There was a time when parents received a phone call from school, it meant their child was ill. Now, a phone call from school is enough to put parents on edge.
Why?
They fear the worst news imaginable: there’s been an active shooter or other form of emergency at their child’s school. Even reports of violence or other emergencies at nearby schools is enough to make students, parents and teachers trepidatious. They may not feel safe in a once comfortable setting. School security professionals can help establish or reestablish that sense of safety and comfort.
Below, we’ll highlight some of the many benefits that school protection services can provide to communities.
Establishes A Safe Environment For Students, Faculty and Staff
Knowing that their school is protected by trained and certified security professionals offers greater peace of mind for students, families, faculty and staff.
The presence of school security professionals not only helps students feel safe from physical violence, it also helps support emotional safety, too. By removing these feelings of anxiety, students are able to focus their attention on the things that matter most: their education, activities and friendships.
Parents are able to function during the workday without worry about what will happen to their children should an emergency occur on school grounds. And the burden of being the only barrier between their students and potential harm no longer fall solely on teachers, administrators and staff.
Monitors And Controls Access Points
During the school day, teachers are busy instructing their students. School staff are tasked with the responsibility of managing budgets, paying invoices, and performing other administrative duties. The maintenance team is tasked with ensuring all operations are functioning properly.
None of these individuals have the bandwidth to monitor the various access points to prevent intruders from entering school grounds.
The vulnerability of school access points became glaringly apparent during the investigation of recent school emergencies that made national headlines.
This risk of intruders breaching aces points is greatly reduced with the implementation of school security professionals. One of the main responsibilities of school security officers is to monitor all access points to prevent breaches and react to potential threats from intruders immediately.
Reduces Assorted Disciplinary Issues
Threats to school safety are not just caused by external factors. Sometimes these threats are the result of internal factors.
The presence of security professionals on school premises deters students from engaging in acts of violence and various disciplinary infractions, including bullying, fighting, assault, sexual misconduct, harassment, threats, theft and vandalism.
By observing students’ behaviors and interactions, school security officers are able to identify potential issues, report aggressive students, and reduce the likelihood of further incidents and infractions.
Additionally, school security professionals also help students learn how to interact with authority figures. Since many children and teenagers do not often encounter law enforcement and security professionals, interacting with them every day forms a more meaningful relationship with these figures.
De-escalates Acts Of Violence On School Grounds
Teachers and staff are not properly trained to handle acts of violence that may occur on school grounds. The best they can do is to try to guide students to safety or put themselves in harm’s way to reduce risks to student safety.
This scenario can be avoided by adding professional security personnel to the school’s roster.
From breaking up fistfights between students to disarming assailants to using justified force to prevent violent intruders from harming students or staff, school security professionals have the proper training and certification to de-escalate these and other acts of violence.
Reacts In Real-Time To Emergencies
In the event of an emergency situation, immediately alerting the authorities is a high priority. Unfortunately, even the best response time from local authorities may be too late to prevent a tragedy. However, on-site security professionals can react to all manners of emergencies in real time.
Whether it’s efficiently and effectively evacuating the building during a fire or preventing an active shooter from harming students and staff, school security professionals provide a rapid and informed response to address the emergency and minimize risk.
Once authorities arrive on site, school security officers can communicate with them to brief them on the current situation and assist them if additional action is required.
Supports Faculty And Staff In Other Areas
In addition to the benefits listed above, school security professionals are also available to help teachers and staff with other responsibilities.
Security personnel can help faculty members manage fire and active shooter drills, manage crowd control activities during sporting and social events, and conduct an investigation and gather evidence if a teacher or student believes there is a credible threat to school safety.
Cardinal Point Security Provides Professional School Protection Services
Updating school security policies with the addition of security officers is no longer an interesting concept – it’s a necessity. Ensuring that schools remain a safe and nurturing environment for children, families, teachers and the community is of the utmost importance.
If your school system is currently vetting school security providers, be sure to consider Cardinal Point Security’s School Protection Services.
All of our school security professionals are trained and certified to effectively address and properly respond to a variety of everyday and emergency situations to ensure the continued safety of your students and staff.
For more information about our school protection services, contact our team today.