What High-End Security Systems Are Out There?

Robert Campbell, a locksmith who owns Advantage Locksmith in New York City, explains some of the most high-end security applications out there.

We are well beyond picks and tumblers in this business.

It is no longer a trade where you are just opening a Dodge Dart or picking a bobbin cylinder. Nowadays, a good locksmith may be called to open a government-rated safe or even vaults. They might also have to install complicated software for computer-based security systems. I used to work for a high-profile celebrity and installed an Internet-based security system for her that featured cameras at the front door as well as several other spots. As long as the Internet was on, when someone rang the bell, his image showed up on all the computer screens in the house. Advanced security applications are out there that are used by diplomats, heads of state and other high profile people that as a locksmith, you need to be familiar with.

Security applications can be extremely high-tech and we have worked on the very highest end of the spectrum. We have serviced correctional facilities which have perhaps the most advanced locking systems out there. These facilities are set up so they can bring prisoners from one section of the prison to another. The way this works is the doors lock behind you as you enter a room. And then after the room is secured, the door opens in front of you. So each time you enter or exit a room, a locking device locks behind you that is power based. These use electricity to send a signal sort of like buzzer system, but as an advanced correction facility security application. We have had to repair or service electronic-locking devices like this at correctional facilities. You have to know what you’re doing and have a solid working knowledge of low-voltage application systems because these locks have electricity running to them.

Installing a Heavy-Duty Security Application

Well, I cannot tell you who it was for, but to give you an example, I was contacted by a high-ranking government official whose daughter was going to be attending college in the New York City area. Because this person’s daughter had a Secret Service detail, the Secret Service had to have access to the dorm and her room. So they asked us questions about the appropriate locking system to get, how the lock could be defeated, what happens if there is a power outage, who can reprogram the lock, etc. They wanted a lock with an audit trail - which means you can plug an apparatus’ into the machine and it will print out every transaction that has occurred on that lock within a certain time. So, it will tell you for example that the lock opened on Monday at 9:37 p.m. by this certain person. And that allows them to maintain the integrity of their security.