Don’t Make These 9 Dangerous Campus Security Mistakes

These photos, taken by security consultants, are perfect examples of security mistakes that could put your campus at serious risk.

Don’t Make These 9 Dangerous Campus Security Mistakes

If you were shown a photo of a K-12 campus — whether it be of a playground, a supply closet or a computer lab — would you be able to identify potential safety or security hazards?

Although campus safety and security are top priorities for most schools, even the most well-meaning may unknowingly be putting others at risk through seemingly small and harmless actions or inactions.

One way to assure your school or district is taking every precaution to protect students, staff and visitors, is through a security and vulnerability assessment (SVA), which are conducted to allow campuses to find areas of liabilities they didn’t know existed, develop strategies for prevention and mitigation, and learn how to recover from manmade or natural events.

Can You Spot the Campus Security Mistakes in These SVA Photos?

Take a look at SVA photos in this slideshow to see if you can spot the safety mistakes. We’ve also included a handful of images of schools that took proper safety measures to protect students and staff. All of the photos in this slideshow have been provided to us by Gary Sigrist, CEO and president of Safeguard Risk Solutions and a retired school district safety director.

While some of these mishaps may seem like obvious mistakes, it is important to remember that these are REAL photos taken at ACTUAL schools in the United States — and the mistakes are more prevalent than you think.

Although many might think, “Well, I wouldn’t do something that negligent,” campus protection professionals are often overwhelmed and understaffed — especially given the current pandemic and the added responsibilities and precautions that come with it.

Want more? Here are the links to our previous SVA photo installments:

Do you have any examples you’re willing to share from your own site assessments? We would keep the school(s) anonymous. Send your photos to robin.hattersley@emeraldx.com.

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About the Author

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Amy is Campus Safety’s Executive Editor. Prior to joining the editorial team in 2017, she worked in both events and digital marketing.

Amy has many close relatives and friends who are teachers, motivating her to learn and share as much as she can about campus security. She has a minor in education and has worked with children in several capacities, further deepening her passion for keeping students safe.

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