EDITOR'S COMMENTARY

Schools Out For the Summer

• By Sydny Shepard
• June 01, 2019

For students, faculty and staff, summer break is a relaxing time of year. For those in the campus security industry, it is the perfect time to add upgrades to existing systems, retrofit for more enhanced safety and build upon the policies that have already been created.

This issue is filled with topics that campus security professionals and integrators should be touching up on in time for the summer break. With campuses empty and free of distraction, it is easy to implement changes on security measures such as VMS and access control as well as talk to those on your campus about more advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and geofencing.

David Corbin directly addresses how to maximize your summer window in his article, “Retrofitting from the Curb to the Core” on page 40. Corbin discusses an effective timeline schools should adhere to and suggests that all security assessments be done prior to summer break so that security professionals can get to work tackling new installations as soon as the hallways empty out. Corbin reminds readers to think outside the confines of the campus, to make sure any security assessments that were made include the parking lots and playground areas.

Also included in this issue is some food for thought on geofencing, which Todd Pazincni argues is not just for marketers on page 20. Pazincni says that geofencing is usually known as a way for marketers to ping those in the area with location-relevant information. Geofences, however, could be of great use to campus security professionals and their emergency communication. Pazincni says that implementing geofences could help to inform security staff of an incident quickly, with the added advantage of being able to report exactly where the incident is.

Speaking of more advanced technology, we have an article from Brett Whitney and Steven Dwek on “Securing Campuses with Innovative Technology.” The team from Carbyne does an excellent job at explaining how to up campus security through technology like artificial intelligence without having to sacrifice the privacy of your students, faculty and staff. “As campuses ramp up measures to safeguard the security of students, they must also take measures to protect the data privacy of those they see to protect,” Whitney and Dwek said in the article found on page 38.

One of the policies campus security professionals might be looking at this summer is their fire safety protocols and how these tie into their security solutions. In her article, “Integrating Fire Safety and Security Solutions in the Campus Environments,” April Musser discusses how the failure to develop a plan to integrated these two vitally important systems opens the door for intolerable risks. I recommend taking a look at this article for tips on navigating the line between fire safety and security to create a safer learning environment.

While you might not be hitting the beach any time soon, you can still put your feet up on your desk and get lost in some important reading that dives into access control, security staffing and video management systems.

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2019 issue of Campus Security Today.