Out of tragedy, a new beginning

Jan 1, 1999 12:00 PM, GEORGE PARTINGTON

After workplace violence erupts, Connecticut Lottery relocates into a new - and secure - building.

On March 6, 1998, a distraught Connecticut Lottery employee reported for work. It was a Friday; the weekend was about to begin. But for four company executives, time stopped. The disgruntled employee was carrying a gun, and before anyone could act, he shot and killed the four executives and himself.Less than a year later, a lot has changed at the Connecticut Lottery. It is housed in another building, at a new location. And, in the wake of the tragedy, its security systems are all new.

"Our organization lived through one of the most traumatic and tragic experiences an organization can live through," says Fred DuPuis, Connecticut Lottery director of security. "We felt it was imperative to relocate, so that once our employees were through grieving, we would no longer associate certain areas with the tragic events."

Starting anewThe 120 employees of the Connecticut Lottery moved into the new building Sept. 8, 1998. The one-story, 39,000-square-foot facility is located in a commercial/industrial area of New Britain, 10 miles from the capital city of Hartford. All functions of the lottery, with the exception of ticket printing and physical distribution, are performed in the building, including executive management, information systems, accounting, sales and marketing, legal representation and human resources.

When employees arrived for work on Sept. 8, they knew what to expect regarding the security system because their feedback had influenced its design.DuPuis advocates the servicing of his clients - the employees and customers. He created a security safety committee, comprising six employees from various departments and levels. "I would listen to their concerns and ideas, and we built the security program using their input," recalls DuPuis. "I thought the feedback was valuable, and I would suggest to any security director looking to enhance security to get a good understanding of work flow and business needs before putting a security program in place."

DuPuis also conducted formal and informal information, orientation and educational presentations before, during and after installation of the new security system.

Finally, DuPuis enlisted ACP Engineering Inc., a local security system integrator, to help design and install the system. "Employee reaction has been outstanding," he says. "The majority welcomed the additional security and have incorporated security activities into their daily routines."

Bumps in the roadA major goal of the new security system, says DuPuis, was to put "bumps in the road" to prevent a violent incident from happening again.The perpetrator of the March 6 killing had a right to be in the building as an employee, notes DuPuis. "We would give anyone the respect they deserve to come into the building to do their job," he says. But no one has a right to bring a gun into the building, and to ensure that never happens again, employees pass through a metal detector before entering.

The detector, manufactured by the Italian company Ceia, is built into a Rapor door, produced by a company of the same name located in New Britain, Conn. The glass door, which slides open at the center to allow access, can be programmed to remain closed until a valid card is read, with no metal detected, on the approaching person. Or it can remain open until it senses approach without the proper credential or if metal is detected, which is how it is used at the Connecticut Lottery.

When the door slides closed to deny access, the individual does not turn around and go back, but exits immediately to the right, into a holding room, where an officer in the security control room can view the person via CCTV and communicate through a two-way Aiphone intercom. The detector indicates the location of the metal detected, so the officer can guide the person as to what action to take. For instance, he may tell the person to put her purse through a Heimann x-ray machine located there. The officer can view the x-ray image on a control-room monitor and verify that no weapons are present. The employee then exits the holding room to the exterior of the building and walks through the Rapor door again.

An HID proximity card reader system is incorporated with the door. The reader, with a 3-to-5-inch read range, works with employees' ThinProx II photo ID cards. Security for every function

There are approximately 20 HID readers throughout the facility, formerly a warehouse for a clothing store chain. About two thirds of the building is dedicated to warehouse operations, primarily storage of instant tickets, which are distributed to 3,100 retailers throughout the state. New instant ticket games hit the streets every two weeks, says DuPuis. The remaining building space is used for the lottery's retail and office functions.

DuPuis describes the warehouse area as self-contained, with tightly controlled access. The doors to the warehouse are controlled with proximity card access and Von Duprin electric strikes, as are most doors throughout the facility. Roll-up, overhead doors are controlled from the security console through the Ilco Unican Millenium Security Management system, which integrates access, identification, CCTV and alarm systems. ACP Engineering custom-designed the door controls.All aspects of security were considered during building redesign. The courier package delivery area, for instance, is a mantrap - a room with two doors that cannot be unlocked and opened at the same time. Couriers press a button on an intercom, alerting the control room. A security officer then interviews the courier through the intercom/CCTV interface, and grants access if warranted. The second door, which has access to the facility, remains locked until the courier departs.

