Perimeter Security Solutions

Protecting critical assets like government buildings, airports, penal institutions, power plants or industrial properties with high security requirements is a matter of great concern. Perimeter protection is the first line of defence in providing physical security and minimizing damage.

The perimeter of a building is the area around the construction and the property. Perimeter protection is the first line of defence in providing physical security. It refers to barriers or built fortifications to keep intruders out within the area the boundary surrounds. The purpose of perimeter security is to impede attempts at penetration of property boundaries and to detect any incursion attempts at this outermost protection zone and to maximise the intervention time. Perimeter Security is used for the safety of citizens, to control the flow of people and to protect vital infrastructure from vandals and terrorists.

There are several layers of perimeter security that should always be considered:

• The property perimeter, which is for example the fence line,
• The inner territory perimeter, which is the specific building or infrastructure,
• The building façade perimeter, which is the external building shell and
• The internal perimeter, this is the internal space where for example the access can be restricted.

Each layer helps to deter, delay and detect intrusion.

Historically perimeter security was (and still is) used to protect and detect intrusions in critical infrastructure, military facilities and other high-risk sites but as terror threats continue to rise in the West, the requirements to prevent attacks are increasing. The deployed systems and technologies depend on the likely intrusion risks, which include vandalism, criminal theft, espionage, terrorism and the increased awareness of issues around illegal immigration. Perimeter Security can include, among others, security fences and gates, walls, video detection, intrusion detection, vehicle barriers, entrance gates/doors, fully enclosed buildings, alarm systems, access control and barriers and bollards.

The goal of perimeter security is to protect both people and publicly accessible venues and places of particular significance as well as protecting industrial estates, high voltage areas or other dangerous areas. As there is the threat from vehicles used as a weapon, the government can use a suite of anti-terrorist protective measures. The term for this new threat is hostile vehicle mitigation. There are two categories of protective barriers; they can either be permanently installed or deployable. Both categories can also be passive (fixed bollards, blocks, barriers) or active (barriers, swing arm barriers, wedge barriers). Passive systems are used for large-scale protection (like airports, military bases, industrial estates) while active barriers can be controlled. With constantly evolving security requirements, new products need to be developed and existing systems have to be adopted.

One of the new requirements is deployable perimeter security for events. The security barriers are deployed for a certain period of time and are removed quickly after the event. These mobile barriers can be used to protect exhibitions, markets, festivals or concerts.

The trends in the perimeter security sector have a tendency towards using multi-layered protection, meaning not only physical protection like fences and bollards but also applying technologies like fence-mounted sensors, infrared, motion detectors, thermal cameras, video analytics, radar, microwave and seismic sensors.

Furthermore, drone and balloon surveillance of the perimeter should be considered as well, just as self-driving vehicles with cameras and one or more of many possible sensors (like low light camera, thermal imaging, sonar, echo, radar). Drones can be equipped with the most advanced aerial artificial intelligence and the data they deliver can be processed with data processing software to identify people, vehicles and other objects. The main advantage of drones is that they are mobile and can be deployed very quickly anywhere at any time.

For perimeter security, it is imperative to define the security goals and the area to be protected. The next step is to find the suppliers that can install the physical barriers and implements the suitable perimeter intruder detection systems, access control and sensors. Overall, it is essential that all parts of the system are well integrated and work together. The whole system should have the lowest possible error rate and be fail-safe. To provide an appropriate balance between perimeter security for sensitive sites and public realm beautification, different possibilities and suppliers should be taken into account.

Types and models

There are two types of physical barriers. Those barriers can either be natural or structural. Natural barriers are mountains, rivers, cliffs or other terrain difficult to traverse and structural barriers are man-made devices like fences, walls, roadblocks and signs. Both types of barriers prevent penetration.

