Campuses Across the Country are Beefing Up Football Game Security

Campuses Across the Country are Beefing Up Football Game Security

Football games could be a potential soft target for an active assailant.

With the back-to-school season comes the return of high school football. These sporting events vary in sizes across the county, but are all equally important due to their potential to be soft targets, or a place that is relatively vulnerable to attack.

Due to recent violence on campuses, schools have begun to enhance their security measures inside and outside the school building. Many districts are expanding their security measures to sporting events, pep rallies and extracurricular academic events.

For example, Sarasota, Fla. has employed a retired NYPD terrorism unit officer to help create security plans around large events, including football games. 

"We were tasked with planning all of the details, parades, presidential visits. We got to plan the Papal visit," Officer Michael Halpin told a local news station about his old job. "[High school football games] are a little smaller, but just as important, if not more important."

Halpin has created operation plans for each of the football games. Included in the operation plans are plans for injury, who is guarding the cash booth, how people are scanned on their way in and what to do in the event of an emergency.

At least two officers will be at every game along with officers from the local municipalities as they partner to tackle security.

"We have remote view cameras on poles that we trailer out to events and they will be strategically placed," Sarasota Schools Police Chief Paul Grohowski said. "At our Operations Command Center, we will have extra people to monitor, not just the fixed cameras on the facilities, but also to watch the temporary cameras to see what's going on in the parking lots."

Other schools around the country are starting football games earlier, adding metal detectors to entrances and banning bags from the event area to boost the security of the games.

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

  • How a Rural School District Enhanced Safety, Reduced Vaping, and Improved Efficiency by Modernizing Security

    As educational leaders, our primary mission is creating safe, productive learning environments where our students can thrive. Today, that unfortunately means addressing ever-evolving challenges that range from security threats to the growing epidemic of student vaping, all while managing tight budgets and (for many of us) geographically dispersed facilities. Read Now

  • Turning Surveillance Into Strategy: AI’s Role in Driving Proactive Security

    Video surveillance has long been part of the campus safety toolkit, indispensable for investigating security incidents after they occur and a valuable tool for proactive deterrent. Read Now

  • A.C. Camargo Cancer Center Enhances Security, Patient Care with Help from Advanced Video Surveillance

    A.C. Camargo Cancer Center, a leading oncology treatment center in São Paulo, Brazil recognized for its history of innovation, today announced that its partnership with Axis Communications has produced savings of more than $2 million over its first two years, all of which will be reinvested in patient care. A.C. Camargo has deployed more than 2,000 state-of-the-art video surveillance cameras throughout the Center’s corridors, complex care units, and parking lots, embracing a more holistic approach to security that emphasizes patient and employee safety along with improved quality of service. Read Now

  • 2025 Secure Campus Award Winners Announced

    Campus Security Today is pleased to announce the 2025 Secure Campus Award winners. Twenty companies are being recognized this year for products that help keep education and business campuses safe. Read Now