If there is one thing that the siege of the U.S. Capitol in January and last summer’s wave of social unrest have proven, it is that there is a need amongst both the public and private sector for quickly deployable barriers to try and limit the damage that can be inflicted by an angry mob. Though law enforcement and private security personnel have done the best they could with the tools at their disposal, the fact is many of these solutions are not adequate to address to today’s threats.
During one of the Security Industry Association’s (SIA) virtual GovSummit seminars earlier this year, Gabriel Russell, Regional Director, Federal Protective Service (FPS), noted the significant challenges the agency has faced in Portland relative to deploying solutions to hold back demonstrators there.
“If you watched the video from the ICE building in Portland, you’ll see that a group there will frequently light a dumpster on fire in the middle of the street, kind of hang around for a little while and eventually they’ll push it up the driveway next to the card reader stanchion, which will destroy it and then we have to replace that,” Russell said. “A group of people will also use a human wave tactic to knock a security gate out of its tracks at that building. We’ve experienced that the crowd barriers that we’ve used across the country have not really performed as well as we might have hoped.”
One company looking to provide a more robust offering for the industry is Bullistic Barriers, which is showcasing its new RaDeBuRe (Rapid Deployment Bullet Resistant Riot Fence) solution this week at ISC West 2021 (booth #14149). The fence comes in six- or eight-foot-high panel sections, typically 10-feet long, weighing 500-pounds, and can be deployed by as few as two people using a mobilization system developed by the company in conjunction with the product. RaDeBuRe was also recently selected as the winner of the Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection category in the 2021 SIA New Product Showcase Awards.
SecurityInfoWatch.com (SIW) caught up with Amos Glick, Manager of Bullistic Barriers, to discuss how the company developed the concept for RaDeBuRe and its applications in the marketplace.
SIW: What was the impetus for the development of the RaDeBuRe fence?
Glick: We knew there needed to be some product, some type of fence, that can be rapidly deployable that also offers ballistic protection because if you follow the gun numbers, there are seven million Americans that have bought guns over the last 12-15 months that have never owned a gun before. So, there are more guns during these times of escalated emotions and whatnot to start going off at people and what better than to have that barrier also be ballistic (protected). We created a product that will absorb a projectile in the skin, so to speak, but still arrest it within a certain caliber, certain velocities, etc.
SIW: What really differentiates RaDeBuRe from other rapidly deployable barriers on the market?
Glick: To my knowledge, there is nothing else out there that is rapidly deployable and bullet resistant. Typically, you would need heavy equipment (to deploy a solution like this), but the whole system is designed around manual deployment with a couple guys on a security team.
SIW: Can you explain how your mobilization system works?
Glick: It had to maneuver, not only upstairs, but the posts had to be deployable on uneven surfaces… because riots are not always in the ideal location. You always have curbs or uneven surfaces, uneven terrain and steps, fences, walls, whatever, so it was designed (to be deployed) around uneven terrain. Again, it is all engineered around the average security guy that’s got a little bit of muscle, but they don’t have to be gym rats.
With the dolly system, you can roll the panels effortlessly off the carrier onto the dollies, pop the backs onto what we call the swivel dolly, which is a smaller dolly, and what’s cool about these dollies is their wheels can go 360-degrees, so these panels can literally spin on a dime. The other key component to this is that on the dollies themselves, there is raising and lowering mechanisms. Without that, you’re not going anywhere because you would have to manually life them off the dolly, forget that. That’s when we devised this jack system – if that’s what you want to call it – and built those right into the dollies.
SIW: How long does it take to deploy the fence?
Glick: We estimate a typical city street – say three lanes and sidewalks – 15 minutes.
SIW: What is your primary market?
Glick: It is definitely government and law enforcement, but we see a large niche for this in the commercial security market, especially in some of these global conglomerates where they could have this strategically in warehouses or at locations around the globe. There is a significant manpower shortage, especially in this country and I’m assuming it translates somewhat globally as well. This can kind of help offset the availability of manpower in these heightened and escalated times of unrest.
SIW: What are the costs?
Glick: You’re looking at under $50,000 for one carrier unit, which is basically 100 feet of riot fence, and it is complete where you’ve got the 10 panels, posts, center dolly, swivel dolly, pry bars, wood blocks, ramps if you encounter any type of stairs, and there are corner pieces if you need to turn a corner. Basically, whatever we’ve though about is in there.
About the Author:
Joel Griffin is the Editor of SecurityInfoWatch.com and a veteran security journalist. You can reach him at [email protected].
