Security Pros Debate Impact of Virginia Tech 1 Year Later

March 31, 2008 SSI Staff

Fiel: One of the biggest challenges is changing the mindset of many administrators and parents that a Virginia Tech-type incident cannot happen on their campus. It can and it’s happening more frequently. Campus shootings have occurred across the country and generally in small- to medium-sized communities. This is not an urban, big-city phenomenon.

The main differences between the lower and higher levels of education are the age of the students and the openness of the campuses. It is obviously easier to control access into a 500-student elementary school campus than at a 25,000-student university. No one wants our campuses to look like prisons and they don’t have to, but we need to step up and make every effort to protect students, staff and visitors through some of the security solutions such as video surveillance, access control and communications.

Jeff Roepsch (account executive, Education Solutions, Johnson Controls, Milwaukee): Each type of school has unique challenges depending on whether you are working with a state school, technical school or private school. When looking at this market as a whole, one of our top challenges is working with a large number of stakeholders. These include parents, tax payers, foundations and donors, and faculty.

West: Each campus is unique, but often there is a tension between creating open accessible comfortable campus environments that foster the free exchange of ideas, and ensuring the security and safety of the campus population. It’s hard to reconcile the two and balance them so both imperatives are met.

What specific types of solutions do you believe are most effective in this market? How do you convince those end users of the value of electronic security?

Doi: In order to secure an institution from both internal and external threats, a holistic approach must be taken. This includes a dependable access control system with secure credentials, integrated CCTV cameras, a notification system, manned security points and patrols, and even a possible redesign of the structures, fences, etc., to eliminate blind spots and control traffic flow. One solution doesn’t fit every campus, so a professional security assessment is recommended. Our goal is to educate end users on the benefits of electronic security as an addition to manpower, not a replacement for it.

Ford: It is also very important for schools to look at solutions that allow them to a
djust and grow over time as their needs change. By and large, schools are not in the financial position to scrap security implementations or to start from scratch. Too often school administrators get caught in the trap of concentrating on the current criminal act and miss the opportunity to employ a scalable security program. In the school environment, guards and police should play a vital role in the overall security plan.

Koziol: Card access on building exteriors and high security interior doors – security solutions that let us address security down to the student room level in colleges and universities – eliminate key distribution and handle key control issues. CCTV [can be used] for higher end as there typically is a full-time staff to utilize in somewhat of a proactive means.

West: Intelligent, efficient technologies that reinforce and support campus security staff operations – ones that help them quickly assess threats then respond accordingly – are part of it. Another important aspect is a system that turns data into relevant information and puts it in the hands of responders so they can react to threats.

Do you believe Virginia Tech-like incidents will subside or is it a long-term, ongoing issue? What sort of growth do you anticipate in providing security solutions for educational institutions?

Budinoff: I don’t think that troubled people will ever go away, so these incidents are very likely to continue as long as the news media places such emphasis on it. We expect to see double-digit growth in that sector for a long time to come.

Doi: Unfortunately, I fear that these types of incidents will continue to occur. Even if they don’t happen very often, the threat is always there. There will continue to be tremendous growth in security solutions for educational institutions.

Koziol: Typically these types of incidents provide two things. The first, if a campus was previously considering implementing these types of solutions, it helps to push that campus ‘over the edge’ to taking action. Secondly, it creates a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction from some customers who communicate a false sense of desire to truly want to change security technology implementation on their campus. When things subside for a period, they crawl back into complacency.

Garcia: Without a true school safety and security program in place that addresses every layer of safety and security including behavioral intervention, this will remain an ongoing issue. We are confident that as more schools, which are the largest and fastest growing sector in the construction industry today, are built and the awareness of how vulnerable schools really are is increased, the need for security solutions will rise.

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