Avoid These 10 School Safety and Security Blunders
Can you identify the safety and security mistakes made in these everyday photos taken at K-12 schools in the U.S.?
With the 2021-2022 school year underway for some and quickly approaching for others, providing students and staff with an environment that is conducive to learning largely means making sure they feel safe.
As a result, campuses are investing in site assessments to bring to light both strengths and weaknesses in their safety and security procedures. While so many are making positive improvements and learning from mistakes, others simply aren’t, and various consultants have captured these mistakes in their site assessments.
Gary Sigrist, CEO and president of Safeguard Risk Solutions and a retired school district safety director, conducts dozens of site assessments each year. During his assessments, he closely studies and critiques a wide range of safety issues, including visitor protocols, key control, after-hours emergency procedures, emergency response plans, staff training, evacuation and lockdown procedures, fencing, building ventilation, and exterior lighting — just to name a few.
Gary has generously provided us with site assessment photos to be used as learning tools for our Campus Safety readers.
Can you spot the security mistakes in these photos?
The slideshow also includes a handful of images from schools that took proper safety measures.
If your school is guilty of these or similar infractions, you’d likely benefit from a full site assessment to ensure you are taking necessary precautions to protect students and staff from a wide variety of threats.
Want some more practice? Here are links to our previous installments:
- 13 School Safety Dos and Don’ts Spotted During Site Assessments
- Don’t Make These 9 Dangerous Campus Security Mistakes
- Are You Making These 10 School Security Mistakes?
- 10 Times K-12 Schools Screwed Up Security (And 5 Times They Nailed It)
- 12 School Safety Mistakes Found During Site Assessments
- 10 School Safety Dos and Don’ts Caught on Camera by Security Consultants
- 13 Times K-12 Schools Got Security Very, Very Wrong (And 6 Times They Got It Right)
- Can You Spot the Mistakes in These Campus Security Photos?
- D’oh! Don’t Make These 10 Ridiculous Campus Security Mistakes
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
Amy Rock, Executive Editor
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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