A Security Solution that Repels Vandals but Welcomes Visitors
A Security Solution that Repels Vandals but Welcomes Visitors
A sports and youth centre in the North West has found the ideal security solution – a lightweight window shield that repels vandals yet retains the building’s inviting aspect to visitors.
Copley Young Persons Centre in Tameside has fitted 2317m2 Vandal Shield on two large glass elevations of its new extension, which opened in June 2010. The building offers a range of child and youth services, as well as outreach work with community groups and families – so it was important to make it vandal proof, yet keep its open and welcoming look.
“The centre was not a particular target for vandals before the extension went up, but there was concern over the potential for attacks, with the large amount of glass used. Without Vandal Shield, the project simply would not have gone ahead,” explained Lindsey Thomson, project team leader for the centre. “Because of the materials used in the design of the building, we needed a lightweight system, and this was the only one that was suitable.
“It protects the building but does not put people off using it, which is very important in a facility of this type, which needs to continue engaging with the whole community. We needed a solution that was unobtrusive, and allowed the glass to do its job of allowing plenty of light into the building.”
Vandal Shield, from Manchester firm Fingershield Safety (UK), fitted the bill perfectly. From a distance, it looks like tinted glass but the durable perforated galvanised steel mesh, set in an extruded aluminium frame, provides a tough physical barrier to vandals, yet lets in maximum light.
Vandal Shield is designed to complement existing windows, whether modern or classical, and can be mounted in front of or behind existing windows, in a range of different coloured frames. It is more cost effective than re-glazing, an increasingly expensive solution. The product is recommended by police crime prevention officers and has been fitted in a number of public buildings across the country, including schools and churches.
Paul O’Carroll, Managing Director of Fingershield Safety (UK), who supplied the Vandal Shield said: “We are delighted to have worked with the centre to provide the perfect solution for their new extension. Copley is just one of an increasing number of public sector clients choosing to protect their glazing in this way. Vandal Shield offers an affordable alternative to reglazing that is aesthetically pleasing – unlike conventional steel bars and shutters. It works out at about half the cost of replacing windows, an important consideration when public sector budgets are tight.”
Ms Thomson added: “Vandal Shield gained the approval of both Tameside Sports Trust and Tameside Services for Children and Young People. Aesthetically, it is working a treat for us. People who use the building like the look of it very much and we would recommend this product, and the service we received from Fingershield Safety to others.”
