Protecting hundreds of students from intruders, kidnappers and strangers during school hours can be a difficult task when each lot of 30 student are usually under the supervision of only 1 adult teacher.
Most schools or college campuses are still currently fitted with outdated or damaged CCTV surveillance cameras or do not have the right alarming solution in place. With Serious Security, our team of consultants will ensure your school’s security system is up-to-date with current security standards as well as install quality cameras so you know any criminal activity can be captured and monitored on screen.
The place where kids go to learn should never be a place that compromises on safety and security. We understand the needs of schools to protect students, staff and infrastructure. We also understand the budgetary constraints faced by many schools. Our solutions consider these factors to help ensure that the school provides a safe environment so that staff and students can focus on learning.
Today’s technology are ideal for the demands of schools and campuses. From single building complexes to sprawling demountables, Serious Security offers high quality, yet cost effective solutions that meets your school’s needs.
All schools have their own unique infrastructure or floor plan that may be different to other schools or colleges. We recommend an onsite evaluation to accurately determine what security system or equipment is well suited to your infrastructure. Below is a basic example of what security equipment we recommend for a local school.
Security Components:
We recommend using 6MP+ IP cameras as they provide better clarity video images of not only the facial features of an individual, but also finer details such as number plates on cars that park within the school’s vicinity.
Well positioned CCTV cameras will help capture hazards or monitor student activity within hidden areas of the school where teacher staff may not be able to supervise at all times. It will also allow head office staff to better control student restricted areas or monitor intruders from specific entrances.
Common areas where cameras are usually fitted are outside classroom hallways, lunch and other activity areas, within the gate boundaries and pick up and drop off zones.
Our technician will also help advise which areas of your school that would be most vulnerable to unwanted trespassing and help you position cameras in the best angle possible so your school’s management team may have the largest possible view span on difficult-to-see areas of your school’s property.
Additional cameras can be added where necessary to provide the added security protection required on the school’s premises.
All our CCTV packages come with a quality 19 inch monitor to allow back office staff to monitor common areas whether there is frequent supervision or not. All our packages also include remote viewing connection to your smartphone or tablet so you can monitor your business from anywhere, anytime.
A reliable alarm system will ensure that your school’s premise is well protected outside school hours. Ask about our mobile phone alert connection which will give the added comfort that you will be alerted should your business alarm has been set off.
Our 24/7 alarm monitoring service or back to base monitoring is a direct connection to the Security Alarm Monitoring Centre (provided by our vetted monitoring partner). You benefit from an immediate response 24/7 whenever your alarm has been tampered with by intruders or if your alarm is set off from unknown reasons. You may then request a security guard to patrol the school for any suspicious activity before informing police authorities.
Installing an access control pad allows you to only permit staff members from entering the back office or the storeroom where important or confidential student data are stored. This will that important documents are only accessible by school staff.
Panic buttons are a great way for staff members to sound the alarm should any threatening situation arises to evacuate students from the school’s ground.
More information regarding other components:
School Access Control / Alarm Systems
SAFER SCHOOLS PROGRAM
The Australian Government has committed $18 million over three years from 2015-16 to 2017-18 for the new Schools Security Programme. It is designed to provide funding to government and non–government schools and preschools assessed as being at risk of attack, harassment or violence stemming from racial or religious intolerance.
The Schools Security Programme uses a targeted and merit-based application process, in which state and territory governments and independent schools associations nominate schools which are then invited to apply for funding under the programme.
https://www.ag.gov.au/CrimeAndCorruption/CrimePrevention/Pages/SchoolsSecurityProgramme.aspx
What Your School / College Security Package Costs Could Be: (Please be advised that these packages are suitable for most small colleges or offices. Most schools will require a custom quote if your security requirements are more complex. Please call 02 8734 3250 to organise an onsite quote).
School Security Improvement Ideas
School security is expected to be tighter than ever, especially with the frequency of shooting incidents in other countries. Students most likely don’t have the capability to fight back in situations like these, which is why the responsibility of keeping everyone in the campus safe and secured lies in the hands of security personnel and the school management itself.
Criminals always think of ways to get past security systems. As a response, schools must keep on improving their security practices to ensure they prevent dire situations from occurring within school premises.
Here are ideas that you can include in your strategies to improve school security:
- Limit access points
Controlling the number of entry points into the campus is the easiest – but oftentimes underestimated – way of improving school security. All visitors should be redirected to the main entry and be screened to make sure they have a legitimate reason for getting inside the school premises.
School shooting incidents like those that happened in the US are the worst kind of situation for anyone to be in. Oftentimes, the question people ask afterward is “How did they get in?”
The job of the security staff doesn’t end when they’ve screened and have allowed visitors to enter the campus. In fact, they should keep their guard up even more by carefully observing the actions of these guests. The areas where these visitors can go to should be limited and supervised. Also, they should wear an ID that will clearly identify them as visitors.
- Monitor every corner
Hallways, cafes, offices, playground, and gates – every place that people frequent should have a CCTV camera installed in them. Unmanned areas attract wrongdoers as they see these as weak points in the school security system.
Aside from the students and employees, the infrastructure, equipment, and other school properties should be kept secure as well. Machines and lab apparatuses are especially expensive so it’s best to have a camera installed to monitor the areas where these items are placed.
The parking lot should also be monitored by security. Sometimes, perpetrators lurk inside parked vehicles, waiting for the right time to pounce. By having security cameras installed in parking areas, you can identify patterns and unusual activities that might signal a red flag.
- Conduct regular inspection of facilities
Security equipment must be inspected regularly to make sure they’re functioning as expected. You don’t want to get caught off-guard by having these tools malfunction when troublesome circumstances arise.
Unoccupied rooms and areas with expensive and sensitive equipment should always be kept locked. The responsibility for holding the keys to these sections should be limited to a few individuals if possible to improve control.
- Partner with community security programs
It’s possible to increase school security measures by partnering with organizations who are willing to help maintain the welfare and security of the kids that go to school. Police surveillance, neighborhood inspection programs, and similar security options can be added to your list of possible ways to expand security practices.
- Train security staff to handle difficult situations
Staff should be trained to report suspicious activities and things that seem unusual to them. Security personnel should be able to handle criminals and be able to respond with a clear head even in delicate situations.
- Update your crisis plan
Continuously update your school’s preparedness plan for critical situations. School emergency plans should be remodelled to cater not only to natural disasters but also to man-made circumstances that can jeopardize the safety and security of everyone on the ground.
Conduct drills that will train both students and employees for possible lockdowns or evacuations. People should know the safest place to hide during emergency situations.
Conclusion
It is during unexpected moments when security becomes too relaxed that dire situations happen. When talking about school security, it’s better to be overprotective than take chances that criminals won’t enter your premise.
Make sure to keep every surveillance system intact and recording. If you’re having doubts about your capability to fully protect the campus, you can try calling Serious Security and discuss with them your situation. They have security packages and other equipment that can greatly improve the safety level of your school.
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