Page 36 - School Planning & Management, November 2017

SAFETY & SECURITY { PREPARE AND BE AWARE }
PHOTO © CHAD MCDERMOTT
All Round School Security
School security starts at the perimeter of the school, but where is that? Security experts point to three perimeters that need securing.
By Michael Fickes
IN THE UNITED STATES, there are more than 130,000 pub- lic and private schools serving more than 50 million students daily. How safe are the students, faculties and administrators
who use these schools every day during the school year?
Recent acts of violence have led school administrators and security
professionals to re-evaluate the security protections provided in their schools. Is this school’s security good enough for the nature of the school’s environment and also for the general risks of today’s uncertain world?
“I have always been a firm believer that school administrators
need to do everything possible to maintain a safe and secured campus,” says Patrick V. Fiel, Sr., a security consultant and nation- ally known expert with more than 35 years of experience manag- ing law enforcement and security organizations. Fiel founded and manages PVF Security Consulting.
Does securing a school and campus mean locking it down com- pletely? In many cases, yes. For any particular school, the answer probably depends on the school’s location and the hazards in the neighborhood surrounding the school.
36 SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / NOVEMBER 2017
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