In recent years, we have seen far more school violence than we can fathom. The safety of innocent students and teachers should be our utmost priority. We have seen people talk about change but it never happens, and it is up to the school and administrator to make a decision. Students are our future and we cannot let another school violence take it away from them.
There are certain steps we can take to make our school safe. Such as making an emergency plan, cameras, school security services, mental health supports, and drills. We can hire a high school security guard in Los Angeles as we have seen others do. Here is a list of precautions we can take to safeguard our schools from any violence.
How to elevate School Security?
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Emergency Plans and Protocols
Every school must have an emergency plan or protocol in the event of an incident. NIMS and ICS provide a standard plan to safeguard the premises and guide on how to proceed. Make a detailed action plan for every scenario and make them available to all teachers and students.
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Limited Entry to the School Ground
Schools should have a limited entrance directly connected to the building from the outside. Once we limit the number of entries, we reduce the chance of someone entering the area without getting noticed. By limiting the entry to the school, we can monitor the incoming and outgoing of everyone. We can easily spot any strangers and take action.
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Surveillance Cameras
81% of schools in the US have a surveillance camera in the building and the surrounding area. CCTVs extend access to all common areas in the school where students and teachers could gather. Cameras can monitor activities and we can use the footage for investigation. CCTV can discourage anyone who has ill intentions. Make sure to clear out any dark spots in the area that we cannot monitor with CCTV, a school security services can help you with that.
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Anonymous Reporting Systems
Students can always find out about security risks their classmates possess. But they don’t want to be known as snitches or tattle-tale. By creating a system where students can report anonymously to the staff, we can prevent incidents. Set up a suggestion box, or student hotlines, or create a campaign to inform an adult about any situation before it takes turn for the worse.
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Drills and Lockdown
Fire drills are mandatory in every school and we should create drills for other emergencies as well. Armed assailant drills are performed by many schools nowadays. Just like fire drills, we should make them mandatory and make it regular so that students and staff members can get adjusted to them. A school lockdown is another option. A school lockdown procedure is activated to protect students and school members from any harm. All doors, windows, and entries should be locked immediately, students and teachers need to find a hiding spot and call the police.
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Provide a Support System
All of the school shooting cases associated with students could have been prevented if they had received support in time. Mental health is one of the core factors in any of the incidents and all of the assailants just needed counseling and guidance.
You may also explore: Different Types of Security Guards: What Do They Do?
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Social Media Monitoring
We can use social media as an effective tool to monitor activities and trends associated with the school. In most cases, student assailant always posts something out of the ordinary before acting. We can catch that in time and prevent it quickly. This is also useful to find harmful activities done by students that could damage the school’s properties.
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Community Relation
Schools should always connect with the community they live in. Community relation plays a key part in preventing any incidents. When teachers and parents know each other, they can find out more about students’ mindsets. We can easily avoid school shootings if parents are made aware of their children’s behavior. Community interaction also allows us to introduce police officers to a better-suited environment. Regular visits by firefighters, doctors, and police officers to the school can create awareness.
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School Security Services
We can hire security services for educational facilities to protect our school. They have the training to assess any threats and diffuse the situation early without any harm. Security guards can prevent unauthorized visitors from entering school grounds, bullying, violence, vandalism, and more. Security Guard Services by trained professionals will help in creating a safety protocol for the school.
Conclusion
Incident of school violence has increased to 75% in the last 2 years alone. Students and teachers do not feel safe about it and we have seen massive protests about it too. There are no easy ways to prevent it but we can take a small and effective step toward securing our schools and campus. Many schools are now hiring high school security guards in Los Angeles and other areas around the country. There are several security services like Citiguard that can provide trained guards for School Security Services who can deter those who wish harm.