Security in Schools
Gone are the days of visitors just checking in at the office when they have to come on campus. With the many threats that are rampant in today’s society, there’s a need for tighter security in schools now more than ever. School personnel and students are learning what to do in case of emergencies as well as in drastic situations such as active shooter events.
While these skills are important for everyone to know and understand, the best practice possible is to deter anyone with bad intentions from entering your school in the first place.
Overall, one of the most important steps to take is to make sure your school isn’t an easy target.
The Ugly Statistics
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), elementary and secondary schools in the U.S. experienced 1.4 million crimes during the 2015-2016 school year. That translates to an average of nine crimes per every 1,000 students in one school year. During that same time frame, an alarming 10 percent of teachers reported being threatened by a student. As we’ve come to learn as a society, not all of the threats come from outside the building.
Increasing Safety for Students and Staff
There are obvious ways to increase school safety, such as hiring security personnel, installing full body metal detectors, and having security cameras in and outside of the building. However, options such as these can come with a hefty price tag that many schools just don’t have the funding to cover. But lack of funding shouldn’t mean anyone gets a pass on protecting those who are inside the building.
Other, less expensive options, are to:
- lock down the perimeter of the school,
- routinely test alarm systems,
- make sure all employees and students are trained what to do in emergency situations, and
- invite local law enforcement to train for emergencies on location.
Not only will this last suggestion mean law enforcement has a realistic place to train, but they will know your building inside and out in case a true emergency ever happens.
Know Who is On Your Campus at All Times
Another cost-effective way to maintain the safety and security of your campus is to be able to quickly and accurately identify who should and shouldn’t be on campus. It’s easy to do this with a school badge identification system. School IDs are a great way to know who is in the building at any given time, including staff, students, visitors, and contractors. IDs can also be tracked to see who is in a certain location and for how long. Problems can be addressed as soon as they happen, unlike before when someone could be up to no good and it wasn’t discovered until it was too late.
If someone approaches that doesn’t have a badge, they will need to show identification and get a temporary pass once it’s been determined that they are authorized to be there. For schools that have the same contract person year-round or who have the same substitute teachers frequently, it can be determined if these certain people should have their own ID to keep everything running smoothly.
Convenient and Time Saving Solutions are Available
The ID printer market has greatly changed in recent years and Higgins is at the forefront of these changes. ID printers are now easier to use than ever. They include everything that’s required to use them, are cost-effective, and Higgins offers customer support when needed. The ID printers can have a variety of configurations that have all the necessary related accessories and supplies.
In addition to being cost-effective, ID cards can save on time. There is no longer a need for teachers to take attendance as the ID cards will enter the information into the system automatically. Visitors or contractors can be easily identified when they are wearing an ID badge as well.
Higgins also offers solutions like PeopleTrack for mobile tracking so that individuals can be tracked as they move from one place to another. It makes an easy job for administrators to know the whereabouts of students or faculty at any given time and works with a traditional PC or a handheld device.
Protect the Students and Staff on Your Campus
In today’s day and age, criminals seem to find a way to hurt the most innocent of people. Make sure this doesn’t happen at your school by implementing safety measures and taking the lead on protecting the students and staff on your campus. By putting forth the effort to make things safer, everyone will reap the benefits.
- Administrators can be more effective in their jobs as they don’t have to worry about threats or school policy violations round the clock.
- Staff will feel more at ease knowing they can do their jobs without having to endlessly worry about who might be coming on campus.
- Students will feel safer which will allow them to relax and concentrate on their studies more.
Safety and security go a long way in helping to better run a school and ensure everyone is doing what they’re supposed to, when and where they’re supposed to. We invite you to contact Higgins today to see what solutions will work best for your school.
