Security fence optimized for correctional facilities

The company

Schrassig Prison (Centre pénitentiaire de Schrassig) is the only closed prison in Luxembourg. The prison was opened in 1984 after six years of construction and is designed to hold 600 prisoners. After just a few years, the facility was extensively expanded and the security adapted accordingly. The prison became famous throughout Europe as the location for the film "Back in Trouble" with Moritz Bleibtreu.

The requirements

As a prison, the Schrassig facility must have a comprehensive security concept. A key component of this concept is a security fence system that makes the entire site escape-proof. The management of the prison commissioned a Swiss security consultant to analyze and renew the outdated security fence. An ultra-modern fence was planned, consisting of a close-meshed wire mesh fence on the inside, a mesh fence in the middle and a wire mesh fence on the outside, as well as a cantilever installed all around with electronic monitoring to detect attempts to climb over. After the first construction phase, the safety experts from HAVERKAMP were involved in the project to re-evaluate the entire safety system in accordance with the HAVERKAMP safety zone model and to provide structural support until the final phase. In addition, the highly sensitive electronics had to be installed. Climb-over and breakthrough detection plus protection against penetration were the requirements that the prison management formulated for HAVERKAMP.

The solution

The solution concept of the prison under the direction of Mr. Vincent Theis and the Swiss security consultant Jean-Pierre Biland from Risk-Management, to set up an additional protection zone around the prison grounds in the form of a security fence, fully corresponded to the security understanding of the Münster security experts anchored in the HAVERKAMP protection zone concept. "As a result, we were able to work on the outside area of the Schrassig prison in line with our philosophy. We designed and installed the security modules that were still missing," reports the HAVERKAMP management. "We have further developed the monitoring electronics and the safety gate especially for this project and improved the way they work! The flexibility and competence to achieve this for particularly complex requirements in order to guarantee the highest possible level of safety for the defined protection zone of our clients is what sets us apart!" The HAVERKAMP security technicians installed interwoven detection cables at regular intervals, creating a coarse-meshed network that reliably detects every cut (penetration) and every attempt to climb over or break through. A total of 15 km of cable was laid and processor modules were installed at 7 locations. Since the work was completed in October 2013, the detection system has been working perfectly and the management of Schrassig Prison is very satisfied with the specially tailored electronics developed by the experienced experts.