Page 36 - School Planning & Management, April 2017

SAFETY&SECURITY ALL VISITORS MUST SIGN IN
STUDENT, STAFF, FACULTY ID CARDS
Among the list of strategies promoted by the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) is one entitled, Student, Staff and Visitor ID Cards. The council says that “Identification cards for students, faculty, staff and visitors increase the visibility of individuals who do not belong in the school building and make the facility safer for all who use it.”
The strategies goes on to state that an identification card system, particularly when combined with access control procedures, deters individuals with no legitimate busi- ness in the school from attempting to enter the building and reduces opportunities for on-campus crimes, violence and drug deal- ing by unauthorized outsiders.
The council suggests that schools using identification cards issue them to students and staff at the beginning of the school year. Students, faculty and staff should be re- quired to display valid identification cards to enter the building. They also suggest color- coding the IDs to differentiate between student classes, and between faculty and staff, and that the cards be worn throughout the day by everyone in the school building. In addition, the council recommends that
he visitor ID cards be larger than any other, making them noticeable and distinctive from those worn by students and staff.
The strategy states that visitors should be issued temporary identification cards after showing a driver’s license and signing in as they enter the building. Signs should be placed at the main entrances to notify visi- tors that identification is required to enter the school building. Each school in a district using the identification system needs to have a distinct card to reduce the likelihood that students or staff from other facilities could enter without authorization.
For more information about the National Crime Prevention Council’s strategies, visit http://www.ncpc.org/topics/school-safety.
ID please. Most schools have a number of visitors every day for many different reasons. The first step in ensuring a secure facility is to make sure that visitors can only enter the buildings through entrances that are monitored. In order to protect the students and the staff from harm or disruptions, administration and security personnel need to know who is coming and going at all times. There are a number of visitor management systems currently being used that not only verify identification, but also run background checks of visitors.
broader community are participating in the instructional program. Vendors are making sales calls or providing contracted services. Maintenance technicians, consultants and contractors are routinely in the school to perform work related to the buildings and grounds. Keeping up with exactly who is coming and going at times seems almost im- possible. If an incident occurs in a school that is the result of someone with ill intent gaining access, the immediate question is “why were they allowed to enter the building?”
Identification
At a minimum, most schools have signs posted around campus requiring visitors to report to the office prior to entering
the school and sign-in. Technology has stepped in with kiosk style sign-in stations requiring visitors to enter information on a computer, which prints a photo ID badge to be worn while on campus. School staff are instructed to notify the office of any visi- tors or strangers on campus not displaying the proper credentials.
Innovations with automated visitor
management systems now include scan- ning a driver’s license or government is- sued ID as part of the sign in process. The system quickly compares data from the ID against registered sex offender databases in 50 states. Jim Vesterman, CEO of Rap- ture Technologies states, “on average we flag 35 registered sex offenders a day, from our current client base of 17,000 schools across the country.” Some systems also allow the screening process to compare the visitor’s ID to a custom database indicating child custody restrictions, barred parents, known gang members, etc. Whether the district chooses a visitor management system that performs one or both of the database screening processes, it all occurs in a matter of seconds.
Access Control
School buildings are compelled to provide an abundance of exterior entrances to in order to meet fire code requirements for egress. During the school day it becomes a challenge to ensure doors are not left open or unlocked to prevent unauthorized entry.
36 SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / APRIL 2017
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