Over the past year, Otis College of Art and Design in Westchester, Calif. launched its new department of campus safety. At the same time, it updated the security technology deployed on campus. Some of the new technology installed includes video surveillance, access control, emergency notification and AEDs.
Otis Campus Safety Supervisor Salvador Arevalo was responsible for vetting many of the vendors and equipment that was eventually installed on campus. In this video, Arevalo stresses the fact that one size doesn’t fit all. Otis is a small, private arts college, so what is appropriate for it might or might not be appropriate for a large public university. He also stresses the importance of benchmarking and vendor customer service.
Here, Arevalo provides some tips on how to chose a vendor that is appropriate for your institution, as well as some other tips on testing the technology you are considering to determine if it will work as advertised.
Additionally, Arevalo gives us a brief tour of his campus dispatch center where we can see how Otis’ video surveillance system is monitored.
The technology upgrades Arevalo discusses coincide with the launching of the school’s brand new department of campus safety. In a previous interview with Campus Safety magazine Otis Chief of Campus Safety and Security Rick Gonzalez talked about the importance of learning about the culture of a particular institution and working with campus stakeholders so that the department of public safety mirrors the culture of the campus. Gonzalez also discussed the importance of benchmarking with other organizations, including those that are different from your own to get a wide variety of ideas about training, customer service and other subjects.
