HI SEC Secures Lothian and Borders Police

Scotland’s Second Largest Police Force Installs ThorGuard

Scotland’s eight police forces protect a country rich in heritage, tradition and crime. Lothian and Borders (L&B), established in 1975, is the second largest police force in Scotland and protects Edinburgh city centre and the surrounding areas all the way to the southern borders.

L&B’s 62 police stations were using a standard lock and key to secure their buildings, which brought with it several security issues. L&B needed to standardize on one system throughout the police force that was not only secure, but future proof. Inspector Brian Wilson, for L&B led a team to review different security systems and their cost implications. HI SEC’s ThorGuard Security Management System was chosen because it is a truly integrated system of access control, intrusion and CCTV. L&B also found the close relationship between CaleyLock, the installing integrator and HI SEC beneficial.

“It was like working with one company,” said Inspector Wilson.

L&B’s Police Headquarters, Fettes Avenue, Edinburgh was used as a pilot site to review the factors involved in installing the ThorGuard Security Management System. Inspector Wilson liked the intelligence of the terminal and the uniqueness of the product. In the event of a power and or network failure, it would continue to operate. Once power or network was restored, it downloads all transactions to a central server. The system is easy to expand as the software contains all the necessary functionality.

“Through the pilot, we learned it was easy to install; there was little interruption in day to day building activities,” said Inspector Wilson. “It did what it said it would do.”

Once completed, 275 ThorGuard Smart Terminals will be installed with Mifare Proximity cards. L&B plans to use the cards for different applications in the future. Mifare cards allow them to store additional data on the Cards.

ThorGuard integrates with their current CCTV system. L&B is currently piloting HI SEC’s Symmetry Video system and evaluating how it operates over their IT network. The intrusion capability in ThorGuard is also being evaluated.

“HI SEC’s ThorGuard is a high end security product; they are one of the security industry’s front runners in advanced technology,” said CaleyLock’s Director, Allan Shaw.

L&B found HI SEC extremely easy to work with. HI SEC made changes to the security management system to suit their requirements. An off the shelf product would never have given them the flexibility to do that.

Badging and Security

All police officers carry a Warrant Card that is considered their ID card. Approximately 5,500 cards will be in the system; 4,000 police officers and 1,500 support staff.

Readers will be placed on all external doors and sensitive internal rooms such as the IT room.

All sites are connected to the main server via a (DNA) Direct Network Access .

Security guards will monitor the security system for all buildings from Fettes Headquarters. They have been trained to use the system and deploy officers or someone in a building when an alarm sounds.

“Security has become more and more of an issue with the police being no different,” said CaleyLock’s Allan Shaw. “L&B will utilize Warrant cards to monitor people and improve security within their buildings. They needed to have one system – this is what they wanted and received.”

Each building must be secured because of the nature of policing. ThorGuard provides the flexibility to restrict access to particular doors or days or times of the week. Auditing who’s had access to a particular building or area will assist with future information management.

“Access control can limit or open doors as much as we like,” said Inspector Wilson. “We can also open doors remotely from HQ if required.”

“We were impressed with HI SEC’s sales process, and with HI SEC and CaleyLock’s commitment to the project,” said L&B’s Inspector Wilson. “There were a number of challenges in relation to the IT system that demanded adaptability on their part. HI SEC rose to the challenge and solved any problems we may have had. They were very willing to talk through the process and have back office support to change the system and adapt to the climate.”

“We are very pleased with the HI SEC system; the proof of concept was there and the pilot was successful,” said Inspector Wilson. “We are very happy with the system itself and are looking forward to rolling it out across the force.”

CaleyLock encountered challenging logistics to install the system. Local engineers traveled long distances, sometimes 190 kilometers to install the system. But the remote buildings hardly noticed they were there. This was highlighted One day when Inspector Wilson’s boss asked when the install was going to be started he replied it was already completed!

L&B is looking forward to rolling ThorGuard out across all 64 police stations. They are currently reviewing Symmetry Video and linking intrusion into a number of buildings. The end goal is to have a fully integrated security management system networking CCTV and intrusion to ThorGuard and have monitoring occur at one central point.

"We at HI SEC are looking forward to a close co-operation during the continued installation phase,” said HI SEC’s International Sales Manager, Jorgen Krogh.