Electronic access for police college

An electronic access control system providing site-wide security has been installed at the National Police Forensic Training College at Harperley Hall in County Durham.

Home to the UK’s largest forensic teaching centre, the former Georgian stately home has recently undergone a £13.4 million refurbishment and redevelopment programme. It hosts the National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA) Forensic Centre and consolidates forensic and scene of crime training facilities onto one base.

Student and staff facilities at the college include 80 en-suite bedrooms, ten multi-function state-of-the-art classrooms, staff and student restaurant, a gym, a refectory, conference facilities, IT suites for imaging and fingerprint work, and specialist teaching laboratories. A mortuary facility, a blood pattern analysis room and a centre for examining vehicles will also be set up.

“Secure access control to prevent the access of unauthorised persons to, and within, the college while facilitating the entry of authorised persons was vital,” said SALTO Systems’ Paul Carr.

“SALTO electronic proximity locks are now fitted to all the student accommodation at the college, as well as to various training room doors and other facilities on site, with five online and five offline wall readers controlling perimeter access to the various training and accommodation buildings.

“The electronic lock is approved to withstand fire for one hour. Simple and quick to install, power is supplied via 3 AAA batteries good for up to 45,000 openings. Each lock can support up to 64,000 users, and they also feature anti-vandal protection to safeguard the electronics, which are housed in the inner backplate.”