Effective School Security Planning
By: Chris E. McGoey

School security concerns have been in the headlines in recent years due to incidents of school gun violence, bullying, and racial tension. The news has also reported a resurgence of drug activity and alcohol abuse involving students. Recent events have brought school safety under scrutiny in the media and with local government. Critics have charged that many of our nation’s schools have abysmal security systems in place to protect our children from harm. Like any other enterprise, it is easy to spot flaws in any institution when viewed under a microscope and when reviewing incidents in hindsight.

Part of my work as a security consultant is to survey elementary, middle and high schools that have a reputation for security problems. I’ve had the opportunity to survey some of the worst and the best schools in the nation, so I have a basis for comparison. I have inspected schools often enough to have developed a routine for how to conduct a thorough security survey. The most common school security complaints I hear are non-students on campus, bullying, fights, drugs, racial tension, vandalism, and truancy. After many inspections and interviews with school administrators, teachers, staff and students, I have come up with the following conclusion: School security is easy.

School Security Is Easy
School administrators have so much control over the campus environment that providing security is relatively easy compared to most other public places. After all, a school involves primarily the supervision of minor children. It‘s unlike any other institution in terms of control over most aspects of their time on campus. Other public institutions that have high levels of control are the military, prison and mental health facilities, but they oversee adults.

If you think about it, a school has control over who attends the campus and for what time period. A school controls the timing of class periods and which students attend each class. A school controls the quality of teachers and administrators and level of campus supervision throughout the day. A school can establish and enforce strict rules of conduct and for attendance. A school can close a campus and mandate the use of metal detectors and conduct bag, backpack and locker searches at will. A school can control vehicle access and, in some cases, search vehicles parked on campus. A school can administer discipline for misconduct including detention, suspension and expulsion from campus. Other than what was mentioned previously, what other institution has this much lawful authority and power?

In my experience, the difference between a reasonably safe school and one in chaos is the failure to exercise lawful authority and the organized application of existing resources. Most schools that exhibit a pattern of security problems are not operating with a clearly defined and articulated security plan.

Schools Are a Unique Challenge
As an outside consultant, I can glibly say school security is easy. However, I am aware of the day-to-day drama and challenge that teachers and staff face. Some students have deep behavioral and emotional problems beyond the capability of the school system. As children enter their teens, behavior problems either subside or intensify. Teachers and administrators must have extreme amounts of patience and understanding to deal with discipline problems.

A Matter of Priority
The excuse I often hear to explain why security problems exist on campus has been that it is a matter of priority. Many school administrators have said that funding for teachers, staff, books and facility maintenance are a higher priority than solving a few security problems. Some schools are often overwhelmed with conflicting priorities, and security concerns get pushed to the bottom of the list.

The other excuse I often hear is from the school vice principal or dean who is already overwhelmed with administrative duties and feels frustrated with having to be responsible for security as well. I commonly hear about the lack of funding to add more security features.

Proper Security Planning
School security is not something that should be “applied” as the total solution to solve a particular problem. If it is, you’re doing it wrong.

An effective school security plan is totally integrated into the daily routine of all staff so that it is not recognizable as a separate measure. Security and student safety is everyone’s job and not solely delegated to campus supervisors, vice principals or security officers. With a little training and a lot of commitment, schools can be safe educational facility.
 
The solution to school security problems is usually in the application and execution of existing policy and having a system in place to periodically audit each school for compliance. What I see more often than not is a lack of compliance. When schools consistently conform to clearly defined and articulated policy, the majority of students benefit from the reduced number of distracting bad influences. When this occurs, the focus returns to educating the majority of the students and not to disciplining the remaining few.

Campus Risk Analysis
Part of what a security planning accomplishes is to identify the true risks of harm and disconnects the inaccurate perceptions, conclusions and myths. The crime and discipline data I have viewed indicates that 90% of the security problems are often caused by 10% or less of the student population and non-students. More than one administrator has commented that schools won’t expend the financial resources necessary for additional certified personnel or for additional security just because of a few troublemakers. Despite this philosophy, when a major incident occurs, schools have been known to literally throw money at the problem hoping for a quick fix to make the attention brought about by the problem to go away. In my experience, quick-fixes are like Band-Aids that don’t last long and need to be reapplied often. This is not the most cost-effective way to manage the day-to-day security needs of a school, not to mention the liability exposure of merely reacting to a crisis rather than averting it beforehand.

