School Security: What are you missing?

Transcription

1 School Security: What are you missing? The need to keep our nation s children safe at school has become more urgent than ever. But this also puts pressure on both the school s administrators and its budget. Marianna Perry, CPP, discusses the top security priorities that should be on every school community s mind.

2 IN THE SPRING OF 1999, two teenaged students fatally shot a teacher and 12 other students at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Another 21 were injured. At Virginia Tech eight years later, a student killed 32 people and wounded 17 more. In 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut, a 20-year-old shot and killed his mother, then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School and fatally shot 20 children and six of the school staff. Each of these school attacks garnered wide media coverage; they also spawned intense debate about gun laws, mental health treatment, and school security. WHAT ARE THE TOP SAFETY PRIORITIES FOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, TEACHERS, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS? The U.S. Department of Homeland Security distributes a K-12 School Security Checklist to guide school safety assessments. 1 The checklist cites access control of the building as the number one priority, followed by the building exterior and interior, classroom security, and school culture. Other priorities include the communications system, reporting, security equipment and personnel, cyber security, emergency operations plan, and a threat assessment team. WHAT ARE PEOPLE MISSING? Marianna Perry, Training and Development Manager with Securitas USA, specializes in school security; she agrees that schools are most often lacking in access control. The number one problem we see is a failure in the two key lines of defense the perimeter of the school property and access to the buildings, she says. Many schools do not control the perimeter of their property or access to their buildings. We often see doors propped open in warm weather, sometimes with a rolled-up rug in the doorway to provide cooling or ventilation. According to Perry, the perimeter of the school property should present the first layer of protection; that may include signage, fencing, or video surveillance some type of control to delineate school property from public property. There may also be a school resource officer (SRO) or security officer patrolling the property. Next are the exterior walls, doors, and windows even those used for emergency exits. All entry points into buildings should have an established access control system, including adequate training, enforced policies and procedures, video surveillance, and intrusion detection systems with anti-prop alarms on doors. It s really a training issue, says Perry. Limiting access to the school, along with establishing policies and training people on procedures, is the issue most often neglected. It s critical that someone is responsible for security, such as a director of safety and security for either the individual school or for the school district. And school principals must support the security plan. 2

3 12 Symptoms of a School with Security Problems 1. Drugs are sold in your school or on the grounds. 2. Law enforcement is frequently called to your school. 3. Bullying is rampant. 4. Teachers are looking for other opportunities because they want to leave your school. 5. A bus driver was in an accident with a bus full of children; his/her license was expired. 6. Perimeter doors are sometimes unlocked or propped open. 7. Background checks have not been conducted on faculty, staff, contractors, or vendors. 8. There are no access controls, ID badges, or lobby intercoms in your school. 9. One of the teachers is having an affair with a student. 10. You see parents and their child on TV with a lawyer announcing a lawsuit against your school and you didn t know anything about it. 11. A student brings a gun to school and it goes undetected for weeks. 12. Cameras are non-operational for months, discovered only after an incident occurs. from a school safety presentation by Lawrence Fennelly and Marianna Perry PLAN, DON T PANIC! She explains that it s vital to collaboratively develop security plans and policies. I often see schools that spend too much on security, says Perry. Stories in the media can create panic, and then school officials use a kneejerk reaction when parents demand to know what they re doing to protect children. Administrators should consult a security professional, not a vendor, for recommendations on improving security. Installing video cameras and alarms on doors can be useful, but equipment and devices should not be sought from any one vendor. Hiring an assessment from a video surveillance company will get you cameras, but it is not a holistic approach to solving safety and security issues. A vulnerability assessment is a critical on-site examination to observe security currently in place, identify security deficiencies, determine what is needed, and make recommendations to eliminate or control risks. The assessment should list assets, and focus on keeping children as the top priority of the asset list. The risk assessment will identify weaknesses or vulnerabilities in the existing security program at the school, and then make recommendations to mitigate the risk and eliminate or control the exposure. The Colorado School Safety Resource Center s guide to improving the safety of a school includes lighting hallways, closing off unused stairwells, minimizing blind spots, and prohibiting posters in classroom windows. 2 After a vulnerability assessment is complete, a cost/benefit analysis will help determine whether the recommendations are affordable and feasible. Some security components will be installed immediately and others will be budgeted as long-term projects. According to Perry, a risk assessment should be completed at least once each year or more often if there are issues or significant changes to the building or campus. A security plan may have many different layers before someone gets inside the school, cautions Perry. If the outer perimeter is a fence, followed by a security officer on patrol, then an intercom with door release on the entrance, that s three layers of access before someone is inside and meets up with a receptionist in the school. No one should be able to breach all of those layers without being challenged. Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is a concept introduced in the 1970s by C. Ray Jeffery, a Florida State University criminologist. CPTED theories advocate for a physical environment designed to deter crime by reducing opportunities for negative influences, according to a report by District Administration Magazine. 3 Development of CPTED practices has been researched and revised by experts including architect Oscar Newman and criminologist Timothy Crowe. 3

