Protecting our Students & Educators – School/Campus Security Solutions

April 2018

Rene Salazar – 3BM Technical  Solutions

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The world as we know it has changed in America. Violence and shootings are at an all-time high, and there is no reason for this to be happening. There are discussions that it is a Mental Health issue, Gun Laws, lack of control or due diligence in determining who can have a gun and type of weapons that can be bought. They are all valid topics of concern, and should be addressed once and for all. Unfortunately our politicians are challenged to make changes to current laws in a timely manner. Our greatest investment in our country is our children’s future. Students will be doctors, engineers, lawyers, accountants, account executives, and our future workforce. We currently are challenged with doing what is right, versus not doing anything at all. There is no immediate federal resolution, and it appears there won’t be one anytime soon. Protests are ongoing, but what is it really doing besides creating awareness, anger, and confusion in our society? The core to finding a solution to minimize threats in a school is accountability, a strategic plan and safety measures. We must create a campus that makes it difficult for someone to enter a school campus and pose a threat. Technology has evolved to a point where there are solutions, but they are not being utilized properly. With the recent gun violence in schools, the immediate knee jerk reaction is to blame and demand safety for children. There is more that can be done to protect our children in schools, and there is a solution. Bringing together video, biometrics, face recognition analytics, access control, and managed services to a school, will provide enhanced security to a school. Using the right technology, a school can completely provide a safe environment and keep unauthorized individuals off campus. The goal is to bring this technology together, by designing a security solution that is efficient, affordable, manageable, and most importantly effective. Technology is available today to create a safe school/campus environment. Leveraging Security technology can deter, and reduce any attempts to compromise the safety of others at any school in America. Proper architecture and design using access security to enter a school, along with biometric and facial recognition cameras can be used to only allow authorized students and staff on campus. This would assist campus police and security in providing a safe environment.

Current Situation

There is no real solution that has been implemented considering the technological resources available today. The emphasis has been on government buildings, airports, and large venues. Schools are reliant on campus security and placed cameras throughout a campus. This is not a total solution, merely a snapshot of what is available and affordable.

•School Campus with Security: Cameras are installed with the focus to catch someone doing something once on campus. The cameras can assist with investigating a crime, or situation. Security guards or campus police are on campus to provide presence and order. It is well documented in recent years that this is not going to minimize or stop another attempt of gun violence on school grounds. There must be measures to not allow the event to happen on campus, or allow someone to pose as a threat. Creating a secure zone on campus where proper ID cards allow access only to those authorized students, and staff, which creates an environment of diligence for everyone. “See it, Report it”

•Historical Approach: Security guards, and cameras are present to act accordingly in the event of a fight, theft, or any act of wrong doing. Having a secure campus solution will provide a heightened awareness among the students and staff. Being authorized to enter a campus will make it difficult for someone that should not be on campus. When there has been a violent attempt to cause harm on campus, security measures are available to secure students in classrooms, and enhanced “Lock down” procedures to have students be safe. Card readers will also assist with determining where students are at all times. The only initiatives in place today, go back to 2002. The “Safe School Campus Initiatives, the focus was to add security staffing, and deal with internal roadblocks in the school system. This report was provided by Department of Education (ED) and United States Secret Service (USSS), 2002.

•Enhanced Security: Back packs should be checked at entry points to ensure a student is not bringing a weapon on campus. Similar to TSA procedures, a similar solution can be instituted. A campus will determine named entry and exit points for the school. Students will enter and swipe their ID card through a turn-style process. Bio-metric cameras are scanning individuals to ensure they are in the active student data base. All these features properly designed, can serve as a best case security solution based on the school campus design. Creating a safe campus for the students is the total objective.

State of the Art Security Technology Solutions

Technology has been developed to secure areas for government and military facilities for many years. This technology can be used for school campus security. It is a matter of identifying the technology, understanding its abilities and designing it to work at a specific school based on the infrastructure.

-Access Control Card Readers – Card readers distributed to students with their picture, name, and ID number will serve as authorized entry. The student will then only be able to access classrooms, and areas that the card has authorized entry too. This card is managed by the school or a managed service through a web based software. If a student is suspended, the card is deactivated. Students with ID cards can only enter designated school campus entry points. No card, no entry. They must go through the front office for authorization or issue of a temporary ID Card. The school can set benchmarks on how it is managed. Access control readers can be installed throughout the school as needed. This will be determined by the associated risk, and design of the schools perimeter. Entrance doors will be locked during campus and designated as such. Entry and exiting the school will be required through designated access points.

-Bio-metric/Facial Recognition Cameras - The cameras can be installed in major entrance areas and throughout the school. The camera will scan at high speed to match students to the data base. If a facial scan deems that the student is not in the database, an immediate alarm is activated, and notification is sent to school security. This will ensure that, only authorized students and staff are entering the school.

-Gunshot Detection – Technology devices that detect and response system designed to protect lives in an indoor active shooter incident. Through tri-factor authentication, the system provides instant gunshot notification to law enforcement and building security in seconds. Cloud-based response platform delivers real-tie, comprehensive data on a rapidly evolving event.

-Turn style Technology - Even though this will be a slight change to the past, it is a safe way to control access to a facility. The mindset should be that a school campus is now a secure facility. Turn styles are now designed to be able to move mass amounts of people in a short time. Professional stadiums use them, and they can move several thousands of people in a short time. With proper management of school schedules, mass amounts of students can be processed and provided a safe entry to a facility. This process would also be in reversed at the end of the day. Anyone arriving late to class, or having to leave early, would be processed through the front office.

