Case Study: Integrated Campus Security Solutions in Action

Having grown from just a couple of buildings to 20 academic and seven student house buildings, Palmer College of Chiropractic was looking for an integrated security solution to keep roughly 1,000 students and 200 faculty and staff members safe. “Our number one goal is to keep our students and employees safe,” said Brian Sharkey, Senior Director of Safety and Security.

Palmer has been a Per Mar customer for more than 50 years. As their campus has grown, so has their need for campus security and patrol officers. To increase security and be more cost-efficient, Per Mar recommended implementing heavier electronic security measures instead of hiring additional security officers. This strategic move translated into the installation of more than 200 video surveillance cameras and campus-wide access control systems. In addition to being more affordable, the triple threat – security officers, access control, and security cameras – made their campus more secure and their security efforts more efficient.

Since Palmer is a locked campus, all entry points are protected by access control key cards (keyless entry), and every point is paired with a security camera for facial ID.  This allows Palmer security guards to match faces with IDs and know who is scanning in on which day and time. 

With every remodel or building addition, they’ve continued adding the access control and camera combo in every area, in addition to door locks and fire alarms. Not having to station a security officer in each building has been a true cost-saving while still accomplishing 24/7 security. “The benefit from Palmer’s perspective of having a more efficient security program is it can lower their cost to get the same service. So, what used to require probably twice the number of people, they get the same security service for roughly half the cost,” Brad Duffy, Physical Security Division President. 

“Per Mar Security Services has made our campus feel safe, they have been trained well and I believe they know what to do in the case of an emergency. I’ve always been able to count on them,” said Pamela Taylor, Security Specialist at Palmer College. 

Read about how Palmer’s video integration helped campus security quickly track, locate, and catch a suspect to recover stolen property from the campus bookstore. 

We are honored to have helped Palmer College augment its physical security approach with electronic systems to meet its budget and growing needs. Rather than shopping around, they call Per Mar. We’d love to help you, too. If you’d like to learn more about how your campus could potentially access some of the available grant money, check out our blog on federal and state grants for schools.