4 NO TRESPASSING! Newer school building designs include fewer entrances and fewer exits accessible from outside the building; reducing access options reduces the risk of intrusion. All exterior doors, especially those used as entry points, should have quality locks that can be locked from the inside. Doors should be enabled with intrusion-detection alarms and should have adequate lighting. All non-school personnel should be screened before they are admitted to the building s interior. All exterior doors should have signage directing visitors to the proper door to gain entry to the building. Visitors should be required to sign in at the front office and wear an identification badge while on school property. A receptionist should control access into the building and be equipped with a panic or duress alarm for unauthorized access or emergencies as well as full lockdown capabilities and a mass notification program. Schools should have written emergency procedures and should hold regular drills with local emergency responders in the event of a security breach or emergency situation. ACCESS IS THE TOP PRIORITY FOR SAFETY Locking doors should be the number one action, and visibly displayed identification badges is a close second, says Perry. All students, faculty, staff, contractors, and visitors should be wearing a badge; even a third grader can tell someone if they see a person with no visitor badge. We need to condition our children to say something, to be aware of their surroundings and their role in school safety. Key to shoring up that safety is controlling access, whether by using a phone, intercom, or video phone, and buzzing people in and out of the building. Once procedures are developed to control that access, training in procedures for all faculty and staff should be initiated and regularly refreshed. Perry recommends a security professional to train teachers, followed by the teachers training students in procedures for a security breach. Many school intruders just walk in and are never challenged, she says. We need to teach our children to observe people in the school environment; we all have that sense and we get the radar. Are we teaching children to pay attention? Do they question whether someone has a reason to be inside the school? I m certainly not advocating that a child challenge or confront an adult in their school, but they should be trained to report anything or anyone suspicious to a teacher or staff member. The federal government issues guidelines on school security, but most of the implementation is individually developed. The government may recommend that schools control access to their buildings or property, says Perry, but procedures for doing that vary across the country. An active shooter in a school makes the headlines and is certainly a very serious situation, but there are other security issues that schools must also be prepared for. FIRST RESPONSE + COMMUNITY RESPONSE First responders are the main line of defense and response for school security, and partnerships within the community and around the school can play a key role. Engaging the community in school safety and working with local law enforcement is crucial for a successful security program, says Perry. Most schools, particularly elementary schools, are located in residential areas, and a key concept of a neighborhood watch is the involvement of everyone in the neighborhood including the school. It s not just the emergency responders and residents who should be involved; even the staff at the gas station on the corner should actively participate in the neighborhood watch. Law enforcement agencies and all first responders should have blueprints of the school and its grounds, and should be familiar with the facilities. School officials should encourage these responders to use the facilities for training exercises, and police should have remote access to cameras on the school grounds. 4

5 Cameras used for surveillance can reinforce security options for schools with limited personnel. Installed in areas overlooking parking lots and entrances, smart cameras can be programmed to detect motion and activate an alarm, and they are becoming more affordable. A video surveillance system may be a good budget choice for schools when connected to a monitored video screen in the school s main office. Cameras that are not monitored or analyzed are only of forensic value, used as evidence after an incident has occurred. They cannot prevent an incident from occurring or notify law enforcement of a security breach. Some technology options for bolstering security are more affordable than ever. Smart cards are increasingly common in school environments. The cards feature bar-code identification, tracking student attendance and allowing book checkout, locker access, and fee payments within the school. Teachers carry smart cards for building entry, and access by a card can be canceled within seconds in case of a lost or stolen card. Obviously people can t put a dollar figure on school safety it s invaluable. But budget resources are available, including grants and matching funds paired with community involvement and a neighborhood watch program. Carefully assess your school and its security, develop a plan and budget, put procedures in place and train the teachers to train the students. Focus on your perimeter and on partnering with members of the community and law enforcement agencies as problem-solvers. Focus on crime prevention, not crime reaction. FOR MORE INFORMATION: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has information online for school safety grants, assistance with training, and many other resources to improve school safety: Browse for grants by category (e.g. education or training) at: grants.gov/web/grants/. The Handbook for School Safety and Security by Lawrence Fennelly and Marianna Perry provides the information school administrators and security professionals need to address the most important security issues schools face. With contributions from leading experts in school security, the book offers practical information for securing any K-12 school. It is available on Amazon in both paperback and e-book format usa.gov/ZMNnMW 3 5

6 Marianna Perry is designated as a Certified Protection Professional (CPP), through ASIS International as Board Certified in Security Management. She has 30+ years of progressive experience in law enforcement, security, safety and loss control. Her strengths include result-oriented expertise in overall business operations, loss prevention and safety with a strong background in initiating, developing and implementing cost-effective procedures and training programs to control and/or eliminate loss exposures and increase bottom-line profitability. Securitas USA offers a broad range of services that include specialized guarding, technology solutions, mobile guarding and corporate risk management; from small businesses to large corporations, our 100,000 employees make a difference every day Securitas Security Services USA, Inc. 6