Securing a defunct high school for teen clubhouse
Boys & Girls Clubs of Carroll County opens a new teen clubhouse offering engaging afterschool programs. Managers use Axis cameras, access control, and video management system to safeguard youth and assets in the multi-tenant building.
Meeting a growing need for afterschool programs
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Carroll County (B&GC) in Maryland have long been a popular resource for the community. With attendance in its afterschool programs regularly oversubscribed, the organization began looking to add a new standalone location to meet increased demand.
“We looked at the data on the rising mental health crisis among youth in the area,” explains Erin Bishop, Marketing and Outreach Director for The Boys & Girls Clubs of Carroll County. “And we felt that teens in the Hampstead community could greatly benefit from the kinds of positive, leadership programs we offered.”
The search for a clubhouse location led the organization to the former North Carroll High School that had closed several years earlier. The property was mostly vacant, with only a few areas occupied by the Sheriff’s Department and a homeschooling group. B&GC took over 17,000 square feet of the second floor and began renovating it into what would become the North Carroll Clubhouse.
In addition to leadership development workshops and enrichment programs, the Hampstead site maintains an art studio, a computer lab with drone simulators, a gaming center, and a science wing with a hydroponics lab and greenhouse. Teens also have access to the gymnasium and sports fields for recreation. With so much on offer, the building was renamed “The Pantherplex,” a nod to the former high school’s mascot.
Protecting access in a shared tenancy building
Because the clubhouse is only a tenant, B&GC doesn’t have control over who else enters the building. While those entrances are on the first level, there are access points to the clubhouse area. After an initial safety assessment by the sheriff’s department to highlight areas of concern, the organization hired Marathon Technology Solutions, Inc., a security integrator and Axis partner, to design a layered technology solution to help them monitor teens and staff as well as prevent unauthorized individuals from entering their space.
Marathon installed a mix of dome, panoramic, bullet and box cameras to monitor the points of ingress and egress of teens and staff throughout the clubhouse. The 23 strategically placed cameras are controlled through an AXIS Camera Station video management system, enabling easy oversight of activity in rooms and hallways, as well as the lobby and stairways.
“Thanks to their expertise in camera placement, we don’t have any blindspots in our rooms or hallways,” shares Jim Rodriguez, Operations Director for The Boys & Girls Clubs of Carroll County. “And with a network video intercom that lets us view and talk with people at the door, we’re able to see the students as they’re being dropped off and can buzz them in through the lower doors that are equipped with an Axis door controller.” The door controller is also equipped with a card reader to allow staff to enter on their own.
“For the first couple of weeks of a session, we do ask parents or authorized guardians to come up to the clubhouse so we can check IDs and familiarize ourselves with who they are and what they look like,” explains Erin Bishop. “But after that, they can just use the intercom to let us know they’re there for drop off or pick up and then go back to their cars, which we can see from the downstairs video intercom. It’s very convenient and it saves us from having to station staff at the downstairs doors.”
Other Axis cameras monitor the staircase leading to the second-floor glass door entrance of the clubhouse. This second set of locked doors are controlled through AXIS Camera Station Secure Entry, a video and access control management system, allowing the operations staff to screen teens and visitors before buzzing them in. This upstairs entrance is also equipped with an Axis door controller and card reader, allowing staff to come and go as they need.
Focusing on known points of vulnerability
Due to the limited operating hours of the Pantherplex, the clubhouse often remains unoccupied for extended periods. On several occasions, staff have arrived to discover signs of intrusion, with furniture rearranged and desk materials disturbed.
“We reported the incident to the landlord and showed him the video from the panoramic cameras covering that area,” says Bishop. “They clearly showed an individual sitting down and staying awhile to watch TV.” Because of the clarity of the video, they were able to identify the child as belonging to someone using another part of the building.
In another instance, someone from the building crew forgot to lock the door to the stairwell that led from the downstairs banquet space to the clubhouse. “The dome cameras captured the individual’s entry point and showed them stealing stickers off the desk and settling in to watch TV and play some video games,” shared Bishop.
As a result of the video evidence, the landlord agreed to renovate wall space next to the clubhouse to block the access point, without compromising an emergency fire exit for other tenants on the floor.
Because the building had had several break-ins through the greenhouse and hydroponic lab – prior to the B&GC occupancy – Jim Rodriguez directed Marathon to install additional cameras in the science wing. “We now have Axis cameras in the greenhouse and hydroponic lab as well as the room that leads into to the rest of our clubhouse space,” assures Rodriguez. “If anyone attempts to access that area who isn’t permitted, we’ll have video evidence of their activity.”
Parents have put their trust in the Boys & Girls Clubs that their kids are being cared for in a safe space. Knowing that we monitor our clubhouse with Axis cameras and control access to our area of the building gives them that all-important peace of mind.
Holding everyone accountable for their actions
“You can never have too many safety protocols in place when you’re responsible for children,” shares Erin Bishop. “Children tend to be unpredictable, so we have to be able to monitor them at all times.”
Bishop points to an incident between two teens. “When we pulled them aside, they each had a different story to tell,” recalls Bishop. “But after showing them the video, we got to the truth of the matter. Overall the cameras have been a great deterrent to misbehavior and potential rule breaking because everyone realizes we’re going to find out anyway.”
In addition to monitoring the activity rooms and hallways, the B&GC program manager and executive staff review the video with the mentors who lead the individual programs. “It’s a great teaching tool for our staff,” shares Jim Rodriguez. “They learn techniques for better spatial awareness: how to make sure that they maintain a clear line of sight in all areas of their room, how to notice if there are too many kids clustered somewhere they shouldn’t be. It helps us reinforce best practices and keep our clubhouse a safe and fun haven for our teens.”
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