By Bret Rachlin on 4/24/2009 9:04 AM

Schools have learned a great deal about school security since the incident at Columbine ten years ago (Source: WSYR-TV, April 23, 2009, Security upgrades coming for Cortland schools). Of course, upgrading security systems can be costly and schools often struggle to fund these initiatives. Help is always appreciated and today Cortland City School District near Syracuse, New York, will accept a $1,000 donation to help pay for its new visitor management system (Raptorware).

Wren Solutions (my company) randomly chose Cortland school resource officer Rob Reyngoudt to win $1,000 after he filled out Wren’s email survey on school security. In addition to the visitor management system, which requires visitors to sign-in ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 4/17/2009 10:32 AM

How do schools raise money for security and safety needs when budget dollars for classroom needs are already so tight (Source: The Journal Times, April 12, 2009, More money wanted for school safety)? How about passing a legislative bill that would increase the current revenue limits by $100 per student to pay for safety and security initiatives? That’s what state Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine, Wisconsin, proposes.

Currently, the Racine Unified School District acknowledges that if it spends more on security, then it goes without something else because security spending must come under the revenue limits. The proposed bill increases the revenue limit, as long as the School Board and the local police have developed a school safety expenditure plan, but it could mean an additional $2 million for district such as Racine Unified.
... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 4/10/2009 8:20 AM

A couple of weeks ago a female student successfully fought off a 27-year-old male attacker in a school bathroom (Source: The Mlive.com, April 5, 2009, No school safety system is ironclad). The assailant gained entry to the school when a student innocently held open a locked door for him to enter. Fortunately, the female student escaped and a teacher caught the man.

The article highlights that the school has a “responsibility to protect students from harm.” However, it is virtually impossible to “guarantee students will never be harmed.” The school is now reviewing its safety and security procedures to determine if this incident could have been prevented and to make any necessary changes to improve.

Overall, the school appears to have in place a comprehensive security system, including 71 camera views. Cle ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 4/3/2009 3:17 PM

Last summer, the St. Tammany Parish School Board began installing video surveillance cameras by using $2 million through a voter-approved bond initiative (Source: The Times-Picayune, March 31, 2009, Security cameras are helping St. Tammany teachers find the truth). According to the article, the cameras serve as a deterrent and are helping administrators investigate incidents more effectively. One principal even noted that the cameras have made staff at her school feel safer. Additionally, the district superintendent mentioned that they are “researching new lock systems for its schools, some of which are over 100 years old.”

Overall, as a representative of a company, Wren, which provides network video surveillance solutions, I’m thrilled about the staff feeling safer due to the increase of cameras. However, are the cameras the most important secu ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 3/27/2009 3:42 PM

Does your school employ armed security officers (Source: StatesmanJournal, March 18, 2009, School security will disarm)? Two campus security officers at Silverton High School in Oregon carry firearms, but this month the school board voted to disarm them due to liability issues because “any claim filed against them would fall back on the school district.”

According to the superintendent, no other school district in the state employs its own armed security. However, that’s not the case in other states across the country. Just this week SecurityInfoWatch.com reported that Memphis City Schools is trying to get a state legislation bill passed which would allow it to employ its own police force. In fact, other ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 3/20/2009 9:41 AM

Schools have a great deal of similarities, but each school also has its own unique attributes. This makes it critical for security professionals to design comprehensive campus security plans tailored to address their individual school’s attributes. With that in mind, Jeff Fields, an experienced physical security consultant, has outlined the critical steps necessary in creating a campus security plan (Source: Campus Safety Magazine, Mar/Apr 2009, 10 Steps to Creating a Campus Security Master Plan).

According to Fields, “To develop an effective plan, it is critical to document the campus’ security mission and physical security objectives, in addition to equipment and technology to be used in securing the campus. The security master plan must also take into consideration the impact and effect it will have on the population of the campus and the level of control needed ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 3/11/2009 3:46 PM

Earlier this week 75 police officers, detectives, emergency workers and school administrators attended a course on “School Bus Safety in a Post 9/11 Era” (Source: phillyBurbs.com, 3/10/2009, School buses seen as potential terrorist targets).

"Based on the assumption by the FBI, there will be further terrorist attacks and school buses are soft targets," said presenter Curtis Lavarello, the 23-year law enforcement veteran from Florida. "It's been found that children could be the next target for terrorists."

According to the article, “Police and school administrators need to better monitor their school bus yards and need to know if the buses are in a secure compound, who has access to the buses, are they monitored by guards ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 3/6/2009 4:40 PM

After recently highlighting school security and safety assessments, the events that took place at Woodstock High School in the Atlanta suburbs yesterday illustrate their importance (Source: The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, 3/6/2009, Woodstock principal: Emergency plans will be reviewed).

Just before 8 a.m., the campus was locked down after a student had stolen guns from his home and run away. Police and school personnel feared that the weapons would end up at school. Fortunately, police tracked down the missing student, as well as the guns and another potential perpetrator, and the school lifted the lock down later in the day.

Overall, the school’s principal says that his staff responded well to the crisis, but that the school would review its emergency plans to determine how they can improve. F ... Read More »

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 »