In light of the tragic events at Virginia Tech schools around the US, and for the matter most of the world are reviewing their security. One such school is the Citadel in Charleston SC. This school has a beautiful campus and I was fortunate enough to have attended a friends wedding there. Now, the chains are going up. It is a sad reality but, a reality that we must accept. In Toronto recently there was a problem where a couple schools were subject to a trespasser that, in each case, was thankfully apprehended.
So, what can be done to improve matters? For starters locking external doors during school hours. The main door should be monitored by, a front desk with a reception/guard/CCTV. Also, an alerting system would also help in the event of a crisis. During the attack at Virginia Tech the klaxons sounded on campus but, in numerous interviews we heard students complain that they couldn’t hear them in their classes.
This is a problem.
OK, so another way to address this would be to tie the alerting system in the fire control. If there is a fire alarm you can be darn sure that everyone will hear it. Whether or not they pay attention is another thing entirely. But, a fire alarm could have multiple types of alerts. One sound pattern could indicate a fire, another a lock down.
SMS could be leveraged as a warning system as well. Email, while a leading subject of addiction research in this day and age, is not reliable as it would be of little good to most people in traffic (ie. sans blackberry). At Virginia Tech we saw this very logistical challenge. SMS, while not 100% reliable is slightly better when you take into account the vast numbers of cell phones in circulation today. At least there would be a better chance of warning students that might already be enroute to school. A problem with this idea can be seen in the recent ban that was implemented in Toronto public schools.
“The bells, the buzzing, the whistles, that isn’t the place for that kind of tool.”
And he notes that schools aren’t exactly a democracy. “Some kids think this is a given right, that they can use a cell phone anywhere they wish.”
But many students see them as a necessity.
“I need my cell phone to contact my parents whenever there’s a time of need,” argues Grade 11 student Jaselle Ricketts.
While I can understand the teachers wanting the undivided attention of the students on the one side. I have to agree with the arguments of student, Jaselle, above.
Some ideas for improving alerting? In addition to email alerts, use SMS. Not foolproof but, a start nonetheless. Leverage fire systems. Newer ones have the ability to issue different tones and patterns. Educate your students on a lock down drills and the types of audible alerts. There is no iron clad solution for this type of violence. If this problem is approached with the idea of defense in depth this will go a long way to helping safe guard against future incidents.
It’s very easy to second guess parties after the fact when there is a tragic event such as Virginia Tech. What I believe would be far more productive at this point would be to learn from this tragedy and help to improve security at schools around the world.
[tags]Virginia Tech, VT, Campus Security, Physical Security[/tags]