Access Control Is Key
If a school can control access onto campus during school hours, many incidents will be avoided. Yes, this requires a closed campus. A well-designed school will use significant architectural barriers to funnel students and staff through the fewest number of gateways and then limit entry to just the main entrance after the first period bell. The main entrance then becomes a checkpoint where all entrants must be identified and approved.

Practically speaking, once the first period bell rings no student should be outside of a classroom roaming the hallways without authorization. Since class attendance is required to be taken each period, it is a simple matter to detect and eliminate the non-students outside. If a student is truant, acts up or violates a school rule the prescribed amount of discipline should be swiftly, fairly and evenly applied. My surveys of schools concluded that poor campus security was affected most by administrators failing to consistently enforce existing school rules.

Identify and Eliminate Risks
Every campus has a percentage of students who tend to be disruptive influence and often hang out together. Every campus has favorite isolated locations where problem students like to congregate and claim as their territory. Every campus has peak times when incidents are more likely to occur. With a little investigation, it doesn’t take long to locate the hot locations, identify the non-conforming students, and the critical times when incidents have occurred. To prevent incidents, it makes it relatively easy if you can predict the where, when, how and who and take steps to minimize the risk.

Hot spots can be eliminated by applying supervision or surveillance to the area during the appropriate time period. This has a way of displacing the unwanted activity both in time and place. Sometimes physical barriers like a fence or locked door or policy against it will prevent access to a remote or isolated area known for incidents.

Quite often, the problem with violence or bullying on campus is a handful of students themselves. I have found that some the worst offenders have had repeated warnings, detentions, and even multiple suspensions, but are still allowed to attend classes or visit the school and after-school events. I have been told that one reason for this is the fear of labeling the student along with the accusation of not reaching out to the troubled student. Sometimes, though, this process takes precedent over the need to provide a safe and secure school for all. At some point, the parents need to work with teachers and school counselors in an attempt to correct the behavior of a seriously troubled student. After all, the school has an obligation to protect students from harm by other students. Where else, but at a school, can you lawfully expel a member of society for misconduct? Like I said in the beginning, school security is easy.

Chris E. McGoey, CPP, CSP, CPS is a professional security consultant with more than 35 years of education, training, and experience. He also operates the Crime Doctor Web site, www.crimedoctor.com, where he offers free advice for your home, family, and business.

Product Roundup

Centurion Technologies, Inc.
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Expiring School Visitor Badges from Temtec
When guests are issued TEMPbadge expiring badges, all school personnel, not just trained security guards, will be able to spot guests whose badges have expired. Once a badge has expired, it cannot be reused. This eliminates the risk of unauthorized badge reuse, so there’s no need to worry about collecting used badges. To activate the expiration process, simply apply an adhesive timing circle to the badge. The rate of expiration is determined by the timing circle, which turns orange within a half-day or one-day. This simple addition to your security practices can improve the school’s safety without inspiring fear in your visitors—security with a smile. The TEMPbadge line of products includes visitor ID badges, sign-in systems, expiring parking permits and more.
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American Time & Signal Company
American Time & Signal Company--a leader in supplying a variety of synchronized time solutions for schools--has introduced the SiteSync GPS wireless clock system. It is simple in both installation and the guarantee that one master/transmitter will cover an entire facility or campus. GPS wireless clock systems enhance the accuracy of total school synchronization. Classes begin and end on time, and bus schedules are synchronized to ensure maximum student safety. American Time & Signal Co. has developed a strong reputation as a supplier of complete clock systems, replacement clocks, parts and accessories and repairs for OEM clock systems.
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IDville
No matter your budget, IDville offers a visitor sign-in system to keep your students and staff secure. From their easy-to-use Visitor Express software to carbon-backed adhesive visitor sign-in systems, you can track your visitor traffic and ensure that all school visitors are identified with their name, the date and reason for visit. The School Visitor Log-In System comes with self-expiring name badges that cause the name tag to expire in 24 hours for the ultimate in school visitor security. IDville also offers many new visitor accessories, such as fill-in-the-blank visitor PVC card passes and matching brightly colored visitor lanyards to identify visitors at a glance.
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