Raising the bar on security behind bars

Jan 1, 1998 12:00 PM, George Partington

Teamwork, independent consulting and competitive contracting by qualified systems integrators were key to the success of a recent renovation at the maximum-security New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. Prison officials worked with Professional Systems Engineering, Lederach, Pa., to renovate the locking, control and monitoring systems for 350 cells in the prison's 7th wing. The result has been increased security and accountability.

Out with the old

After a bad experience with the existing electromagnetic, relay-based control systems at the prison, the challenge facing prison officials was to replace the pneumatic door operators and control systems with a system that could be easily maintained, i.e., obtain the best value and the most reliable technology.

The old system involved 1,000 relays, each connected with several wires to control the 350 cells, making it maintenance-intensive and cumbersome. It was unreliable, increasing security risks and operating costs. Leaks in the pneumatic gate controls and failure of control relays, for example, left prison officials with nowhere to turn. Furthermore, there was no documentation for the proprietary control system, which made it difficult to identify and repair problems.

In with the new

The successful upgrade is the result of a team effort. "We implemented a reliable, user-friendly/intuitive control and monitoring system based on programmable logic control systems," explains Joseph A. Gothard, director of engineering for Professional Systems Engineering. The prison's architectural and engineering team included Rothe-Johnson Associates, Edison, N.J., architects; Brownworth Engineering, Piscataway, N.J.; and Consulting Engineers Collaborative, Kenilsworth, N.J. Contractors on the project were Com-Tec, Appleton, Wis., and ECE, Dupont, Pa., system integrators; and IEW, Trenton, N.J., general contractors.

Ultimately, relay controls were replaced with programmable logic controllers by Omron, and the pneumatic door operators were replaced with mechanical rack-and-pinion drives. The system was tied together with simple graphical user interfaces in which control and monitoring signals are grouped intuitively. The graphics mimic the layout of the responsibility/jurisdiction of that particular control station. Ten local consoles control 35 cells, each with graphical control panels using membrane switches and LEDs; they are secured with key-switches. The local consoles are tied into a master control center - a personal computer by Compaq - which provides graphic control, monitoring and reporting.

Each door and its status is shown separately. Officers must use multiple-key controls to execute critical functions, preventing accidental activation of single-key controls. Group control functions are provided to expedite group and emergency release. Activation of panic alarm functions disables all controls, while all visual signals continue to operate to help the incident response team respond quickly to security or safety needs.

The system also makes officers accountable for their actions. Control center operators are required to enter their password on a Hirsch Electronics scamble keypad to access monitoring and reporting functions, and the system maintains a log of all alarm signals, trouble signals and operator actions. Management information reports are formatted for easy tracking of critical events, and events related to a particular alarm or trouble condition are listed in the same report. The relational database allows the system to filter and sort information for efficient and accurate review of events.

Management can use these reports to pinpoint operation procedures that are unacceptable, to reduce risk, and to train officers to use the system consistently as required through post orders. Traditional on-line-type reports that require users to review multiple pages of events and select only those relevant to a particular incident are now used primarily for diagnostics and maintenance.

Industrial-grade equipment and software ensure reliability. Distributed programmable logic control systems with backup processors are used for monitoring and control, and each control console operates independently if communication with the master control center is lost. A redundant data bus routes communication to the master control center, and power for the control and monitoring equipment is provided by an uninterruptible power supply from Best Power Technologies, Necedeh, Wis.

Prison management has confirmed that the system has resolved the earlier security and maintenance problems. They now believe that state-of-the-art technology can increase efficiency and accuracy and still be reliable and easy to maintain.

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