The interior cameras are Philips fixed and pan/tilt/zoom color cameras run with a Philips Allegiant Matrix system. In addition to the matrix system, all cameras interface with a color multiplexer from Impac Technologies Corp. and Philips high-density recorders. System capabilities include graphical-user-interface control of enhanced playback. Triplex multiplexing allows simultaneous real-time and recorded video display. The system also features programmed sequences, a quad-screen format and event scheduling.

All cameras - about 30 - are recorded 24 hours a day, every day, and the video is archived for 30 days because "there might be an incident that you aren't completely aware of that doesn't come up for a period of time, such as a fraudulent ticket," says DuPuis. "We want an ample amount of time to allow us to go back and retrieve the information."

Tapes are recorded on three VCRs and are rotated every day. About 100 tapes are in storage at all times.

Public accessThe Connecticut Lottery has a high profile. In continuous operation since 1972, the lottery offers Lotto, Daily Numbers, Cash 5, Power Ball and instant scratch tickets. The games generated sales in excess of $805.5 million in fiscal year 1998, which ended June 30. More than $264 million of that money went to the general fund of the Connecticut state government.

The public can visit the new facility to purchase tickets and claim winnings. Consequently, DuPuis ensured the tight security measures are blended with a pleasing environment.

"We wanted to keep a corporate image," he says . "The average person probably does not know there is security in thee facility. It is behind the scenes, not in your face."

The environment - and the security measures - are similar to conditions in the banking industry. Indeed, DuPuis' background is in banking. Prior to joining the Connecticut Lottery in March of 1997, DuPuis was vice president corporate security for Shawmut National Corp., a super-regional bank in New England.The customer reception area looks much like a bank-teller area. The windows are bullet resistant, as is the bottom wood portion - constructed of Armorflex from Insulgard Corp. and covered with a tongue-and-groove wood exterior. "The application is actually pleasant to look at," says DuPuis. Employees at the windows have panic alarms that are hardwired to a Caddx panel. Some employees carry portable, radio-frequency-operated panic alarms.

When a panic alarm is activated, it triggers the panel to dial the central station and at the same time there is a panic annunciation at the console, says Jerry Brocki, president of ACP Engineering. Console monitors reveal the person's name and location, and a backup central station - Monitol Signal, out of Allenwood, N.J. - is also notified.The security control center, outfitted with ZERO Stantron consoles, is located behind the claims area, out of sight.

Exterior securityThe Connecticut Lottery's exterior security begins with parking lot panic stations equipped with Trigon HF-2 telephone systems. During business hours, proprietary guards respond to panic alarms over the two-way intercom and provide help after alerting the police. Not satisfied with the status quo, Brocki designed a beacon brighter than anything on the market, so a distress beacon is visible, even if not viewed directly. "If you can't see it directly, you can see the glow off of a building," says Brocki.

Pan/tilt/zoom CCTV cameras and intercoms are stationed at all access points - warehouse roll-up doors, courier doors, employee and public entrances. "We can talk to anyone on the exterior of the building before they are allowed access into the building," DuPuis notes.

The lottery is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is unoccupied at other times and on holidays. After hours, Sentrol motion and glass-break detectors guard the premises. When an alarm is triggered, police are automatically notified and respond, while exterior, high-resolution black-and-white Silent Witness cameras record in real-time. The cameras are B25 and B27 MiniDomes, housed in smoked-glass and gold domes. Brocki used the Silent Witness cameras for the clarity in low-light conditions and for their small, unobtrusive design. Color Silent Witness cameras are used under the roof at the entrance, where lighting is strongest.All windows have a 3M window film that resists smash-and-grab theft.

Positive changeDuPuis, Brocki and the employees of the Connecticut Lottery have left nothing to chance. From the time the site was selected in July 1998 to moving in, they have worked together to bring positive change out of tragic circumstances.Brocki helped ensure that everything purchased - about $300,000 in equipment - was useful.

Security is often viewed as an inconvenience, notes DuPuis. Connecticut Lottery employees, however, have taken a proprietary interest in security, from conception to reality. It is their constant - and life preserving - friend.

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© 2012 Penton Media Inc.

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