Page 24 - Campus Security & Life Safety, January/February 2019

clery act
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information to help monitor employee, visi- tors and campus safety. Likewise, campuses can leverage visitor management solutions to ensure contractors are onsite, on-time and projects are moving along accordingly.
Video surveillance solutions are another technology that institutions take advantage of to keep track of visitors. This technology is an important security component to keep watch over the diverse assortment of facilities and buildings that comprise a typical campus com- munity. In addition to monitoring building exteriors, pathways and student quads, video surveillance can also monitor activity that occurs inside a building or facility to detect unusual behavior or identify an intruder. Cou- pled with access control, surveillance can be useful in monitoring activity throughout a campus and identifying visitors who are not registered within the management system.
Increased Opportunities for Contractors
Though the Clery Act poses some challenges for contractors, including added processes and lengthened project timelines, it has also improved business for them in a few ways. Because the legislation mandates certain lev- els of security on campuses, contractors are needed to install and maintain the necessary systems. Electricians, network security staff and more are all tasked with ensuring that the institution has the most robust and up-
to-date systems in place.
This is a departure from previous attitudes
about how a campus should operate. Prior to the passing of the Clery Act, some people disapproved of locked-down campuses with heavy security in place. The act brought increased awareness to the rate of crime at educational institutions, largely altering pub- lic opinion about implementing additional surveillance and access control technologies to help mitigate crime, and subsequently growing the market for contractors in this vertical industry.
The Cost of Non-Compliance
There have been many publicized examples of well-known universities found to be non- compliant with the Clery Act following inci- dents that have occurred on campus prem- ises. This year, the U.S. Department of Education issued the largest fine ever levied under the act, $2.4 million, for upwards of 10 findings of Clery Act noncompliance from one university. A key contributor to many of these incidents is a lack of reporting by the university on the criminal activity taking place on campus, including failure to notify law enforcement after becoming aware of misconduct. Increased security technology would be beneficial in cases like these to for- malize reporting processes and provide more accurate records of who is on campus, where,
and at what time. Regardless of whether the threat comes from a faculty member, stu- dent, contractor, or otherwise, a secure cam- pus is key to preventing an incident.
Moving forward, it’s critical that colleges and universities develop guidelines and reg- ulations that outline compliant practices to be followed by all contractors. These terms must be contractually agreed upon before access is granted. Furthermore, education will likely be a priority vertical for contrac- tors as institutions work to maintain compli- ance with the Clery Act. Being informed on the latest Clear Act regulations will stream- line the relationship between contractors and institutions, and help contractors to know what to expect when working on col- lege or university campuses.
While the legislation has made work for contractors more complex, it has helped give them visibility into institutions’ needs, par- ticularly during the fall, ahead of the recur- ring October 1 deadline for Clery Act report- ing. Staying abreast of the latest regulations for educational facilities can help contractors improve their service and secure new oppor- tunities, ultimately helping make colleges and universities a safer place to be.
Julie Brown is the Institutional Market Leader, Building Solutions North America at Johnson Controls.
24 campuslifesecurity.com | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019