In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, college officials nationwide have felt pressured to tighten security, but not so much that they lock down their campuses.
The people behind Secure System Inc. say that’s where they come in. The small firm is touting a product it developed that allows students to alert campus security about emergencies with the press of a button.
But Secure System needs to convince colleges that the security systems commonly used — students calling from their own cell phones or finding the nearest emergency telephone that’s connected to campus security — can be improved. So far, it has sold its system to two colleges, a hospital and the New York State Office of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, which has 28 facilities.
“Nobody wants to sit on the sidelines (when it comes to security),” said John X. Adiletta, chief executive officer of Somerset International Group Inc., which owns Secure System.
Colleges have been re-evaluating their security since April, when a Virginia Tech student opened fire and killed 32 students and faculty members.
Big Payday
Colleges have plenty of options in what has become a competitive market. Some schools now can warn students through text and voice messages. Other schools have armed students with their own alarms, said Raymond Thrower, president-elect of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators.
The only obstacle: money.
“It’s always a money issue,” said Thrower, also director of safety and security at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn. “Where do you think you can get the most bang for your buck? Where does it make the most sense? Where will it benefit your community the most?”
Secure System’s product costs up to $500,000 a year, depending on the size of the client. By comparison, telephones that connect with the security office and come equipped with flashing lights and video cameras can cost $5,000 a phone or less, Thrower said.
Secure System gives students pocketsize alarms that clip to key chains and places receivers throughout campus. In an emergency, a student can press an alarm, which sends a wireless signal to the nearest receiver, alerting campus security that there is a problem at that location. Because each alarm has a personal identification code, security officers also can see whose alarm is being sounded.
The system prevents police from tracking people who aren’t pressing their alarms, to protect their privacy, Adiletta said.
Connecticut First
The University of Bridgeport, a Connecticut school with 56 acres and 4,500 students, was suffering a decade ago from a high crime rate that hurt enrollment. It purchased the Secure System product in 1995. Since then, crime has dropped steadily, school officials said. For example, the number of cars stolen from campus fell to one in the past year from 150 in 1994.
April Vournelis, director of campus security, said the system means that students no longer have to fumble for a cell phone or scramble for the nearest telephone. They can simply press a button.
“I wouldn’t want to work without it,” Vournelis said.
Winning over more schools might not be easy, particularly because some schools say they are satisfied with the security they have.
For example, Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J., has 75 emergency telephones on campus and it purchased a system a year ago that will send voice mail and text messages to students and faculty, said Patricia Swannack, vice president of administrative services.
Rutgers University in New Jersey is installing additional security cameras in on-campus buildings and introducing a system to alert students and faculty through text messages.
The cell phone “is the one communication device that virtually all college students carry today,” said Gregory Blimling, Rutgers’ vice president of student affairs.
