At SecuritySpecifiers’ recently concluded CONSULT 2017 – a symposium for technical security consultants – I had the chance to hear a number of insights and experiences from some of the industry’s best consultants and manufacturers. As might be expected, we heard about technology trends and advances in areas such as drones, Artificial Intelligence system integration, and more; however, one of the presentations I heard discussed putting technology in a secondary role to provide the type of security the situation demanded.
The presentation focused on the rebuild of the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. – site of the tragic mass murder of children and teachers on Dec. 14, 2012; in fact, publication of this column nearly coincides with the five-year anniversary of that event. The presenters, Phil Santore and Brian Coulombe (yes, he is related) of DVS, a division of Ross & Baruzzini, conducted the security design at the school.
The Planning Phase
As the old Sandy Hook Elementary School was being torn down, the design team at DVS was busy meeting with all of the stakeholders and affiliated parties in Newtown to determine the criteria for a new building to be constructed on the same parcel of land, but in a different footprint.
They determined that the school had to be an attractive place of learning – safe, but not prison-like. They understood that whatever they completed for Sandy Hook would likely well be a template for security design for other schools in Newtown and beyond.
Through analysis of police response times, they realized that a crucial driving factor was the need to buy enough time – 4 to 5 minutes – by creating a series of delays in an intruder’s path to allow for first responders to arrive on site and to interdict a potential calamity.
Importantly, they concluded that technology – while important in supporting the school’s security posture – had to be usable by the security staff on hand. Needless to say, elementary school security people are focused on interacting with students, faculty and visitors, and they are not typically enterprise-grade in terms of technology skills.
Technical measures deployed included video surveillance, access control and intercom systems. “The technology we used was off-the-shelf – it is how it was deployed and how programmatically it was intended to be used that made the difference,” Santore explained.
What outshone higher tech solutions were common sense, ingenuity, design team collaboration, and the intelligent use of “lower” tech approaches – keeping in mind the need to delay an attack for just a few minutes.
The Design
Traffic patterns were carefully considered, which led to the construction of a long serpentine driveway from the main road to the school parking lots. Inductive proximity loops near the entrance alert security personnel to the presence of a vehicle, and controlled gates with intercom allow the driver to be questioned with information compared to data on file or parental or staff notifications of an impending visitor or parent/guardian pick-up.
The security designers also worked with architects on landscape and building design. A large swale in front of the school serves as a physical barrier to vehicles in lieu of bollards, and a pedestrian bridge across the swale provides a means for identification while focusing security’s attention to a specific area. Further, the building and grounds were constructed to remove direct sightlines from the ground to children seated at desks in their classrooms. The school can be partitioned between public spaces (e.g., gymnasium) and educational space with access control between those.
The initial point of entry in the school is a bullet-resistant vestibule, in accordance with new state guidelines. The design team investigated and tested impact-resistant glass products for use throughout the balance of the school, settling on School Guard Glass, a product which maintains structural integrity for a long duration even after being peppered by bullets and sledgehammer blows. The time it takes to penetrate the barrier contributes to the delay window sought by the designers and allows time for internal notification within the school.
Other Considerations
Speaking of notification, two different color strobes were placed on the outside of the school, where one color indicates a threat inside the school; the other, outside on the school grounds. This would help direct where people would flee during an attack.
Much thought was given to classroom openings. Every classroom door has a sidelight, with sidelights placed against a wall to restrict anyone in the hallway from seeing a significant portion of the classroom area.
In addition to implementing “keep the classroom door closed” policies, the designers recognized that people do not always follow policies; thus, all classroom doors were outfitted with automatic door closers and magnetic hold-opens that could be released by a central command. Further deadbolt locks with 1-inch throws mated to beefed-up frames and activated automatically upon door closure were employed to complete the close and lock sequence. Designers worked with hardware manufactures to have the deadbolt trigger positioned at the top of the door to minimize tampering or inadvertent actuation, and lock activation is purely mechanical to minimize the expense of wiring to each lock.
Simple but Effective
“I’ve found that a common pitfall of security technology practitioners is to over-specify technology,” Coulombe said. “It is incumbent on consultants to recognize the capabilities of security staff and design accordingly. Sometimes a simple solution is more effective, particularly when you consider that it is more likely to be used in accordance with the original design intent.”
Sandy Hook is a great example that, as good as technology may be, it is not the only tool that contributes to a responsive security design. The real indispensables are good judgement and common sense.
Ray Coulombe is Founder and Managing Director of SecuritySpecifiers and RepsForSecurity.com. Email him at [email protected], or contact him through LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/raycoulombe or follow him on Twitter: @RayCoulombe.
