School shootings have become a major motivator for improving the security of school districts in the U.S. According to EveryTown Research. Since 2013 there have been more than 635 school shootings across the country.

One of the best ways to mitigate this risk is to deploy policies, procedures, and technologies that keep unwanted visitors from gaining access to a campus. Convergint and Milestone have partnered to combine video security, access control, and a wide range of integrated open platform security technologies with a video management system (VMS), school districts can create an effective first line of defense for education facilities and save valuable time during an emergency event.

Three Components of School Security

There are three essential components to an effective security program:

  • The organization’s safety and security policies and procedures

  • Trained personnel to enforce the policies and procedures

  • Technology tools to help the personnel execute the policies and procedures

Of the many physical security options available, network video surveillance offers the unique ability to provide real-time visual verification of situational awareness and recorded video data for incident evaluation. Additionally, this data can be monitored on-site, on mobile devices, or remotely. Open platform video also enables integrated operations with a wide range of other security and information systems, including access control and video analytics such as motion detection, directional monitoring, and virtual periphery tripwires to alert for faster response time.

Perimeter Security Layer

Security professionals agree that physical security can be thought about as layers, with the perimeter as the first line of defense. Schools must detect and prevent unwanted intruders from entering their secure space. For example, more schools are building entry vestibules—a single, controlled access point that prevents visitors entering without authorization.

This approach creates a control point where a visitor enters the vestibule and is visually verified via camera or identified by staff at the front desk. Then, the visitor is either allowed or denied access into the controlled area.

Mobile Video for Emergency Response

In the event of an emergency, school districts can work with local emergency responders, including police and fire departments and local homeland security officials, to provide access to incident response, live or recorded. Any dispatch center, police vehicle, or fire authorities that have computer access can see what is happening to evaluate optimal actions.

Using a map-based interface to the school district’s VMS, officers can quickly navigate campus buildings and click on logically-named camera locations. This capability could save valuable response time during an emergency.

Deploy, Plan, and Prepare

Having a successful security strategy in place means making sure that all physical aspects of a security system—cameras, remote and mobile monitoring applications, access control systems, networks, intercoms, emergency exits, perimeter sensors, lighting, and other safety aids—are installed properly and fully functional.

To learn more about how Convergint and Milestone work together to secure schools with video and access control technology, contact Convergint today.