Security Firm Offers School-Specific Products

Long before Joe Clark famously chained the doors to his school shut to control the flow of people in and out of the building, security has been a critical educational issue. In the 20 years since Clark’s bold mandate, the security concerns of school administrators have expanded beyond inner-city gang members to include suburban outcasts, sexual predators and even terrorists. It is because of this diversity in threats to schools that ADT, a national security firm, has an entire department specializing in school-based security issues.

“We protect over 15,000 K-12 schools, so we know this is an important issue,” said Patrick Fiel, Public Safety Advisor for ADT.

While ADT is in the business of selling security products, Fiel said that, for schools, it’s not about throwing money at what is perceived as a problem. He suggests a more calculated and measured approach when examining a school’s need for security.

“We suggest that administrators conduct what we call a risk assessment,” Fiel said. “This will determine their needs, which will apply to the types of technology they will use. So it’s a critical step, rather than going out saying, ‘I think I need a camera system.’ You need to verify that and understand exactly what your needs are for that camera system.”

He went on to say that many times he’ll come into a school that has already spent a considerable amount of time and money on solutions that are ill matched for its needs. He suggests looking at the school through the eyes of someone who has never been there before.

“They see the same things every day, so [school staff] might not register,” Fiel said. “Crime prevention through environmental design is very critical, so look at landscaping, look at lighting, look at fencing. A lot of campuses have overgrowth where, in the past, we’ve found weapons in the bushes, drugs in those areas, even people hiding in the bushes. So you need to think about if you have a lot of these “blocked areas” where even if you have cameras, you won’t be able to see it anyway. By looking for these types of things, you can also target these areas for cleanup and eliminate the hiding places.”

One school that is serviced by ADT is Woodstock High School in Woodstock, GA. Principal Bill Sebring said that despite the general size of his facility (2,000 students), there is no real need for anything beyond a fairly basic camera system.

“ADT has been a terrific partner with our school system,” Sebring said. “We currently have 26 cameras set up between our high school and middle school, which are connected. They are all monitored by our school police officers in their office here at the school.”

Those cameras target all of the high traffic areas of the school including the parking lots, cafeteria and social gathering locations. Sebring said that the combination of cameras and on-site police presence leads to a firm sense of security among his students and staff. He believes that the sense of security allows for a better learning environment. He said when the students and staff aren’t worried about safety, they can focus on the tasks at hand.

“The cameras really help us to keep track of who’s here,” Sebring said. “Right now, when a visitor comes in, they enter right into our office, where they receive a temporary visitors’ badge that is printed on the spot and has their picture on it. So we can easily identify who are visitors are. Through the cameras, we can track them as they walk through the school. Sometimes we get parents who might get lost, so we’re able to help them out.”

Woodstock was built in 1996, so it is a relatively new facility. It was built with a distinct security plan in mind. Some of the older schools in America don’t have this luxury, so there is a level of planning that is required when putting together a security plan.

“I was in an older school for a while before I came to Woodstock, so I know what that can be like,” Sebring said. “We had to go through and retro-fit some of the cameras because a lot of the hallways were more narrow, and the cafeterias were much smaller 50 years ago when the building was built. But even the older schools in our district have very solid security systems in place.”

Sebring admits that the costs associated with security are substantial, but said that both the district and the community fully support the expenditures.

“We’ve hung our hat on this issue,” Sebring said. “We don’t make any bones about it; we take this stuff very seriously. When I started years ago, it used to be I’d dial 911 if we had a problem. Now I have a police officer in the office next to me.”

Article by Jason Tomaszewski, EducationWorld Associate Editor
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