How Westchester County, N.Y., Controls Access To Its Complex

Jan 1, 2003 12:00 PM

Recently, a fire alarm led to the evacuation of everyone in the main government executive building in New York's Westchester County. Using an integrated security system, public safety officials were able to check video associated with the event, and within seconds, they saw that an elderly woman had mistakenly pulled an alarm, thinking it was necessary to enter an adjacent restroom. Those who had already left the building were allowed to return quickly.

While in the end the event was not an emergency, county officials were happy to see their multi-million-dollar investment worked as planned.

Westchester County, located just north of New York City, is home to nearly one million residents. The county serves as corporate headquarters for a number of well-known companies, including PepsiCo and IBM. Two years ago, the county began making plans to update and increase security at its main center in the county seat of White Plains. The Sept. 11 attacks changed the timetable.

“Even before Sept. 11, we felt that as the operator of governmental buildings, we needed to improve the security in and around our facilities,” says Salvatore J. Carrera, Westchester's director of economic development — real estate. He also oversees the county's Department of Public Safety.

“After Sept. 11, we listened to the warnings from federal agencies and changed plans that were slated to be implemented within a few years and moved them to the forefront,” Carrera adds.

The county turned to a White Plains-based systems integrator, Antar-Com Inc. (ACI), which completed drawings and oversaw the installation of electronic security equipment to protect two county buildings and an adjoining parking structure in less than four months.

The extensive system, which includes video surveillance cameras, digital video recorders, barrier turnstiles, X-ray equipment, intercoms and metal detectors, is all integrated through a C-CURE 800 access control system and NetVue video integration software from Lexington, Mass.-based Software House, part of Tyco International's Fire and Security Division.

“County officials were concerned about having a system in place quickly, so we went from drawings to a completed project within four months,” says Isac Tabib, a principal at ACI and the vice president of technology. “The design was continually enhanced as we introduced the county to all of the system's capabilities.”

“I was not going to buy something that would be obsolete within six months or a year,” Carrera says. “We can easily expand this system to more facilities or add biometrics if we want. This is a good, long-term investment for the county.”

The new system includes the Michaelian Office Building (MOB), a nine-story facility that houses the offices for the county executive, board of legislators and a number of departments such as public works, planning and public safety. Major components of the system have also been extended to other buildings housing offices for the county clerk, the district attorney, courtrooms and several other county departments.

The access system is used to lock and unlock the public entrance automatically. Visitors enter through one door and are required to show a picture identification card (usually a driver's license). A public safety officer uses a driver's license scanner by Bartizan Data Systems, Yonkers, N.Y., and Passage Point software from San Jose, Calif.-based STOPware to create temporary ID badges. The scanner and software integrate with the C-CURE system. Visitors are then directed through a metal detector, while items such as purses and attaché cases are placed on a conveyor belt and examined by X-ray using equipment from Control Screening, Fairfield, N.J.

A temporary badge is issued to visitors to be worn inside the building. When leaving, visitors are required to swipe the badge at a turnstile from Tomsed Corp., Lillington, N.C. The badge is logged out of the C-CURE system and is invalidated.

The county uses a C-CURE Vision badging system to produce photo IDs for employees. The access system permits a variety of time, day and area restrictions for each badge. Currently the county maintains nearly 25 clearance codes.

Employees may enter the building through specific access points, each requiring that a valid ID badge be read by proximity card reader for entry. The system also integrates intercoms from ValCom Inc., Roanoke, Va., located within the facility's parking garage in the event an employee needs to contact a public safety officer in the main security control room.

By the time ACI was finished, it had connected the C-CURE 800 to more than 175 card readers and 23 Software House apC/8X panels. The host computer downloads information into each panel's memory.

Tabib says the installation was expedited by using a Universal Interface Board (UIB), from ITG, Oyster Bay, N.Y. The UIB, a device used in many of ACI's major installations, links field devices, such as electrified locks and apCs. The boards use color-coded wires and plugs to simplify system installation and maintenance. A total of 21 LEDs on each board indicate the status of the various connections, while 24 fuses protect the apCs from damage during electrical spikes.

From the security control room, officers monitor the intercoms, access control and video surveillance systems at all times. More than 70 Philips fixed and dome cameras monitor the entrances, hallways, parking areas and ground-level airway vents. The video is monitored on 13 20-inch and six 9-inch color Philips monitors. All video is recorded on Intellex digital video management systems from San Diego-based American Dynamics of Tyco's Fire and Security Division.

Software House's NetVue allows for integration of the access system with the Intellex units. For example, a public safety officer can double-click on icons next to events such as “Door Propped Open,” which are generated on the C-CURE monitoring station. When the NetVue window opens, the officer can view live video or rewind to the point where the event occurred. Video clips can be saved as .avi files for archiving or e-mailing.

County officials are also preparing a single point of entry whereby all goods coming into the building — including mail, packages, even lunches — will be screened by an X-ray machine.

Carrera said that at first county employees were a little suspicious of such a comprehensive system. But now that it has been in place for several months, they have adjusted and appreciate the added security. And he said he has not had one complaint from the public.

Carrera said the courthouse lobby is now being renovated. All visitors currently pass through a metal detector to enter the building. Employees are also required to carry photo ID cards. Within the near future, a visitor pass system, similar to that used in the MOB, will also be installed.

County officials are preparing a report with recommendations on which a number of additional county-operated sites will also undergo a security upgrade. By using the C-CURE system as a standard, Carrera said, the county will have the ability to link any and/or all of the facilities into the central server or operate each facility as a stand-alone C•CURE system.

He said he was extremely pleased with the way the entire security system has functioned and praised ACI for its prompt work and continued support, including training.

“It turned out to be a much more sophisticated system than we had originally anticipated needing,” Carrera says. “I feel very confident we have done the best we can to protect our employees and citizens.”

For the Record

ABOUT THE COMPANIES

For information, please circle the appropriate Reader Service number (listed below) or visit securitysolutions.com

American Dynamics	10
Antar-Com Inc. (ACI)	11
Bartizan Data Systems	12
Control Screening	13
ITG	14
Philips (now Bosch)	15
Software House	16
STOPware	17
Tomsed Corp.	18
ValCom Inc.	19

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