School was recognized during Nov. 6 Secured Cities Conference award ceremony
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 12, 2014) – University of Kentucky, in collaboration with Louisville’s Biagi Chance Cummins London Titzer Inc. (BCCLT) engineering consulting firm, has been selected as the winner of a 2014 Security Innovation Award (SIA) by Secured Cities, an educational conference devoted to security initiatives for cities, educational campuses, health care facilities and mass transit. UK was selected as the winner in the campus security sector.
UK and BCCLT were recognized during the Secured Cities Conference award ceremony held Nov. 6, 2014 in Baltimore, Md. The BCCLT-UK project was also selected as a top five finalist for the SIA Grand Platinum award, which honors the overall best collaborative security project of 2014. The winner of the SIA Grand Platinum award will be featured as the cover story in the November/December issue of Security Technology Executive magazine.
“I’m very pleased our high-tech security system at UK has been honored with this award,” said University of Kentucky Police Chief Joe Monroe. “Safety is the leading priority for the UK police department as well as the university as a whole, and this security system is helping us achieve a safer campus. From the ability to lock down buildings in emergency situations, to the use of the sophisticated surveillance camera system in criminal investigations, to the enhanced crisis communications capabilities, this system puts UK in the forefront of campus security.”
UK invested $4.8 million to develop a fully integrated standardized security solution to improve campus safety. This security system is the university’s first ever high-tech comprehensive security management system, which includes video cameras, centralized building access control, increased early warning communication capabilities and standard campus identification badges. UK has utilized Next Level Security Systems‘ integrated computerized system incorporating video management, access control, video analytics and intrusion. Installation began in the summer of 2013 and was completed earlier this year.
The university’s video management system (VMS) monitors areas on campus and is centrally managed by the UK Police Department. The VMS incorporates analytics to identify potential situations on campus while connecting evidence for authorities to review. The security management system (SMS) allows UK Police to limit access and lock buildings immediately through the communications center.
“This (award) is a reflection of the hard work of the project team members,” said University of Kentucky Police Major Nathan Brown, who coordinated implementation for UK Police. “Looking back on the project, it is amazing that we were able to implement a standardized security platform throughout campus and issue over 50,000 Wildcards in such a short time. I cannot express how proud and appreciative I am for the hard work of so many people across various departments.”
UK’s standardized campus ID, the Wildcard, allows UK Police to incorporate SMS with existing and additional access control systems. Early warning speakers have also been established to broadcast potential threats to UK campus safety. UK Police can provide immediate alert through warning speakers, voice calls, emails and text messages. UK’s security system also includes Talk-a-Phone towers with cameras and hands-free emergency communication systems.
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