5 Tips to Enhance School Safety | OMNIA Partners

The complex risks that K-12 schools and Higher Education institutions face today when it comes to school and campus safety demand expert teams and plans to prevent incidents. The inherent vulnerabilities to intrusion and disruption require perspectives and responses to threats that can assure a safe and healthy environment for learning. A layered, systems-based approach to security solutions for schools is optimal in order to detect, delay, and respond to threats while helping to avoid any single point of failure.

Think of layering security like concentric circles starting at the outer perimeter of your school campus, working toward the center. Each successive layer can include specific components that provide a protective element to hinder adversarial behaviors and delay an attack if other layers are breached. Delaying an assailant can afford the critical time needed for first responders to take appropriate action.

Everon, previously ADT Commercial, a supplier of OMNIA Partners, provides long-standing experience in risk management for educational institutions, while their cooperative contract with OMNIA Partners offers streamlined purchasing of these solutions, so your campus can feel safer, faster than ever. 

➡️ Read on to discover the 5 Tips for School Safety from Everon.

1. Maintain Compliance with District-Wide Security Standards                               

Is your school adhering to district-wide standards to establish recommended best practices, including frequent lockdown drills and regular training so everyone—from students to faculty—knows what to do in an emergency?

Consider evaluating existing measures or implementing new practices, such as annual security assessments, visitor management systems, first responder training for school staff, and more.

2. Create a Layered Approach to Perimeter Security

The physical security of a campus begins at the property perimeter boundary. This is where the most outwardly visible security deterrents to an external threat are implemented. The following are best practices to help better secure these outermost campus areas:

• • Post visible notice of rules and responsibilities at the property boundary
  • Prioritize parking lot and facility security, as these are some of the most high-traffic areas
  • Implement emergency call stations with direct connection to emergency responders
  • Install comprehensive video surveillance, security lighting, and access control systems to monitor access throughout the parking areas

3. Build an Interior Security Layer to Protect Classrooms and Offices 

Should an incident occur, it's important to have a clearly marked numbering system and signage for the entire building. This provides first responders directions to key areas of the school for quick action. Many of the layered approach measures mentioned above also apply to the interior, with access control systems at the top of the list.

All classrooms and offices must have functional locks with varying levels of technology available, including stand-alone electronic locks, automatic networked electronic locks, and master keys provided to first responders. Other technologies include:

• • Panic/duress alarms to discreetly notify first responders of an emergency
  • Security film on interior door vision panels to help prevent door glass from shattering and increase the time an assailant would need to access a classroom
  • Classroom doors made of steel or other durable materials to help prevent unauthorized access
  • Interior barriers to impede the movement of an intruder throughout the building

4. Implement Effective Mass Notification Systems and Practices 

During active shooter incidents or other emergencies, prompt notification is critical in saving lives. Quick announcement must be made in a clear, audible message to everyone on campus. This requires, at a minimum, a working public address system enhanced by newer technology innovations, such as:

• • In-building emergency communications systems that enable notifications to specific classrooms or other areas providing instructions from law enforcement
  • Mass notification solutions tied to a district-wide system that provide fast, automatic notification to all district schools, stakeholders, and law enforcement

5. Establish Comprehensive Video Surveillance Coverage 

Video coverage of all interior and exterior areas of buildings, especially, where students and staff congregate, is a powerful tool. Providing first responders access to video means they can quickly respond to an emergency and potentially pinpoint an assailant’s location, movements, or hiding spots. These systems must be consistently evaluated and tested to ensure no blind spots exist and that all cameras are functioning properly.

In implementing these 5 Tips to enhance your school's safety, you will be better prepared, and your building will be more secured to deter break-ins, un-authorized access, and more. Maintain peace of mind knowing you are not alone in your effort to secure your schools, and we can help provide the right protection to meet your security objectives. Contact us today to setup your security plans!