Designing A Comprehensive Approach to School Security

When you’re setting up a school security system, it’s easy to forget that a school is more than the buildings and its surroundings. A school is a community that includes the students, teachers, staff, parents, and more. You need a security network that takes all these groups into account.

Yes, technology like gunshot detection systems and access control can help, but technology alone can create a feeling of fear and distrust. Furthermore, these systems are reactive, not proactive; preventing tragedies before they happen is much better for everyone, and that requires getting your school community involved. Here are some ideas for combining school security systems with other measures to help your Houston, TX school safe.

SEE ALSO: 3 Tips to Make Sure Students Don’t Ignore School Notifications

TECHNOLOGY

There are definite technological measures you can take to make your campus more secure. These systems can take many different forms, and we’ll go through a few of them in brief.

Gunshot detection systems are just what they sound like: A network of audio sensors around your school listens for the sound of a gunshot, then sends out an alert if it hears a shot. While security guards are important to have around, they can’t be everywhere at all times (at least, not without being prohibitively expensive). Security guards are also human and make mistakes; if someone brings a hidden weapon onto school grounds, they can wreak havoc before security personnel arrive from their posts at the school entrances. Gunshot detection systems are a powerful supplement to any security system.

Other technological tools that can improve school security are things like surveillance systems and mass notification systems. The former helps you keep a better eye on everything happening around your school (within reason; students and staff have a reasonable expectation of privacy), and the latter helps you disseminate information quickly to students, teachers, staff and parents.

GET THE COMMUNITY INVOLVED

That last point about mass notification systems highlights a crucial component of school security that’s often overlooked: Getting the people in your school’s community involved. This doesn’t mean everyone needs to be constantly watching out for a threat, but a personal touch can help foster an atmosphere of safety and potentially mitigate potential threats before they happen.

It’s crucial to get your community to buy in to your school security system, especially teachers and parents. If nobody trusts the system, they’re unlikely to respond as quickly or effectively as you need them to if an emergency arises. Take the time to calmly explain how the technology you’ve installed works and what everyone should do in a dangerous situation.

Another important step: Give your community an active role in your security system. If the people in your school feel like they are contributing to keeping their community safe, and not just at the mercy of technology, they’ll feel better prepared and less helpless. This can be as simple as dispensing alert devices to teachers and other staff, but try to find ways to get students and parents involved, as well.

Finally, use your community to prevent emergencies from happening in the first place. Your students, teachers, counselors and others should reach out to troubled students or others to get them help before they do something rash. Not only is this the kind and humane thing to do, it will decrease the likelihood that they’ll act out in a way that threatens others.

It’s always better to take a preventative approach to school security. To learn more about our school security systems, call us at (877) 418-ASAP, visit our contact page or click on the live chat window in your browser.