Successful deterrence with multiple Niō units for complete coverage
Surrounded by lush landscapes framed by mountainous vistas and foothills, Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen (RMAE) in Evergreen, Colo., is an atypical location when it comes to security. The primary challenge for the K-8 school was keeping loiterers off the property – and RMAE turned to iDter Security Systems and its automated Niō Guardian solution to get the job done quickly and cost-effectively.
RMAE is a Jefferson County Public Charter School of Choice situated on an expansive campus that includes an athletic field, track, park with playground and open spaces. RMAE was one of the first beta sites for iDter’s intelligent security system and its vast area was well suited to address the issue at hand.
The school initially installed five Niō Guardian units at key areas around the perimeter, growing the system with another three units for a total of eight cameras after it found the solution was successfully deterring after-hours visitors.
iDter system keeps unwanted visitors out
“We are covered now with the expansion of the system,” says Dr. Ann Hudson Ed. D and Principal of RMAE. “The deterrence properties of the iDter system have been working great and are fantastic.”
Dr. Hudson says the primary concern was moving non-authorized visitors off site and keeping people off the property to prevent potential damage or vandalism to school assets.
“Our campus is located off the beaten path, so it’s easy to go unnoticed without perimeter security,” she says. “Being a public school in the current cultural environment necessitated adding another layer of security for our campus. We’re remote and not in a city. You can hide in the nearby mountains. That was one of the big reasons to have the system installed – to have extra sets of eyes on the campus.”
iDter stops intruders immediately – within seconds - with its total intrusion deterrence and monitoring solution featuring Niō Guardian cameras. Niō Guardians are positioned in key areas around the school to detect intrusion with a powerful high-resolution camera with wide-angle lens, motion detectors, quad-core computer intelligence, omni-directional speakers, microphone and powerful LED lights for illumination and red/blue strobing.
When an intruder is detected, Niō activates an array of programmable deterrence measures, including 10,000 lumens of multi-directional LED floodlights, blinding strobes, piercing sirens, situation-appropriate voice-down warning messages and intimidating sound effects.
The school is also used by the community and organizations that rent facilities in the evening or after hours, and the system can be programmed to handle those events without triggering alarms with flexible detection scheduling.
Dr. Hudson says she and the school’s facility manager make use of the mobile app interface to assess any detections that occur – so they know exactly what’s happening and how to respond.
Mobile viewing increases security
“We get an alert on our mobile devices and view the video to see whether it’s a legit concern or not. I can look at the video and determine that perhaps it’s the cleaning crew – or maybe it’s someone on campus that we don’t believe should be there – so we can act accordingly. The high-quality cameras also allow us to read license plates and if there’s a vehicle we don’t recognize, the images give us pertinent information to pass along to the authorities.” The school also has access control at entrances and cameras installed in public areas in the interior.
Dr. Hudson says the initial project began in 2021 and the installer was amazing and communicative. “He gave us a demo that showed exactly what the system would do when triggered. He helped us determine where it should be installed and why. The system was installed in a professional and timely manner. We have been happy with it and that’s why we expanded its coverage.”
Since the system adapts to its environment, learning from its nuances, it can now differentiate between false and actual alarms – in this case animals such as bears or mountain lions traversing the campus versus a real intruder.
“It’s definitely been effective. We also have the voice down capability but haven’t had to use it. The automated deterrence has been enough and any intruders are gone once the system is triggered. I feel our campus is truly secure 24/7. The parents appreciate it; the kids appreciate it.”
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