INCREASING SCHOOL SECURITY
Concepts to Keep Our Students Safe
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By Michael Panish
Door, Lock, & Security Equipment
Expert & Consultant
Michael Panish, Door, Lock & Security Equipment Expert Witness &
Consultant, shares his ideas to help develop safer school environments
for the nation's children.
In December of 2012 a gunman broke into Sandy Hook Elementary School in
Connecticut and viciously murdered 20 children and 6 administrators. Adding
Sandy Hook Elementary School to a growing list of other tragic school
shootings confirms that any educational institution should be considered
a viable target for future attacks.
One of the most important issues that pertain to securing any building
has to do with creating controlled zones of penetration. As nobody wants
to send their children into a potentially dangerous situation, school
buildings may have to institute some of the security features common to
a modern penitentiary. Although nobody wants to feel caged or enclosed,
it is a good idea to incorporate the many tiers of isolation elements
that are common to a jail, only in a reverse application. The idea of
developing a conceptual MOAT may prove to be the most effective way to
gain control from outside intruders. In the case of a jail, the systems
in place are designed to control the inmate population from leaving the
facility.
The MOAT [i] concept of security should be put in place in our schools and will attempt to isolate and
protect our students from potential outside intruders. In the real world
application of the MOAT concept, there will not be a body of water surrounding
our modern schools. Try to conceptually visualize the kind of security
that was considered one of the primary defenses to many medieval castles.
The original purpose of a MOAT was to dissuade outsiders from gaining
entry or making an assault against the occupants of the interior area
of the fortified castle surround. The MOAT created an element of separation
that was both a visual deterrent and an actual physical barrier to provide
one of several defense elements to stop the breach of the fortified castle
walls. Single points of entry were then guarded, and a draw bridge was
utilized to limit the incoming and outgoing visitors to the castle. Walkways,
ports and towers were created where guards could be stationed to observe
great distances of the surrounding area. In many ancient structures, buildings
were located in the midst of vast open areas or placed in locations with
limited access. These castle structures became the only safeguard for
the general public where commerce and a quality of life could be assured,
as opposed to being outside the castle walls and being subjected to ambush
or attack.
What modern methods and systems can we incorporate from these medieval
MOAT concepts to keep our students safe?
Unfortunately, security and safety of our students will mean limiting some
overall personal freedoms. As security checkpoints have become common
to airports, sporting events, and concerts, schools may have to incorporate
systems that limit access, control spaces, and divide buildings into compartments,
similar to ship's watertight areas. The concept of keeping a ship
afloat by closing off leaking compartments works effectively as an analogy
to providing secured areas throughout a modern building. Many buildings
currently have lobby areas that limit access to the rest of the building
through manned reception desks, elevator controlled entries, or other
discriminating devices. Schools will need to become more sophisticated
and aware of how to create perimeters that protect the students, administration
and teachers.
The first aspect to secure any building is to create a secure and easily
observable perimeter. With modern systems such as video surveillance and
tracking cameras, all outside activities can be followed. Perhaps a gate
system that limits entrance to the general campus of the school needs
to be installed.
Once a visitor is identified, the second line of security should involve
barriers that provide controlled entrance. If the area we are attempting
to secure is the main entrance of the building, the development of a sally
port may be the solution. Sally ports are multiple gated enclosures often
employed to contain inmates while transferring between secured areas.
A person would enter the exterior gate, become contained in a secure location,
and after verification of identity or proving intent, would be allowed
to enter yet another secure and isolated area by gaining access through
the interior gate. This secondary isolated area could be a portion of
the hallway lobby where the guest would wait until further access was
allowed or rejected. Security procedures that are currently not a regular
part of the operating school systems can be established to control access
and secure the more regulated internal areas, hallways and ultimately
classrooms. An example of a sally port is often found in many local jewelry
stores. There are gated systems that restrict the entrance and exit of
a customer, in hope of protecting the store from robberies and the jewelers
from personal harm. There have been reported cases where an attempted
robbery was stopped when the thief became trapped in a sally port area
trying to leave the store.
There are many types of attack resistant materials that can be incorporated
into the retrofitting and construction of secured enclosures. New school
construction could utilize the best current technologies to protect the
occupants of the facility. Older existing schools need to be retrofitted
and adapted to incorporate a reasonable layer of defense components. I
was recently asked about a security system installed in a local school
which required card keyed access. In essence, a card reader is no more
secure than a metal key we are all used to carrying. This type of access
control is a false sense of security that is being proposed by some school
districts. While the cost of installing a card system is significantly
higher than a normal conventional metal key lock, the money is not well
spent. A card reader can restrict and provide access to specific areas;
however, cards can be used to gain access by the wrong people, just like
a conventional metal key. Bullet proofing an area is an option, but there
is a limit to what will be accomplished if done incorrectly.
Every school is unique in the requirements that must be met to provide
a higher level of security. There are many areas of security that are
intentionally omitted from this article that must be discussed and addressed
with each location. Schools are going to have to reach a level of security
that is acceptable to the users of those locations. There are dozens of
different devices that could greatly improve security within a short period
of time, but they all come with associated costs. To determine the level
of acceptable security for a school, the administration and governing
agencies must be properly educated in the options that are available.
It is important that funds allocated for these security improvements be
well spent. I have already experienced many school districts' panic
and the need to seek an immediate cure for the problem. Often, government
funds come along with government burdens. Requirements to administer projects
take up significant portions of allocated funding. Money that is earmarked
for increasing the security in schools is also subject to many dishonest
and self-interested contractors.
There are immediate solutions to increase the security of our classrooms,
not all of these security elements need to come with a high cost of administration
and project management. I have recently been involved in a local school
district conflict where an unscrupulous contractor claimed that all of
the schools doors and hardware were unsafe for the occupants of the school
buildings. Using the method of screaming "FIRE" in a crowded
theatre, this unscrupulous contractor conned the town into installing
new hardware without getting verification from other outside sources or
other bids to accomplish the project. The town was severely taken advantage
of by this contractor, and the vast majority of benefit for the project
was realized by the contractor, not the school district.
The need for increased security in the schools of our country is real.
The likelihood of future school shootings is high. Now is the time to
analyze and develop a realistic plan to protect our school students and
staff. Prudent and sophisticated methods will result in significant increases
in the overall level of security, if properly implemented.
Mike Panish is a licensed Door, Lock, and Security Equipment contractor
in the State of California. Mike is also a General Building Contractor
and Electrical Contractor. Mike Panish has participated in governmental
security improvement projects during the past twenty five years as a specialty
contractor. He has been involved in installing and developing security
products for courtrooms, jails, office buildings, government agencies,
banks, hospitals, hotels, and most commercial venues. His door and hardware
company routinely works in schools, hotels and hospitals. His crews have
designed and installed overt and covert security surveillance systems
throughout the state. Mike is a nationally recognized expert witness that
has been retained, consulted and testified in court on security cases
involving door and hardware issues and security breaches leading to rape,
murder, abuse and assault for clients of all ages. Mike is available to
consult and assist any organization wishing to develop a safer environment.
More information on Mike Panish and his services can be found at
www.ConstructionWitness.com.
Copyright: Michael Panish 1/08/2013