More than 15 Department of Homeland Security facilities in the Washington area are hoping to speed up the time it takes for thousands of civilian employees to clear the campus’ access gates with a new security system.
Facilities are starting to implement the RapidGate program, with “full lockdown” expected to be completed in September, said Keith Metz-Porozni, an outside spokesman for Eid Passport Inc., a private Portland, Ore., company that created the system.
The system requires that companies whose employees work in the facilities conduct criminal background checks to screen for felonies, sexual offenses and find out whether employees are on any terror watch lists.
Then, a single credential is provided to the employees that, in theory, would save companies man-hours in time spent waiting at security checkpoints. Security is able to instantly scan personalized badges, rather than check and re-check various identification documents.
“An electrician, for example, will have his card, go through security, and government personnel will scan his RapidGate card,” Metz-Porozni said.
Approved personnel receive a badge and are rescreened about once every 90 days.
He said security personnel can conduct a biometric scan on a person if they do not believe the person is who he says he is.
The system is already working in facilities run by the Coast Guard and the Department of Defense, with plans to add it to Homeland Security’s Nebraska Avenue complex, among other locations. The goal is to have RapidGate in place throughout the country within a few years, Metz-Porozni said.
Outside contractors will be thoroughly pre-screened and vetted before becoming eligible for the RapidGate Program Badge, he said.
The cost of implementing the program would be covered mostly by the private companies and civilian contractors whose employees work in the government facilities, not the government itself, Metz-Porozni said.
