incorporated into the system as needed, as well as critical infrastructure functions such as waste treatment and communications.

“The benefit to fire/life safety and police in the event of a disaster will be great,” Healy adds. “They'll be able to access locked-down buildings, and that facilitation may pay the biggest dividend. And it's peace of mind for employees that the city is not going to sit back and wait.”

Council member Mark Ridley-Thomas, chair of the Information Technology and General Services Committee, was a chief proponent of the upgrades to the civic center. “It is paramount that we provide city employees and the public conducting business with local government a reasonable level of safety and security,” he says. “The new security technology will assist the city in achieving that.”

The command center will be housed within the city mall, adjacent to the main civic center complex, Incontro says, to speed emergency deployment. The public will also be able to seek help and assistance there.

Surveillance capabilities will also be integrated with access and alarm functions. “The city will use mainly Pelco and in some places Panasonic color cameras throughout its interior and exterior building spaces, including more than 40 at City Hall,” Healy says.

The implementation at City Hall posed a particular challenge, because of the building's historic landmark status. “Not only did we have preservation concerns, but this is the public symbol of L.A., so security needed to be unobtrusive, allowing the public to visit and feel safe and unrestricted, yet be very, very tight,” Healy says.

RD Systems, Tustin, Calif., the city's systems installer for more than 20 years, tackled the challenging installation. “A great deal of time and planning were required prior to the installation to ensure that the system would not adversely affect the historic nature of the building,” says RD Systems' John Russell. “We took into account the daily business of the elected officials, their staff, and the public, and were as unobtrusive as possible.”

TAKING IT TO THE PEOPLE

The business of the people is, after all, the business of L.A.'s city buildings, and a key part of the new security plan has been training security personnel to keep that in mind. “The division operates with about 94 personnel, including security aides or those in entry level positions, security officers and special officers, who are sworn police officers. They each have a unique responsibility and interact very well,” Incontro says.

Going forward, the Security Services division will have an enhanced orientation. Says Incontro: “We're working to bring all our officers up to the high level of training required of the sworn officers, thanks in large part to our training coordinator. We have a new use of force policy, and we focus on interpersonal relations. We're a service-oriented division, and achieving things through vocal persuasion is paramount for us.”

“The pitfall is to react to imperfect information and try to satisfy a threat that may not be there, because you'll wind up putting in a system that is ineffective or that far exceeds the threat level,” Mukri says. “Sept. 11 was a tragedy, but we in municipal government need to maintain public access and service, so you can't overreact. Beware of whiz-bangs: Get the best information you can, and talk to your community.”

FOR THE RECORD

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kate Henry is an Annapolis, Md.-based writer and regular contributor to Access Control & Security Systems.

ABOUT THE COMPANIES

For information, please circle the appropriate Reader Service number (listed below) on one of the Reader Service cards in the issue or visit infoLINK at www.securitysolutions.com.

BioScrypt	20
HID	21
InfoGraphic Systems	22
Panasonic	23
Pelco	24

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

This month in Access Control

• Targeting The Customer
• Electronic Pedigrees
• One Hero Among Many
• Who? What? When? Where? Why?
• More from September's issue