Working with Idesco over the years has been an absolute pleasure from a professional and personal standpoint,” states Gene Palma, Assistant Vice President of Public Safety & Transportation at Adelphi. “Idesco brought the University to IP Cameras and stood by us through the entire process. Their response to new work and most importantly, responding at the speed of light when a problem arises is second to none. The Idesco team has been available to us day and night and even weekends and can always be counted on at all times to do what is right.”
Idesco and Adelphi proves that collaboration and teamwork pays off in the long haul. “No matter what challenges we faced during the security installation, we all collaborated together as a team to make things right,” states Michael Troiani, Service Manager at Idesco. “Adelphi’s security team and their IT department is really top-notch and one of the best groups that we ever worked with.”
As with any security installation, encountering unexpected challenges are part of the process. From the public safety point of view, a huge challenge included ensuring all cabling and installation was coordinated with drawings, general contractors, and subcontractors. There were several changes that occurred and required things that were different from the original plans; but having Idesco th
ere to collaborate with and handle all issues helped keep the project on track.
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Another challenge encountered included an issue during the planning stage where a couple of areas throughout the building that needed cameras were missed. “During the building construction, there was $600,000 worth of equipment delivered that needed to be protected from theft,” states Robert Hughes, the Associate Director of Public Safety and Transportation at Adelphi. “We were missing a camera at an important entry door and called on Idesco to help save the day. Idesco quickly came to our rescue and installed the camera the same day once again delivering the superior customer service that we have grown to depend on.”
Healthy Dose of Security
Keeping the new building protected with a state-of-the-art life safety and security system was the number one priority at the university. Adelphi is a role model to its community and has become a trusted advisor to other Long Island campuses to show how the latest technology can be used to protect college campuses. This new building was no exception to the healthy dose of security that Adelphi continues to inject campus wide. The university was looking to protect every entry point of the New Center of Health Innovation building.
To accomplish this, a combination of fixed, PTZ and license plate recognition IP cameras were installed in the hallways, lobbies, sitting areas, elevators, roof, parking areas (exterior and underground), and exit ramps. The underground parking garage is covered by six 180 degree cameras while the parking deck has two PTZ cameras installed with two units housing 4 fixed and one PTZ camera at both entrances. This provides the university with views of all areas at all times which keeps all entrances covered. The outdoor cameras used were Axis 6000-e IP cameras.
Overall, the university has been using a combination of analog and IP cameras and finds that having both systems on campus offers back-up with two types of coverage in case one system goes down. With over 350 cameras on campus, Idesco was able to build on Adelphi’s existing IP system and only had to add a storage unit to extend storage time.
A few days after the exterior parking lot cameras were installed, Adelphi was able to assist the police by pulling footage from the exterior PTZ cameras after there was a vehicle accident on South Avenue in front of the new building. In addition, the cameras have been used to capture motor vehicle thefts and prevent larceny and theft of items located in parked cars.
The University Department of Public Safety and Transportation, located on the lower level of Levermore Hall and in the Public Safety Command Center in front of Levermore Hall, provides Public Safety services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The department consists of an assistant vice president, two associate directors, one captain, three lieutenants (one of which manages the transportation and parking services), five sergeants (one of which is the crime prevention supervisor), and 40 carefully selected and trained male and female officers, many of whom have law enforcement backgrounds.
Public Safety Officers provide vehicle, bicycle and foot patrols of the entire campus, parking lots, buildings, and residence halls; protect life and property; in concert with Health Services ensure that those sick or injured receive prompt medical treatment; respond to and investigate reports of crime; enforce traffic regulations, fire safety, and conduct crime-prevention programs and seminars.
The Department of Public Safety and Transportation maintains a close working relationship with the Garden City, Hempstead, Nassau County, Suffolk County, Poughkeepsie and the New York City police departments, all of which provide police services, including criminal investigation and emergency services. Although Adelphi Public Safety Officers are not peace officers and therefore do not have authority to make arrests as such, they do provide crime-scene services pending the response of the law enforcement agency concerned. Officers have the authority to issue parking and moving violation summonses on campus, and have the authority to request identification of persons on campus.