-Bag Scanners – There is technology available such as you see at TSA locations that scan bags. There are ways to have security check bags at main entrance points to ensure no one is bringing a weapon on campus. Using clear bags similar to sporting events can serve as a quick pass for students. Those required to bring a backpack, would have to have their bag checked by security or a scanner.

-Software to manage - There is software available for access control. Any card issued to a student would be managed through this software application. It is recommended to use a 3rd party Managed Services to be able to supplement efforts at the school. Cards can be suspended, activated, and issued. The software technology can also serve as a time and attendance tool.

-Training – “SEE IT, REPORT IT”. The best security measure to ensure the students and staff are trained to recognize a potential threat, and report it immediately. It is vital for everyone to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings. Managed Services – Providing a service to have a facility be the eyes and ears of a school will supplement the needs of the management of security. This is a viable option and can be tailored to the school’s needs. The service can provide 24/7 Security, real time support, software management, reporting, and immediate connection to authorities in the event of a situation.

Technology is available and there are solutions to provide a school the proper safety to protect the greatest asset. Each school will have a unique requirement. Those requirements can be met through available security technology.

Gun Violence is not going to change in the near future. Statistics show there is a vast increase so something needs to be done now.

Recent school shootings:

NBC News has compiled a list of shooting incidents that have resulted in injuries and/or deaths at elementary, middle and high schools since the beginning of 2018. As of Feb. 14, a total of 20 people have been killed and more than 30 have been injured in these shootings.

Timeline Details

Feb. 14: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. (17 people killed, 14 injured)

Feb. 5: Oxon Hill High School in Prince George’s County, Maryland (1 student injured)

Feb. 1: Salvador Castro Middle School in Los Angeles, California. (2 students shot)

Jan. 23: Marshall County High School in in Benton, Kentucky (2 students killed, 18 injured)

Jan. 22: NET Charter High School in New Orleans, Louisiana (1 student injured)

Jan. 22: Italy High School in Italy, Texas (1 student injured)

Jan. 10: Coronado Elementary School in Sierra Vista, Arizona (1 student killed)

The media and politicians can spin this anyway they want. None of this will make schools safer. A school district can take action on their own to ensure they can keep their students safe, and not allow an intrusion that will risk lives. A school district can solicit ideas from experienced entities that can do a clear evaluation with the assistance of law enforcement to design a safe school campus. Guns will still be sold; the gun purchasing requirements won’t change in the near future, so schools can be proactive. Parents, administrators and local authorities are all looking for a solution. The technology is available, and resources are ready and waiting to be a resource to the schools. A clear plan can be instituted and executed with available resources today.

The Solution

The objective to minimizing and dealing with this national problem has a solution. Each school district must act on their own, leverage bond issues to fund the projects to protect our youth in the classroom. Guns will always be around, and the objective is to create a secure environment in a school campus. Schools need to reach out to technology experts to conduct immediate evaluations of creating a secure campus environment. This process is already in place in other facilities. It can be done on a school campus. The technology experts can review the current security in place. Then a detailed analysis can be provided of enhancements available to secure a school campus.

-Biometric/Facial Analytics – Cameras

-Access Control – Card Reader Technology

-Software to be used to manage who comes in and who goes out

-Turn Style Technology – Tracking traffic, and providing peace of mind of who enters

a school campus.

-Backpack check staging areas with surveillance

-Managed Services – Providing real time management of the technology and as a resource to the front office staff.

-Perimeter Campus Technology – Making a school campus a secure perimeter for day to day operations. Fencing, gates, and secure areas that does not allow entry without proper authorization.

-Training, Training and Training – Showing students, teachers, and staff the importance of safety, procedures, and “See it, Report it” procedures. Making every one diligent in the safety of others.

-Communications – Providing real time communications to parents, students and staff of activities, and creating a new environment of a secure school campus.

These are many technology resources available and experts available to help a school create a feasible and reliable plan of action. There is a paradigm shift with violence in our schools, and it is up to us to make the right decisions to protect innocent people. The current “Safe Campus Initiatives” are outdated, and need to be updated and revised. Leveraging technology development to provide a safe school campus environment is the real solution today.

3BM Consulting Solutions

3BM Consulting Solutions is a company with over 20 years of experience in technology services. Focus on providing real time solutions in Security, IP Applications, Secure Access, and Video. We have worked to create relationships with various technology experts that are ready to provide their technology as a solution for the customer. Our partnerships are with technology experts that can be assets to providing the right solution to a school. We have taken our experience to provide recommendations, and further implement solutions. We have researched the technology and are making the technology a resource to protecting people. Our experience enables us to fully understand the need and situation. Then provide a timely review and analysis and provide a solution.

3BM Technical Solutions

www.3bmconsulting.com

800-381-0207/480-695-4700

renesalazar@3bmconsulting.com

References and Links

NBC News – School Shooting

CNN – School Shooting

USA Today – School Shooting

https://securitytoday.com/articles/2018/02/16/surveillance-footage-aids-police-in-florida-school-shooting.aspx

Safe School Campus Initiative - https://www.nccpsafety.org/resources/library/the-final-report-and-findings-of-the-safe-school-initiative-implications-fo/

https://www.nccpsafety.org/assets/files/library/Prevention_of_School_Attacks.pdf

https://www.azcentral.com/search/school%20shooting/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/02/19/parkland-school-shootings-not-new-normal-despite-statistics-stretching-truth-fox-column/349380002/

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/14/florida-school-shooting-brings-yearly-tally-to-18-in-2018.html