There is no question that equipment and measures such as access control, two-way radio interoperability, building design that incoporates safety and security, staff and officer training, as well as video surveillance can all help to better protect schools, universities and hospitals. Some campus officials, however, might not have the resources or time to make these types of improvements right away.
Fortunately, there are inexpensive solutions that can be implemented almost immediately. For example, the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. in Indiana quickly made the following seven changes in response to site assessments conducted by a consultant:
- Removing names and other identifying information about students and teachers from pictures posted in the schools
- Taking the teachers’ names off of classroom doors
- Taking titles off of reserved parking spaces and using numbers instead
- Staff standing in the center or behind a group of students instead of in front of them to provide active supervision
- Staff spreading out and being visible and alert and wearing yellow safety vests while on playground duty instead of congregating with other staff
- Escorting strangers without visitors’ badges to the office
- Not allowing anyone in a school building without signing in and getting an ID badge
After these improvements were implemented, the district then focused on other upgrades that required more resources, such as NIMS training of teachers and staff, designing school buildings so school offices are at the front of the buildings, installing security cameras and changing/adding locks on campus doors.
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- What 1st Responders Know About Building Design
- How Security Can Pay for Iteself
Photo via Flickr, Alan Cleaver