Security upgrades
Marriott's Courtyard campus hotel partners with UD to enhance safety
11:33 a.m., April 7, 2016--The staff of Marriott’s Courtyard Newark-University of Delaware hotel has worked in partnership with a UD Department of Campus and Public Safety team on a series of technology upgrades to enhance safety and security at the Laird Campus facility.
Working with William A. Sullivan, managing director of the Courtyard Newark, Campus and Public Safety provided design and operations support to increase the use of internal and external surveillance cameras on the property.
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“We were very happy to work with Campus and Public Safety on this important initiative,” Sullivan said, adding, “We feel confident the addition of the state-of-the-art surveillance cameras provide our customers and staff with additional peace of mind.”
While there was not a particular public safety or identified crime problem at the hotel, Sullivan said he felt it was important to replace an existing outdated system.
Now, in a unique partnership with Campus and Public Safety, the Internet protocol (IP) surveillance cameras can be monitored in real time by either the staff at the hotel or by the University’s 911 Center.
“This is a very safe location,” said UDPD Chief Patrick Ogden. “However, we are always excited to build new partnerships such as this to prevent crime on campus.”
“We have already demonstrated the success of the cameras systems on campus in deterring criminal activity,” said Mark Seifert, Campus and Public Safety project manager for the initiative. “This is one more partnership that will allow both our department and the hotel to use technology as a force multiplier for safety. We had recently expanded our camera coverage of the Laird Campus, so we welcomed the collaboration with the hotel on their project.”
The camera systems allow for coverage of key areas of the hotel to include the front lobby, entrances and exits and the parking lots.
If an incident were to occur at the hotel, University police dispatchers could view the cameras immediately and direct resources as needed until first responders arrived on the scene. The first responders could begin to strategize their response before the first police officer, firefighter or paramedic arrived by viewing the cameras remotely.
The project was funded by the Courtyard Marriott capital budget and Access Systems Integration was selected as the camera integrator on the project. Other key partners included University Network Systems Services, University Facilities Real Estate and Auxiliary Services and the technical team from the hotel.