When Seconds Count: How a UniFi Protect System Caught a Break-In at 200 Russell Street

Downtown Hammond is in the middle of a comeback. The South Shore Line's West Lake Corridor extension is running, the Russell Street infill station is on the horizon, and buildings that sat dormant for decades are being brought back to life — 200 Russell Street among them. A nine-story, ~46,500 SF former NIPSCO headquarters carries real weight: valuable mechanical and electrical infrastructure, equipment and materials on site, and a growing roster of high-value tenants who count on the building being secure. That's exactly why security wasn't an afterthought on this project — it was designed in from the start.

That design decision was put to the test overnight, when three individuals forced entry into the building.

What Happened

In the early morning hours, three people broke into 200 Russell Street. They didn't know the building was watching.

The property's UniFi Protect camera system picked them up almost immediately. Real-time alerts meant notification within seconds of entry — not a review of footage the next morning. Law enforcement was in the loop right away, and the suspects were in custody within just a few minutes.

The intruders forced doors and caused damage to building infrastructure — including the generator's automatic transfer switch — but they didn't get away with anything. No equipment, no materials, no tools. They left empty-handed.

Why That Matters More Than It Sounds

A lot of commercial security systems are built to answer one question after the fact: what happened? A system built to catch something while it's happening is a different animal entirely — and it's the difference between a break-in that costs you a few damaged doors and one that costs you materials, equipment, or months of schedule.

The footage didn't just deter a bigger loss that night. It gave law enforcement what they needed to work the case. All three individuals involved were identified and charged — each now facing Level 5 felony burglary charges in Lake County. That's not a coincidence; it's what happens when a security system is built to produce evidence that actually holds up, not just grainy after-the-fact clips.

The Takeaway for Property Owners

If you own or manage a commercial building with equipment, materials, or tenants counting on it being secure, this is the scenario your security system needs to be built for. Not "will it record something," but "will it catch something in time to matter, and will what it captures actually get someone charged."

That's the standard we design to on every low-voltage and security install we do, 200 Russell included. UniFi Protect, properly deployed with real-time alerting and integrated into the rest of a building's systems, isn't a nice-to-have — it's part of protecting the capital you've already put into the building and the tenants who occupy it.

Ascendesign is a design-build general contractor based in Hammond, Indiana, serving the Chicagoland market with expertise in high-rise construction, building automation, fire/life safety, and low-voltage systems. Learn more about our work at 200 Russell Street and across downtown Hammond.