New Solutions To Securing A Campus
How military and intelligence practices can aid in campus security
- By Benjamin Bryant
- January 01, 2017
At first blush, the concept of bringing military
operational and intelligence know-how to campus
security may seem strange. One might wonder
if lessons learned and applied from the
military and intelligence world have much to
offer a campus environment, or if bringing the
two worlds together might result in an uncomfortable
militarization of campus policing and
security. What if, when leveraged appropriately,
such backgrounds could result in increased
solution performance, vendor accountability
and stewardship of limited (often public or
donor) funds in the development and deployment
of campus security solutions?
Edge360, a company quickly establishing itself as a solutions provider
for diverse community policing and security needs, is making
the case that they can do exactly that, through the application of best
practices and lessons learned in environments where inaccurate or
unreliable performance is not an option, latest generation and mature
technologies must frequently be made to work together, and steady (or
even adequate) funding is hardly guaranteed. Circumstances, the
company notes, that are not unlike those faced by campus security
professionals every day.
In fact, in creating optimal and high-performing security solutions
for its clients, Edge360 doesn’t advocate for “militarizing” security at
all. Instead, they focus on using the best parts of its founders’ military
and intelligence experiences to optimize existing systems across environments,
including campuses—incorporating already purchased
security equipment and technology, whenever possible—to make them higher performing, better aligned with actual
on-the-ground security requirements, and
more adaptable within modern budgetary
environments. Notes co-founder and servicedisabled
Marine Corps veteran John Rezzonico,
the company’s CEO, “Edge360’s goal is
to keep any client’s security solutions as true
to their roots, requirements, and complementary
to their core mission as possible. This is
especially true in a campus environment.”
Rezzonico’s approach to security solution
building—in uniform, as a civilian consultant,
and now as an emerging innovator in the
security and surveillance space—remains
deeply and specifically rooted in his enduring
commitment to public safety and service.
Working with varied technologies and systems,
paid for with taxpayer dollars, on missions
for which underperformance was simply
not an option, Rezzonico honed an
ingrained understanding of the importance of
tying security investments and operations to
“real, on-the-ground” requirements, all while
serving as the best steward of limited dollars
(especially taxpayer and donor dollars) in
security projects and purchasing as possible.
These values, Rezzonico soon found as a
civilian consultant, were not always guiding
principles in the commercial security space.
As such, he sought to leverage them as a key
differentiator for his own Edge360: providing
customized security solutions that are fully
requirements (not just technology) driven
and fiscally responsible—providing optimal
public safety and security without over-engineering,
over-selling, or budgetary shortcuts.
The need to offer simpler, more responsive,
and more affordable solutions to communities,
including campus police and security
teams has become the company’s greatest differentiator
and passion. Translating that passion
for innovation into effective, efficient,
mission-centric solutions that better meet the
security and budget requirements of campus
communities and beyond, was job one for
Rezzonico, co-founder Bill MacKrell, and a
steadily growing team of innovators, since the
company’s inception six years ago.
From the start, the company cultivated its
own internal innovation lab, with engineers
on site dedicated to solving their customers’
(and the industry’s) “why can’t we?” questions,
and allowing the company to move
beyond the simple resale, customization, and
integration of existing technologies, to provide
new—and new ways of looking at—security
solutions. The team’s combined years of
experience design, implementation, operation
and support of command and control
platforms and information technology have
resulted in a new model for security solutions
providers based on real-time observations of
holes left unfilled in the security, including
campus security, space.
As Rezzonico notes, it quickly became
apparent that there was as much of a civilian
need for cost-effective, high performing
“operationally relevant” solutions that could
be scaled and adapted easily, not just those
based on readily available and often expensive
new technologies. So, what’s one result of
such in-house creativity with immediate relevance
to campuses everywhere? A rapidly
redeployable mobile surveillance solution
recently featured at ASIS 2016 and in a proofof-
concept demonstration in Houston, Texas.
Edge360’s rapidly redeployable mobile surveillance
solution first appeared on the radar
of many campus security professionals during
that proof-of-concept demonstration, at the
City of Houston’s annual Freedom Over Texas
Festival. At the festival, Edge360’s demonstrated
the capability of the rugged and nimble
surveillance tool, which featured nextgeneration
surveillance technology from
surveillance manufacturer IDIS, to assist public
safety personnel in the coverage of events
or incidents with temporary, changing, or
chaotic characteristics.
The Edge360 mobile system allows for
quick and enhanced surveillance that adapts
easily and quickly to altered environments,
including from interior perspectives. It is
highly relevant to campus security requirements,
including those for regularly scheduled
events, such as orientations, sporting
events and celebrations; and essential for
unplanned or one-off occurrences including
spontaneous student gatherings, protests,
and/or criminal incidents. And, as added
radio frequency noise, which is common in
such situations, can create an environment
“hostile” to a traditional video system’s
responsiveness, Edge360 uses hybrid and
wireless technology innovations mitigate the
challenges such environments create.
Further, recognizing that traditional surveillance
set-ups for major campus and large
sporting events face several common challenges
related to their dynamic nature, Edge
360’s solution allows for changes within venues—
such as the erection of tents—that can
limit viewing options and unpredictably alter
security landscapes.
For Rezzonico, the development of the
mobile solution, which allows for deployment
(and redeployment) in as little as minutes
came right from Edge360’s military and intelligence
roots, and the company’s commitment
to meeting mission requirements in an affordable
and higher-performing way.
“When you come out of the intelligence
space, you always start with the big picture,”
he says. “You don’t start by ‘seeing’ a collection
of products or technologies—cameras,
access control, or license plate recognition
systems, for example—that can be assembled
into a security solution, you ‘see’ the big picture,
the solution itself, first, and then you
work the details to meet the need. This often
results in a better performing solution at a
more efficient price.”
He further notes the difference in approach
means an improvement in the customer experience,
free of the unnecessary upselling and
bloated over-engineering of solutions that
frequently frustrate customers in all sectors,
and pose specific challenges for those in campus
security, where cost, schedule, and
accountability are highly scrutinized.
In announcing the successful proof concept,
Jack Hanagriff of the Houston Office of
Public Safety and Homeland Security noted
the immediate benefits of the offering, “The
rapidly redeployable mobile surveillance
solution provided by Edge360…really delivered.
Houston is one of the country’s most
dynamic urban environments and our commitment
to the safety and security of our
people at all times is second to none. [The
Edge360] solution successfully delivered a
powerful ‘plug-and-play’ video network capable
of cellular or wireless backhaul and one
that did not interfere with existing video networks
or other wireless devices in use.
“Importantly,” Hanagriff continued, “this
solution did not tax more than typical city
resources commonly found in most urban
communities, and the remote camera control
via web browsers greatly enhanced situational
awareness for our decision makers.”
Such words, it seems, are right in line with
Rezzonico’s vision for the company. “At
Edge360, our goal is to solve a customer’s
security challenges in the best, most effective
and efficient way possible, particularly by
maximizing what they already have,” Rezzonico
notes. “We, in fact, specifically set out
to help customers better leverage their existing
investments, using only appropriate and
necessary equipment. And when we do
introduce new technology, it focuses on
the operational needs of
customers, not selling
the catalog.”
“It’s that simple.”
This article originally appeared in the January 2017 issue of Campus Security Today.