Continuing its rapid growth in South Florida’s education market, Sonitrol of Fort Lauderdale has designed and installed a state-of-the-art security system for St. Thomas Aquinas High School’s Bienes Center for the Arts, a 315-seat theater and performance education facility. 
“We had a wide range of security requirements for our new arts center,” said Monsignor Vincent T. Kelly, St. Thomas Aquinas High School’s Supervising Principal. “The security system had to be effective, but not obtrusive. We also needed it to detect potential security threats in varied environments – a noisy public setting, a darkened theater and back-of-the-house facilities.”
The security solution addressed these challenges through sophisticated audio and video technologies designed to speed emergency response in the event of an incident, according to John Ray III, president of Sonitrol of Fort Lauderdale.
Within the St. Thomas arts center’s theater, customized CCTV security cameras visually blend with the interior surroundings. They incorporate infrared technology to capture images in the dark. To help protect the facility when not in use, Sonitrol’s motion-activated cameras make reviewing recorded events more efficient—and feature water-marking technology certified to produce permanent admissible court evidence. In addition, St. Thomas management can access images from the camera system remotely on a 24/7 basis via the Internet for immediate review and decision-making.
The system also includes Sonitrol’s unique impact-activated, fully verified audio intrusion detection technology that relays sound for real-time determination of any break-in. “Audio verification was key for St. Thomas, since it substantially reduces false alarms and cuts law enforcement’s response time,” said Ray. “Having the live audio feed during a break-in is really something special, and we’ve been delivering it for over 40 years. It’s the primary reason why Sonitrol secures more schools in the U.S. than any other security company.”
“Sonitrol created a system that met our needs and can cost effectively grow with us,” said Monsignor Kelly. “That’s why we’ve turned to their team for additional security systems in our recently-completed Smith Athletic Center and other critical facilities on campus.”
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Sonitrol August 2009 press release.