Fences The fencing is the first line of defence around a building or property. It is the first impression a person receives of a property and it can act as a deterrent. The fence should be chosen according to the protection required. To gain a reasonable level of security, a standard palisade or welded mesh fencing should be considered. For high security, chain link and weldmesh stained wire systems, high-security palisade and high-security welded mesh panel fencing are an option. High security fencing is very difficult to climb as well as resistant to cutting and bending. In some cases, a buried fence might be the solution. It minimizes the risk of intruders digging underneath the fence and it prevents items being slid beneath the fence. In some cases a climb-over protection might be needed. Fences can be equipped with various perimeter intruder detection systems.

Gates A gate provides a break in a perimeter fence to allow entry. Gates should also be chosen according to the protection required, whether for pedestrians or vehicles and on how often those gates are being used which could be just a few times a day or continuously. The gates should be sufficient to accommodate the peak flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

Bollards To resist the impact of vehicles that approach at high speed, security bollards can be used. Security and safety bollards block collisions and protect people, buildings or property. There are several levels of bollards; the range is from low-impact to high-impact to crash-tested and anti-ram bollards. Bollards can be installed around government building and large open areas but also in front of high-value small-item storefronts to prevent ram-raid robbery. In some cases engineered planters with live landscaping, heavy objects like large sculptural objects and trees should be taken into consideration. Engineered planters need to be fixed elements in the landscape through below-grade depth to be effective. The protection of the engineered planters can also be enhanced by the installation of crash-tested bollards inside the planters.

Road blockers Road blockers, vehicle stop barriers and tyre-killers are products to stop unauthorized vehicles. These are also offered in a large number of variations, depending on requirements and the impact of resistance needed. Automatic road blockers provide a highly secure method of protecting a roadway against vehicular entry. These road blockers are powered hydraulically and the hydraulic cylinders are mounted underground within the main structure of the road blocker. The road blockers can be controlled by any type of access control system.

Characteristics, functionalities and criteria

Material: High security fences and gates require special and resistant materials. The choice of material should therefore be made carefully.

Available space: A thing to consider when choosing the right gate for vehicles is how much space is available. The options here are folding, swing or sliding gates, meaning that those can be manual sliding gates, automatic sliding gates, folding gates or swing gates. When there is no space available, a lowering gate is also available. For pedestrians, there are manual, semi-automatic and fully automatic gates. Those can be, for example, waist height turnstiles or, for high security, full height turnstiles. Both pedestrian and vehicle gates can be equipped with access control software.

Fixation of bollards: Bollards can be fixed, portable, removable or operable. Operable bollards can be fold-down or retractable, whereby retractable bollards can be lowered manually or automatically into the ground.

Utilisation and application

For the protection of government buildings and other properties with high security requirements, fences are the first line of defence. The selection here ranges from difficult to climb, climb-over protection, buried fences to resistant to cutting and bending fences.

If security fences are not an option, bollards can be used for protection. Bollards can be installed around government building and large open areas. These bollards can be firmly anchored in the ground, removable or operable. They can also be placed in front of high-value storefronts to prevent ram-raid robbery.

Security fencing can also be used for safety reasons to protect people from for example railway tracks, high voltage areas, industrial facilities or other dangerous areas.

Target groups

Primary target groups: Perimeter security is of particular importance for government institutions to protect borders, military facilities, critical infrastructure and other high-risk sites.

Secondary target groups: Perimeter security can also be used for industrial facilities and commercial, residential and retail spaces.

Requirements and considerations

Security level: For perimeter security, it is imperative to define the security goals and the area to be protected. There are many different options on the market and it is important to choose one that meets the security requirements and fits the environment and landscape.

Manufacturers, providers and brands

TESCON AG, EL-GO Team, Expert Security UK, Jackson Fencing, ZAUN, HAVERKAMP, Zaunteam, Wengler, KÖSEDAG, ATG ACCESS, Avon Barrier, B.G. Ilanit, ZABAG, Perimeter Protection Group, Nightingale Security, Microdrones, OTSAW