Westport Building Observation

I performed my security lighting survey on the Westport Building of John Jay College, located at 500 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019. During my observation, I discovered that all the perimeters of the building are lighted. According to a maintenance employee at Westport, the lights are checked several times daily prior to darkness and maintenance workers must sign off that they have completed that task for the day. Extra lighting is available at every entrance and exit. Extra lighting is also available in every staircase which ensures that criminal activity can be deterred within the staircase. According to a maintenance employee at Westport once a lighting issue is reported, the maintenance worker on duty make sure lights are repaired promptly
while doing their rounds. This is critical because once a person realizes that the light has been out for a couple days, they could begin plotting a crime. There are also extra light bulbs available so that there is never a delay in lighting repairs. The power supply for lights is not easily accessible for tampering which is important because once someone tampers with your power supply it can cause great danger for the students and staff of the building. All power supply is located behind closed doors that cannot be accessed unless you are already in the structure. Once someone gains access inside the structure, they need keys to access the rooms where all power supply is located. A circuit drawing is available in the security office located on the fourth floor of the Westport building. All switches and controls are protected behind metal doors and are not accessible from outside the perimeter barrier. The switches and controls are waterproof and tamper resistant. Having waterproof and tamper resistant switches and controls makes it nearly impossible for someone to get control of your lighting system with drawing some type of attention. The switches and controls are located behind the security desk making it accessible to security personnel. The Westport building of John Jay College has fluorescent light bulbs.
There is protective lighting adequate on the perimeter of the building. The lighting of open areas within the perimeter is also adequate. However, shadowed areas do exist in the student seating areas located behind a wall. The security guards are protected by the lighting and it allows them to see clearly what is going on around them. The gates on the side of the building where the dumpsters are located have illuminated lights focused on the dumpsters. Critical areas such as the network sever room and the hvac room is well illuminated. An auxiliary power source is available with backup standby units which is critical if there happens to be a light shortage. Guards are also equipped with powerful flashlights in case of a light shortage. From my observation, one more fluorescent light bulb should be placed in the student seating areas that are located behind walls. The extra lighting can make it a little safer for students. According to the security guard on duty, they must immediately report any light outages to the command center in the New Building located on 524 West 59th Street, New York, NY 10019. According to a maintenance employee, burn out light is replaced immediately by a maintenance employee. Open areas around the Westport building are sufficiently lighted to discourage illegal or criminal acts against pedestrians. Hallways and entrances are well light when building is open at night. This creates a safe environment for students who go to school at night. According to Fennelly (2017), fluorescent light bulbs have a CRI of 100 percent and a high efficiency. Fluorescent light bulbs have a lifetime of 9000-20,000 hours and are cost- effective with yearly saving per bulb of $9.00- $25.00 (Fennelly,
2017).