With the public's heightened awareness of physical security, schools across the country are being asked to improve safety for their students, staff, and faculty through the use of school access control.
Unfortunately, many schools place too much emphasis on a small number of basic security philosophies and don’t realize the importance of school access control systems and their many benefits.
Is your school’s cloud access control security policy comprehensive enough to protect your staff and students from potential threats? A comprehensive cloud-based access control security policy can assist you in protecting your school and preventing outside threats from being able to gain access.
Below, we’ll discuss the importance of schools implementing access control in their security protocols, various components that should be included, and a brief checklist to ensure your school has everything it needs to keep your students and staff safe at all times and control access to your school community.
Continue reading below to learn more and find out how to choose access control solutions that will keep your school environment safe 24/7.
Importance of Access Control System in School Security
The importance of being safe and secure cannot be overstated in a culture characterized by insecurity. Access control in schools is an important part of any educational organization's strategy and is a modern and efficient means of assuring access to specific areas of school premises.
As the technology we use evolves and security methods are updated, school administrators must adapt to the shift to the future. Here are some of the numerous benefits that access control can offer your school.
Improved Security
Intruders can appear in a variety of disguises, such as visitors, wards, or parents, and so go undiscovered. Cloud access control systems are extremely useful for this reason.
Such systems' security not only prevents intrusion but also includes a warning bell that sounds if a security breach occurs. The system is designed to enable fast response in the event of a security breach, allowing school management the ability to respond proactively depending on the level of threat.
Integrates with Video Surveillance
By integrating your surveillance video with your access control system, you can create multi-faceted security measures with a modern access control system. You can also set it up to capture a video every time a door is opened, making two formidable tools.
This reduces the possibility of intruders getting into school grounds unobserved until it is too late. Response time will be significantly decreased, and attacks will be avoided before they occur.
Logging and Reporting
Numerous incidents may occur on school campuses, but an access control system is an excellent tool for the school to monitor such actions. Each time access is provided to a property, the system logs and records the time, place, and identity of the person.
This aids in conflict resolution and provides a complete, unbiased view of what happened. The occurrence of access control systems in elementary schools gives management the comfort of an audit trail that can be retrieved at any time and will help curb mischief by either staff or students.
Improved Access Management
For most schools with several access points, managing them all effectively becomes a nightmare. They frequently encounter a security staff shortage, forcing them to concentrate their efforts on high-risk areas. This leaves the remaining access points unprotected and subject to attack.
Instead, a school security system may automatically notify local authorities or security guards of any breaches or other issues in real-time, allowing them to respond fast to breaches in security locks. Security access systems allow for access to be tailored based on one's designation.
Easily Approve or Deny Access
Students and staff members occasionally leave the school for a number of reasons. Despite the fact that work is routinely done to ensure that they have returned all school property in their possession, including keys—some of them nonetheless manage to keep possession—which poses a significant security risk.
With access control, even if they keep their smart cards and passwords, their access PIN or access cards are removed from the security system, rendering them unable to acquire access.
School Security Checklist
A strong physical security solution does not come in one size fits all. Every school is unique, and security requirements change over time. School security systems must protect the perimeter as well as the sensitive data and information that is continuously in motion.
Here is a brief school security checklist to help you ensure you have considered all of the various possibilities that can occur at your school.
Perimeter Security
Check the site perimeter for security and access flaws, and identify areas that may require extra security or restrictions.
Fencing, automatic gates, and barriers are all methods available to manage a school's security as well as successfully control traffic flow, parking, and day-to-day security.
CCTV
A well-planned and up-to-date CCTV system should form the foundation of any school security solution.
Modern CCTV cameras are particularly effective in low light and include a plethora of video analytics such as license plate recognition or virtual trip wires to boost security applications.
Door Entry System
The ability to visually check the identity of any visitor to the school before allowing them in is a simple but extremely powerful tool. Larger facilities, such as those with a school having separate buildings, benefit from having access cards in many systems to facilitate visitor entrance access.
Visitor Management
A visitor management system ensures that all visitors are counted and easily identified using visitor ID badges. It can also be coupled with your cloud-based access control solution to restrict guests' or contractors' access to certain areas on site.
Choose Action 1st Loss Prevention to Install Your School Access Control Systems
As technology evolves and innovates, and security techniques are updated—the educational sector must adapt to the shift to the future.
Establishing security that incorporates a mix of all of the philosophies mentioned above will keep the program flexible—and ready to manage any potential hazards that may arise. Luckily, access control systems limit where an intruder can enter the school community, considerably increasing the safety of students and staff.
Do You Want to Implement Access Control Systems? We Can Help!
At Action 1st Loss Prevention, we have the tools and expertise to help schools and educational institutions in the Orange County area and surrounding communities find the right access control solutions for their needs—and make the necessary upgrades to ensure 100% school safety and security.
With over 30 years of commercial security experience, we can help your company find the access control security solution that meets your school's needs and budget.
For a free consultation and to find out more about how we can help your business stay protected, contact us at 800-675-3015 at Action 1st Loss Prevention today!
