Page 82 - Security Today, April 2019

campus security
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campuslifesecurity.com | March/April 2019
“Now, more than ever, it’s vital to adhere to the best practices in our industry, but it’s just as important to adopt new methods that incorporate environ- mental and social-emo- tional considerations.”
In an era of increasing, targeted school violence, it’s critical to periodically assess your school’s safety plan and emergency response procedures to ensure a safe learning environment. It can be easy to “check the boxes” and flow with the tide of exist- ing standards and responses, but we must adapt our responses to account for emerging threats. Now, more than ever, it’s vital to adhere to the best practices in our industry, but it’s just as important to adopt new methods that incorporate environmental and social- emotional considerations.
Certainly, campus security and safety must be approached holisti- cally, particularly when it comes to planned, sophisticated attacks. As history has proven, the vast majority of targeted school violence events are carried out by students and former students.1 To face these “known” threats, we must adjust our responses accordingly and rec- ognize that traditional physical security measures will not suffice as standalone solutions.
Listed in this article, are safety and security strategies that have proven to be effective in reducing, preventing, and mitigating tar- geted school violence. This is by no means exhaustive but can provide a quick review of reliable security methods and help you explore some of the newest approaches to keeping your campus safe.
Access Control
Access control is one of the cornerstones of a safe and secure school campus. By restricting access to outside attackers, we can mitigate instances of targeted school violence. This is of particular importance for elementary schools, which are statistically far more likely to be attacked by an outsider.2
Every school campus should restrict access by allowing only stu- dents and faculty, while implementing a system to monitor visitors. But what about insider threats? By definition, inside attackers (the majority in middle and high schools) are permitted access. With this in mind, make sure your school’s interior and exterior has abundant, clearly-marked emergency routes and exits so students and faculty can escape the attacker’s arena of violence if necessary. The concept: Restricted ingress, easy egress.
Physical Security
Physical security measures, such as cameras, metal detectors, and
Adapting Security
By Scott Coleman
Responses to
Emerging Threats
It is critical to assess plans and procedures to ensure the safest campus
security/law enforcement personnel are absolutely vital in mitigating acts of targeted school violence. Cameras and metal detectors may serve as a deterrent, but dedicated attackers can often bypass these measures. Herein lies the importance of capable and well-trained security and law enforcement personnel. These should consist of true professionals who are well-trained, well-equipped, and emotionally invested in the campus they protect.
Environment
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is a mul- tidisciplinary approach that seeks to reduce victimization by creating environments that deter crime. CPTED concepts have been success- fully implemented to reduce crime in public areas, and new efforts are being made to utilize similar strategies in school environments.
Traditionally, school environments are designed to encourage learning, not deter premediated violence. For this reason, schools often pose significant tactical challenges in the form of floor-to-ceil- ing windows, blind corners, and elevated positions that can be used to an attacker’s advantage. That being said, it is possible to retrofit your school environment to reduce these potential advantages to an attacker. Items such as ballistic tint can be added to large windows, and mirrors can be installed in blind corners. It’s important to tour your campus with several different sets of expert eyes to identify potential areas of concern and address them accordingly.
Notification
Code words and phrases must be avoided when making notifications of a violent attack. These can create confusion and will not be under- stood by visitors. Additionally, code words and phrases are difficult to remember under stress.3 Code words are designed to disguise infor- mation from the general public and may expose your school to civil liability in the form of withholding live-saving information during a critical incident. In short, speak plainly and describe the emergency via an effective communication system.
Alarms and Rally Points
School attackers have exhibited a propensity to plan their attacks in great detail.4 Recently, attackers have used fire alarms to draw their victims out into the open. Knowing this, schools should adjust their