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School Security Professionals Gather in Dallas For 2020 Campus Security & Life Safety Summit

Campus security leaders from Dallas-area school districts and universities presented on topics ranging from access control to preparing for an active shooter on campus.

  • By Haley Samsel
  • February 27, 2020

After hosting four successful events across the country last year, the first Campus Security & Life Safety Summit of 2020 came home to Dallas, where the magazine is headquartered.

Over 100 campus and school security professionals from across the Dallas-Fort Worth region and beyond came together for a day of learning and networking at the Four Points by Sheraton in Coppell, Tex. on Feb. 26.

The summit opened with a keynote address from Lauretta Hill, the chief of police for the Dallas County Community College District and owner of Hill and Hill Consulting Group.

Hill dissected the July 2016 mass shooting targeting Dallas police officers, which started at an El Centro College parking garage and tested the district’s preparation for a shooter. She particularly stressed the need for campus security leaders to ensure there are proper incident command systems and emergency procedures in place before a crisis hits.

 

 

Other sessions offered throughout the day focused on using technology to secure a campus, led by Wylie ISD Director of Security and Safety Brian Kelly, and how to implement the right access control solutions for a campus, presented by Sgt. Kevin Crawford, the community relations officer at the University of North Texas. Dan Buholtz, the director of safety and security at Lovejoy ISD, also presented on how his district has integrated new technologies such as personal location devices, barricade locks and more.

 

 

For the first time, the summit also featured a cybersecurity track with two sessions offered by Mina Guirguis, a computer science professor at Texas State University. Guirguis explained his research into the use of security games to successfully protect cyber infrastructure and discussed the cyber attack landscape with attendees.

 

 

Throughout the day, participants interacted with show sponsors ranging from Axis Communications and Salient Systems to Primex and Allegion. Several companies provided raffle prizes, which were claimed by attendees before the final sessions of the day.

 

 

The summit was capped by a panel discussion between David Stephens, the director of security at Arlington ISD, Daniel Gardcia, the security director at Fort Worth ISD and Matt Walch, the chief of police at Tarleton State University. The three security leaders shared insights on everything from parent concerns about school safety to best practices for threat monitoring.

 

 

Campus Security & Life Safety is planning for four more summits in 2020, with the next taking place on April 30 in Phoenix.

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