Having a good physical security infrastructure in place—access control, video surveillance, security teams, etc.—is important for the safety and security of your school. There also must be an ongoing process to keep that system updated and regularly monitored. A good way to make sure your students, teachers and staff are as safe and secure as possible is to do a Summer Clean Up: identify any parts of the system that aren’t working at optimal performance, make sure all parts are fully integrated, and, as needed, upgrade to new technologies. This way, risks can be mitigated before there is a serious security breach. Here are two tips to make sure your security system is operating at peak effectiveness.
Tip #1: Check all physical entrances and exits and identify/rectify vulnerabilities to unauthorized entry.
- Inspect the locking hardware on all perimeter doors; network closet and machine room doors; and administrative suite and restroom doors. Repair or replace as necessary.
- Change door lock and security system key cylinders for missing keys. Consider upgrading to electronic access control to eliminate the cumbersome and challenging task of managing physical keys.
- Ensure that all staff and faculty who require afterhours access to the building have proper security credentials.
- Check access card assignments to make sure that each card can be accounted for or get a listing of unused cards from your Security Provider.
Tip #2: Assess current security policies and procedures to make sure they refer to clear, comprehensive, and well-defined plans and practices.
- Review your existing security policies and procedures and update/develop new policy statements to address new risks.
- Ensure your policies and procedures are available to everyone. Conduct annual procedure training for all existing and incoming staff.
- Confirm that everyone understands the policies and procedures with a signed acknowledgement form.
- Review your call protocols and chain of command procedures to ensure the correct individuals are notified in the event of an incident.
Already have security components but unhappy with your service provider? Kastle can integrate existing equipment, leverage your initial investment and upgrade your system at the same time. To learn more about Kastle’s approach to managed security for schools, simply contact us at schoolsecurity@kastle.com.
