Page 94 - Security Today, September/October 2024

CAMPUS SECURITY
5 PARTNERSHIPS THAT CAN STRENGTHEN CAMPUS SECURITY
AUTHOR
DEAN CUNNINGHAM IS SEGMENT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER FOR PUBLIC SAFETY FOR AXIS COMMUNICATIONS.
IMAGE
STOCK.ADOBE.COM/S FANTI/PEOPLEIMAGES.COM
M ost campuses do not exist in a vacuum. They are part of a broader community like a town, a borough, a city, a county, or a state. As such, there are a host of external resources available to help them through a crisis: from emergency responders such as police, EMTs and firefighters to mental health counselors, local emergency management depart-
ments, and media outlets.
But to effectively coordinate those
resources with campus security operations, all parties need to sit down together and hammer out a memorandum of under- standing (MOU) to clearly define roles and responsibilities to ensure steps are not overlooked in a crisis–be it a human
conflict or a natural disaster. Equally important, the cohort should take time post-event to review their responses and identify areas where coordination could be improved.
While the range of external resources differs by community there are five key partnerships that campus security can foster.
1. TECHNOLOGY VENDORS
Technology partners bring to the table the tools to create better physical security including intelligent cameras, access control de- vices (door systems and video intercoms), speaker systems, radar, and deep learning analytics (both video and audio) that can detect, identify, and alert on specific criteria.
Beyond deploying hardware and software, these partners bring expertise in implementing effective policies and proce- dures for those technology systems. Furthermore, they possess
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