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SECURITYWATCH Industry news powered by Find the Cygnus Security Media publications at www.securityinfowatch.com School Security: Under the Microscope By Deborah L. O'Mara Securityinfowatch.com covered a number of breaking and in-depth stories regarding school security following the tragedy in Newtown, Conn. You can find all the coverage at www.securityinfowatch.com or check out the "Additional Resources" box on these pages. SD&I; magazine contacted a number of dealers and systems integrators to get their perspective on school security. Many urged a "back to basics" approach of laying security and various levels of perimeter protection and detection. School security has increasingly been in the news because of the recent tragedy in Newtown, Conn., raising awareness by end users of measures that may need to be taken to make their facilities safer. Dealers and integrators know that no one system can prevent crimes and shootings, but overall they advocate layering security tactics. Others urged additional CCTV cameras and access control, as well as emergency notification and even panic buttons and regular practice drills with lockdowns. Since the tragic shooting (see related story on these pages for details on some of the deadliest school shootings) there have been calls for more gun control and even some advocating armed guards in schools, pistol-packing principals, teachers with wireless or other duress/panic buttons and even day-long lockdowns. One consensus is almost always a given: Anyone in security knows there's no 100 percent foolproof security system. Many of the integrators who focus on the school vertical markets—from K-12 to universities, are reinforcing 10 their back-to-basics approach with current and prospective customers who are calling their offices fresh off one of the worst school shootings in our history. Perimeter security and layering detection and protection designed to slow down attacks, is an approach many continue to take. We went to several systems integrators across the country to get their perspective on the tragedy, how their business has been impacted and what their thoughts are on school security overall. Robert J. Beck, president, R.J. Beck Protective Systems Inc., Norwalk, Ohio, was unaware that the shooting had taken place, and was wondering why phone calls from existing school customers were coming in fast and furious. "Friday afternoon we were getting many calls from our existing school customers, asking about additional access control or completing the last phase of their security system program upgrade. At first, I didn't know why, because I hadn't been watching or listening to the news. Then, I realized the magnitude of what had happened," he said. "These customers were asking about access control, cameras and panic buttons. At R.J. Beck Protective Systems, we have always been a proponent of levels of security in schools, to slow down any incident. Unfortunately, you'll never prevent it, but you slow down events so occupants have time to get out, or first responders have time to act. We also advocate 'sally ports' which are basically man traps where you can restrict entry to certain points of the protected premises prior to admittance." "We are also torn between life safety and the need for egress in the event of a fire, so this has to be considered. In the example of Sandy Hook, there should not have been glass at the entrance to the facility. Bullet proof (ballistic) glass is cost-prohibitive, so we advise against www.SecurityInfoWatch.com | SD&I; | January 2013