By Bret Rachlin on 2/26/2009 5:29 PM

Last week, I highlighted the value that comprehensive security and safety assessments bring to schools. The recent actions of the York City School Board in Pennsylvania reinforce why assessments are valuable (Source: The Evening Sun, 2/20/2009, City school board creates security positions).

Earlier this month the board voted to approve creating six new security positions, although Gettysburg’s superintendent said that the district “hadn’t yet reached a need for trained security officers.” Additionally, two of the seven board members voted against the creation of the new security officers. One board member explained that he disagreed with the security plan, which “now includes moving all high-school hall monitors to the elementary schools and replacing them with security officers.”

Why would two board members, as well as one of the school superintendents not ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 2/18/2009 3:58 PM

Charlotte-Mecklenburg school teachers are concerned about the district cutting the number of school security officers by more than 30 percent (Source: WCNC, 2/10/2009, Campus security in jeopardy with budget cuts).

According to the article all high schools would get two security officers, while the middle schools would get one, under the proposed budget cuts. Judy Kidd, president of the North Carolina Classroom Teachers Association, said, “It’s a safety and security issue. We can’t get proper supervision and safety with the numbers we have now.”

While school budgets tighten more and more each day, it’s imperative that they choose areas to cut wisely. Clearly, safety and security areas are not immune to cuts, but on what basis do schools make safety and security reductions? How do schools know the impact of their security changes? Have they done a risk analy ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 2/10/2009 2:10 PM

SERAPH, a consulting firm that conducts threat assessments for schools and provides a biannual school safety report for Congress, has released its “Five Critical School Safety Issues” list (Source: SERAPH, 2/4/2009, Expert Group Releases Five Critical School Safety Issues List for 2009).

After interviewing teachers, school security personnel, police, and principals from 120 school districts across the United States, the five critical issues (the press release provides details on each issue) are:

1. Lack of Accurate Understanding of Safety Issues
2. Reaction Not Prediction
3. Poor Management of Schools
4. Lack of Effective Plans to Combat Truancy and Lateness
Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 2/2/2009 3:40 PM

Earlier this month thieves stole $26,000 in computers and equipment from Overbrook High School in Philadelphia (Source: Philadelphia Daily News, 1/29/2009, Ackerman slams school security). What makes this particular theft interesting is that the school’s alarm system had not been turned on and none of the school’s 38 cameras had tapes in them. While the district investigates the school’s breakdown in security process, the superintendent says that the root of the security problem is “human error.”

The reality of the situation is that the district operates antiquated technology (tape-based video surveillance) and employs too few police officers to be responsible for turning on school alarm systems. Of course, the district does not have the necessary funds to secure its schools adequately, including the management of the existing security sys ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 1/29/2009 12:08 PM

Brian Ney, superintendent of Howard-Winneshiek Community School District in Iowa understands the value of new security technology (Source: Cresco Times-Plain Dealer, 1/27/2009, New cameras, locks improve school security). His district recently implemented new digital surveillance cameras and electronic door locks at Crestwood High School. Then it moved the older digital video surveillance system from the high school to an elementary school, which was still using a videotape recorder system.

According to Ney, “Our current doors and locks at the high school are old and we have had problems keeping them functioning properly. Just like a car with 200,000 miles on it, repairs can be made, but it is more cost-efficient and time-efficient to replace.”

While schools are tasked often to do more with less, security is ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 1/21/2009 4:47 PM

An Oklahoma task force recommends that higher education institutions increase security spending from $37 per student to $100 per student, “an extra $16 million in money from the state (Source: KOCO.com, 1/14/2009, Task Force Seeks Funding From State Homeland Security Office).”

According to the article, “The panel said Oklahoma schools are making some progress to keep the campus safe but more money needs to be spent on security and mental health counseling services.”

The task force asked Oklahoma’s Department of Homeland Security to fund state colleges, universities and technology centers on an as-needed basis.

This is good news for Oklahoma colleges, as they not only will be able to fund much needed security upgrades, but they also will have the confidence to make appropriate security decisions without fear that their fun ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 1/14/2009 5:06 PM

Police are searching for two suspects after a vandalism incident at Thomas Johnson High School late last month in Maryland. (Source: Gazette.net – Maryland Community Newspapers, 1/8/2009, Frederick police seeking two suspects in TJ break-in). The head custodian discovered the vandalism on the morning of Dec. 29 when he noticed “about an inch of water on the floors of the school kitchen, hallways and some of the band and art rooms.”

Video surveillance shows that two suspects were involved and police are utilizing the recording in their investigation. According to the police, the incident did not trigger any alarms.

Overall, the school appears to have been fortunate that the damage was not worse and that the custodian discovered the vandalism when he did. Had he not been there the following morning during the holiday, the water ma ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 1/7/2009 5:18 PM

A Colorado school district has requested $30,000 to pay for a school security project manager to assist the district in creating emergency information guides tailored to each school. An editorial article in the local newspaper, The Steamboat Pilot & Today, opposes the request and has asked the Education Fund Board to reject it (Source: The Steamboat Pilot & Today, 12/31/2008, Our View: Handle school security internally). The article explains that individual schools should develop these guides themselves and not offload the work “to a costly, short-term project manager.” Doing the work with existing resources shows the community, according to the paper, that important tasks can be done even with tight budgets.

Many schools probably deal with this same issue. How can they afford to meet security requirements on limited ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 12/30/2008 11:28 AM

Gene Deisinger, the deputy chief of police at Iowa State University and an expert on Threat Assessment Management (TAM), has released a new book, The Handbook for Campus Threat Assessment and Management Teams (Source: Security Director News, 12/23/2008, Manual provides guidance but ‘there’s no one size fits all’). The book guides colleges and universities in setting up and implementing an effective TAM team.

A key component of the book is the focus on the involvement of multiple departments. Deisinger explained, "We learned along the way the power and value of a multi-disciplinary perspective in our TAM to increase communication, and enhance collaboration and coordination across departments. What we saw early on, was that individual departments were doing a good job [addressing issues], but they were doing it well in isolation. When we ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 12/22/2008 9:20 AM

Moffat County School District in Northwest Colorado plans to add a visitor management system to bolster its comprehensive security solutions (Source: Craig Daily Press, 12/17/2008, District to add screening system). Raptor, a Web-based software program, will “check visitors’ proof of identification against state, national and local databases.”

The new visitor management process requires visitors to present a valid driver’s license or other form of identification, so that the school secretary can scan it through the Raptor system and print a visitor badge to be worn while in the school. The visitors’ identification cards also will be checked against state and national sex offender registries, alerting school officials of any matches, so they can investigate the visitors prior to giving them access to the school. The school district admits that ... Read More »