SubscribeWith nearly 14,000 inhabitants San Marino boasts the oldest commercial building in Southern California, and the San Marino Police Department has adopted electronic access control to increase security.
San Marino is a city of nearly 14,000 inhabitants, known for its immaculately preserved housing, (built mainly between 1920 and 1950).
Home owners share a sense of historic preservation and the city’s strict zoning lawshave prevented the building of large, cloned dwellings.
At the present time, there are no apartment buildings in San Marino. In the middle of the city is Lacy Park. Created when Lacy Lake was drained, it is a valued resource for the local residents. San Marino also boasts the Old Mill, which is the oldest commercial building in Southern California.
Dated Police Station Security
The San Marino Police Department prides itself on the professional service it offers this pleasant city.
The 32 officers and a full complement of support staff are there to serve the local community, and the department takes its obligations seriously.
At the police department security was considered important, but it had become a little outdated. In 2007, Chief Isaacs decided to review the security on the police station.
Electronic Access Control
The security measures at the station included CCTV on all the entrance and exit doors along with traditional keys and locks to secure those doors. Chief Isaacs says, “We used a four to five tiered keying system. Keys were being duplicated, on occasion, without the proper authorization. In addition, we had 10- button keypads on the back doors, and we had an issue with unauthorized people getting hold of the codes and being able to access the building.”
There is a heightened sense of security since 9/11, and Chief Isaacs was aware that security was not up to the level the department required. Sensitive records are also kept at the station which, by law, cannot be released to, or viewed by anyone who is not a sworn officer of the department. At first we thought about re-keying on an annual or semi-annual basis, we then decided it would be worth looking at an electronic system.”
Door Security Recording
A strong advantage of the Net2 system is its ability to give the Police Department the required door security and a record of who had been into the building and where.
One of these companies, Post Alarm Systems, won the bid with Net2. Chief Isaacs explains, “We had the technical people from Post Alarm Systems come in to talk to me and other members of the department. They gave us a demonstration on CCTV and access control. We could see the Net2 system was robust enough not only to give us the security that we needed over the doors, but would give the added benefit of knowing who was coming into our building.”
Net2: Simple Access Control System
Post Alarm Systems undertook the installation. Company Vice President Fred Dunner, tells the story. “We recommended Net2 from Paxton Access on this installation, due to the simplicity of the user interface. The police are very busy and do not want to spend hours learning new software.” Post Alarm Systems is a privately owned regional security company that provide electronic solutions rather than just “out of the box” answers. Eric Welch, Paxton Access’ Business Development Manager, introduced Net2 to Post Alarm Systems and Fred Dunner was impressed enough to recommend the system. Mr Dunner says,” We have never tried a system that set up as easily and intuitively as Net2. My installers like the fact that the access control units are clearly marked and the paper work for hooking them up is great; initializing and launching the software, went really smoothly and finding doors was much easier than on most systems. Setting up doors and access levels was straightforward and logical. We expect it to be a dependable system.”
Stolen Access Card Blocking
The Net2 system has been up-and-running for some months now. Chief Isaacs is very pleased with the functionality of the system, in fact, he says, “Net2 does more than we were expecting.” The Net2 system has also eased his mind about the security around the station, especially in sensitive areas. Now the police officers know who is coming into the building and they have the ability to block lost or stolen access cards. Different access rights are given to individual officers according to their need to be in particular areas of the building.
Chief Isaacs would definitely recommend Net2 access control and Post Alarms Systems
“I am now keen to expand the system,” explains Chief Isaacs. “We have done phase one, and I am now looking at funding to add control to more of our internal doors. I have also spoken to other departments in the city about entrusting their security to Net2 and Post Alarm Systems.”
