School districts – whether staffed by private security guards or community police officers – can improve their depth of security coverage by integrating their on-site security with electronic access controls and verified video and audio electronic security hardware.
This combination provides an extra set of eyes and ears to protect campus properties more completely, especially in remote areas with a finite number of officers.
“A security guard or campus police officer can only cover a limited amount of square footage,” notes Sonitrol Great Lakes Education Market Director Clay Crost. “Having electronic backup can put the officer in the right place at the most crucial time.”
And now, with a shortage of school security officers reported by several area school districts, including Detroit Public Schools, the need for enhanced protection has never been greater.
Detroit Public Schools, struggling to address a shortage of 40 guards, has been moving guards from schools with fewer safety issues to schools with more.
The shortage in Detroit, and at schools around the country, has been exacerbated in part by the pandemic, when the district needed fewer security guards because fewer students were in buildings. But now, as most students and teachers return to in-person learning, Detroit and other school districts face many of the same difficulties the private sector trying to find hourly employees.
School districts must continually seek new and innovative ways to secure their sites. Electronic access control and monitoring systems offer a wider range of protection than a single security officer can, and a great cost savings.
Sonitrol Great Lakes believes the safety of students and staff members is the main concern of everyone tasked with security, and we should never stop looking for new ways to keep our school campuses safe and secure. Contact us to learn more about enhancing your security system.