School Security Systems Protect Against Outside and Inside Threats

School security systems are designed to ensure best practices when increasing the safety and welfare of students and staff at Helotes, TX schools. These practices include securing grounds from outside threats, protecting students and staff from natural hazards, and helping students feel safe from inside threats. 

SEE ALSO: How to Choose the Right School Security System

School Threats

In 2019, the Educator’s School Safety Network conducted a data-based analysis of threats that occurred in schools during the 2018-2019 school year. Here are a few of their key findings: 

• Violent incidents consisted of 6% active shooter events, 4.5% shots fired on school grounds, and 13.6% guns found on school grounds. These figures add up to 24% of events involving the presence or the use of guns.
• The report of a suspicious person accounted for 15.8% of all incidents. 
• Violent behavior without the use of a gun accounted for 18% of incidents. These included fights, attempted abductions, disruptive parents, and assaults. 
• Bomb threats accounted for 32% of all threats, and bomb incidents accounted for 9%.
• Incidents of violence increased by 34% from the previous year. 

• Social media was the most commonly used platform to deliver threats, and students perpetrated 85% of all violent incidents. Adults who were neither staff members nor parents accounted for 12% of the violent incidents.

So, what do these figures tell us? First, although rare, the potential for violence exists in all schools, and a large percentage of it exists inside schools, coming from the students. Additionally, a school's emergency plans should consider medical emergencies, accidents, and severe weather events. 

As one of the largest school security services serving Texans since 1947, we're dedicated to helping schools take the necessary steps to secure their students and staff. So let's look at how these figures translate to a few security measures that work to protect and stop violent incidents before they occur. 

Video Surveillance

While no one wants to think of our school systems as places of violence, it’s clear that it does occur. Burying our heads in the sand or suggesting that cameras invade privacy will not decrease these incidents. The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI recommend video surveillance in schools to reduce violence and increase safety. 

With 85% of acts of violence perpetrated by students, they must know they are being observed, for the few who consider violence and the many who need to see schools are concerned for their safety. 

Unfortunately, bullying has become an epidemic in our schools, with 90% of students in grades 4-8 reporting being bullied or harassed. The Education Corner reports that about 160,000 students don’t go to school every day because of fear of being bullied, and 87% of students said that the primary motivator of a school shooting is bullying.

Today’s surveillance cameras do much more than maintain a record of suspicious activity. Due to AI learning capabilities, they can recognize when an event is "not normal" and send a notification to the appropriate staff. This may be anything from someone dragging a student into a corner to a child falling due to a seizure.

These cameras can also pan, zoom, and tilt and provide facial recognition in case of an incident. These high-tech solutions can be installed in such a way as to maintain a healthy school environment while still deterring and detecting potentially dangerous situations. 

Mass Notification Systems

Have you ever experienced an alarm go off and had no idea what it meant? Unfortunately, that scenario is all too common in our schools. Is it a fire drill, a flood, an active shooter? 

Mass notification systems allow for the dissemination of critical information to many people, quickly and efficiently, whether a natural disaster, active shooter, lockdown, evacuation, or everyday event such as changes to the schedule. Two-way communication, multi-channel messaging, and geofencing ensure everyone receives the information promptly. 

To learn more about integrated school security solutions or schedule a consultation, contact ASAP Security Systems today.