At Universal Studios in Hollywood, California, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Securitas co-star in meeting a broad range of security challenges.
Universal Studios’ sprawling, 386-acre property is dedicated to movie fans and movie makers. Part of the site, called the “upper lot,” is a spectacular amusement park open to the public, where thousands of visitors every day dine, shop and enjoy rides and entertainment based on the studio’s hit movies like Jurassic Park, Simpson’s' Ride and Shrek. Another part of the site, called the “lower lot,” which is not open to the public, is where new movies are filmed on the studio’s soundstages.
The two adjacent lots provide a variety of security challenges, from access and crowd control to controlling intellectual property theft, to providing security for a day-care unit for Universal employees’ children. The solution includes a comprehensive CCTV system, 500 security officers cross-trained for all functions on both lots, and close cooperation with the Sheriff’s Department’s staff of deputies.
In fact, the Sheriff’s Department and Securitas share an office on the premises and the security officers help out with all kinds of little things, such as paperwork and escort duties. But above all, they provide extra sets of eyes. On a busy day, there are 35,000 visitors at the theme park and on those days, the extra sets of eyes is crucial.
Down at the lower lot, where movies, television programs and commercials are made and which is not open to the public, the main concern for Universal Studios is the risk that movies in progress could be copied.
Access to the lot is restricted to authorized employees and there are a number of sophisticated systems to track people and update information about them.
The gates to the lower lot are always busy. Inside Gate 2, security officer Harry Adzhemyan is busy directing traffic at an intersection. Cars, golf carts, motorcycles and bikes turn up from every direction but await Harry’s lively signals.
An employee walking by stops and smiles at the performance, which runs like clockwork. “Everybody knows Harry,” she explains, smiling broadly. “He has been here for at least ten years and he is always friendly, with something nice to say to everyone.”
Harry’s long-term commitment is not unusual at Universal Studios. The employee turnover is about 10 percent, which is extremely low in the security business, which has direct impact on the quality of services. The Universal Studios are often commended for the efforts and how smooth the security operations are run.