BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 15, 1998--

School Security Expert Cites Examples of Successful Programs

Successful school security programs across the country share one thing in common -- they involve a variety of high-tech and low-tech solutions to stem violence and vandalism, according to a leading school security expert.

"Crimes against property cost our school districts millions of dollars each year, money that could be spent in the classroom," said Steve Hall, vice president of North America C/I Operations for Sensormatic Electronics Corporation (NYSE:SRM), a leading electronic security systems manufacturer. "The loss of equipment and facilities also disrupts our children's education. During 1996, in California alone, schools lost $7.6 million to arson, $7.2 million to vandalism, $4.7 million to burglary, $2 million to theft and almost $1 million to graffiti. That is more than $22 million in just one state.

"There is no one simple answer," continued Hall. "The long-term solution to school crime and violence includes a lot of things. But for immediate results -- particularly for battling crime such as vandalism, burglary and arson -- schools are using electronic security equipment."

Electronic security equipment allows school districts to immediately buy more security at a lower initial cost than adding manpower. On-going costs are reduced as the equipment greatly increases the productivity of a school's security staff. High-tech solutions allow financially strapped districts to make the most of available funds.

Hall pointed out several examples of schools and districts successfully using electronic security equipment as a major component of their security plans, including:

Huntsville (Ala.) City Schools - This K-12 district has about 25,000 students on 43 campuses. A decade ago, this district was almost deemed "uninsurable." The cost of the only insurance it could get was topping $1 million per year. Huntsville's administration and board took action. A closed circuit television (CCTV) system was installed, along with motion sensors, heat and smoke detectors and magnetic door switches. A video transmission system using high-speed digital phonelines allows the district to now monitor all campuses from one central station around the clock, saving time and resources.

Burglaries have been reduced to about five per year. Vandalism and arson are way down. Savings on insurance premiums alone exceed $500,000. Money that was being spent on insurance, equipment replacement and facility repair is being returned to the district's instructional budget.

Springbranch Independent School District - Located near Houston, this district installed a $100,000 Astroturf surface on one high school football field. It became an instant target for area vandals. The district's police chief installed a CCTV system and a phoneline system like the one in Huntsville to allow offsite, around-the-clock monitoring of the field. The vandalism stopped. The cameras could also be used to allow school police to monitor the field's parking lot during games. Incidents such as fighting and underage drinking have been greatly reduced. District officials were so impressed, they are in the process of adding cameras to 17 of their campuses.

Euclid School District - This district located near Cleveland has an extensive CCTV and access control system for its high school. A total of 58 cameras monitor the school and its perimeter. All staff and students wear photo badges. The staff badges allow access to a staff parking lot and school entrance. In addition to identifying the students, the cards allow students to check out books in the library. The district plans to soon expand the access control system to include card readers at all entrances and exits to secure the entire campus. As with the other two districts, Euclid has seen dramatic decreases in vandalism, theft and burglary.

Birmingham High School -- Located in Van Nuys, Calif., near Los Angeles, this high school installed a modest CCTV system at a cost of about $20,000. Within the first year, the annual cost of vandalism and graffiti dropped from $20,000 to less than $5,000 per year. Those savings, along with reductions in burglary and other losses, were more than enough to pay for the system.

"These districts and others throughout the United States are fighting back and winning the battle against campus crime," Hall said. "We may not yet have the answer to stop incidents of random violence. But the tools we need to take control of our schools on a day-to-day basis are available now."

Hall is also a board member of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a columnist for an Internet-based school security site and he has completed numerous presentations on school security to education administrators and security experts.

Sensormatic Electronics Corporation is the leading supplier of electronic security systems to the retail, commercial and industrial marketplaces. Sensormatic is also a leader in integrated source tagging -- a process where consumer goods manufacturers apply anti-theft tags at the point of packaging or manufacturing.

For more information on Sensormatic, visit its homepage on the World Wide Web at http://www.sensormatic.com.

(Editor's Note: Mr. Hall is available for interview by calling Lee Pernice, senior manager of corporate communications, at Sensormatic Electronics. Her phone number is 561/989-7361.)