A Capitol Idea

Barriers and bollards secure California’s state building

California’s historic State Capitol building, completed in Sacramento in 1874, has seen its share of serious security episodes during its colorful existence. In 1927, a lobbyist shot and murdered a secretary on the fourth floor. In 1967, the capitol was occupied by armed Black Panthers, and a gunman once took a hostage in its bill room. A female follower of Charles Manson attempted to assassinate then-President Gerald Ford on its east steps. And, a mentally unstable man with a rifle once drove into the capitol’s basement parking lot, demanding to see the governor.

For most of this four-story capitol’s early history, it was protected by a granite and cast-iron fence. However, the fence was removed during extensive renovations in 1949 and the capitol building became a symbol of a freely accessible and open government.

Events Change Things

Following the Oklahoma City federal building bombing in 1995, legislators began to discuss, in earnest, erecting a security fence around California’s capitol building. Whatever misgivings state legislators may have had about the lack of security were soon overshadowed by political concerns.

However, the security mood in Sacramento changed again in 2001, when a suicidal trucker crashed into the south entrance of the capitol in January. Afterwards, all resistance to a security fence faded after the attacks of 9/11 later that same year. Every one of the country’s 50 state capitals responded to Sept. 11, 2001 by adding security measures to their statehouses.

Nobody had to convince the man in charge of security at California’s Capitol of the need for a security fence. Chief Sergeant-at-Arms Tony Beard had been quietly lobbying for such a solution for decades.

Beard, whose father and grandfather both spent most of their working lives helping to secure the state capitol, first worked in special services for the Senate at age 17. At 29, he was the youngest person ever elected Senate chief and now supervises a staff of more than 100 people, including 16 sworn officers.

Needless to say, Beard was thrilled to oversee a $6.8 million security overhaul of the capitol’s perimeter, which consists of a series of three-foot-tall concrete planters and security posts, and retractable bollards that are linked by inch-thick cable.

Perimeter Security Enhanced Aesthetically

The planter barriers and bollards are designed to complement both the capitol architecture and lush landscaping. In addition, decorative security bollards, which are normally kept in the “up” position and lowered to let authorized vehicles through, are placed in high traffic areas. They sport the state seal on top.

The decorative bollard protecting the capitol is Delta Scientific’s highest crash rated bollard, the DSC720. It will stop and destroy a 15,000-pound vehicle going 50 mph. It is the same bollard that protects federal and DOD facilities, U.S. and British embassies, and other high profile, high-risk locales. They meet or exceed Department of State and Department of Defense certifications, having been tested to the highest standards for repelling terrorist attacks.

“Fortunately, we didn’t have to choose between security and aesthetics,” Beard said. “The Delta barriers and bollards we have chosen to protect the capitol’s perimeter are designed to blend in with their surroundings. But they’re also designed to do the job, which means stopping a truck dead in its tracks.”

Delta’s bollard systems operate individually or in groups of up to ten. Individual bollards are up to 13.25 inches in diameter, up to 35 inches high and are usually mounted on 3-foot centers. Hydraulic and pneumatic versions can be operated by a variety of control systems. Manual versions are counter balanced and lock in the up or down position.

For Beard, Delta’s bollards mean he doesn’t have to choose between preserving the capitol building’s stately, historic beauty, and protecting it from those who would do it harm.

“I believe this is a win-win situation for everyone involved,” said Beard. “It’s a balance between preserving the historical aspects of the building—and all that it symbolizes—and on a more practical level, protecting the people who actually work and visit the capitol on a day-to-day basis.”

This article originally appeared in the October 2014 issue of Security Today.

About the Author

Greg Hamm is the vice president of sales and marketing at Delta Scientific.

Featured

  • Gaining a Competitive Edge

    Ask most companies about their future technology plans and the answers will most likely include AI. Then ask how they plan to deploy it, and that is where the responses may start to vary. Every company has unique surveillance requirements that are based on market focus, scale, scope, risk tolerance, geographic area and, of course, budget. Those factors all play a role in deciding how to configure a surveillance system, and how to effectively implement technologies like AI. Read Now

  • 6 Ways Security Awareness Training Empowers Human Risk Management

    Organizations are realizing that their greatest vulnerability often comes from within – their own people. Human error remains a significant factor in cybersecurity breaches, making it imperative for organizations to address human risk effectively. As a result, security awareness training (SAT) has emerged as a cornerstone in this endeavor because it offers a multifaceted approach to managing human risk. Read Now

  • The Stage is Set

    The security industry spans the entire globe, with manufacturers, developers and suppliers on every continent (well, almost—sorry, Antarctica). That means when regulations pop up in one area, they often have a ripple effect that impacts the entire supply chain. Recent data privacy regulations like GDPR in Europe and CPRA in California made waves when they first went into effect, forcing businesses to change the way they approach data collection and storage to continue operating in those markets. Even highly specific regulations like the U.S.’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) can have international reverberations – and this growing volume of legislation has continued to affect global supply chains in a variety of different ways. Read Now

  • Access Control Technology

    As we move swiftly toward the end of 2024, the security industry is looking at the trends in play, what might be on the horizon, and how they will impact business opportunities and projections. Read Now

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities 3

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises. 3

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.” 3