School campus safety has taken center stage over the last decade as schools have become the target of active shooters and violence. Parents appeal to the school board, and cities take measures to provide law enforcement officers at busy times, but what about college students on the sprawling and open campuses across the nation? Understanding students' concerns can help universities and colleges better answer their concerns, keep them safe, and create the ideal learning environment. After all, today's students are the future of our workforce, so the investment is well worth it.
Whether it is budget restraints or short-staffed local police, the school campus security gap can be bridged with private campus security officers trained in active shootings and other emergencies. Even large universities with budgets larger than most struggle with providing the highest level of security. It is now essential to partner with a reputable private security company that can staff school campuses with qualified and experienced security guards. When security officers have military and law enforcement backgrounds, they can transfer their skills and training directly to college campuses nationwide.
Listening to Student Safety Concerns
One of the things that school campuses are doing is asking students about their safety concerns. Today, students have valuable feedback, and this data helps target areas of concern. According to the Student Voice Survey, students divulged their highest priority when it comes to making their college and university campuses safe. At the top of the list was not enough security presence, followed by security staff size and response time. Other things on the list of top concerns were poor lighting in areas and pathways, limited or no barriers around the perimeter of the campus, and not enough surveillance.
The top two concerns of thousands of students surveyed are directly related to providing a greater security presence on campus. Adding lighting to dark walkways is a likely fix to help students, but response time and the presence of officers will give students, families, and faculty peace of mind as they navigate the buildings and common areas on every college campus.
Live Security v Surveillance Equipment
Surveillance equipment can deter crimes on school campuses, but it is not comparable to the protection that live security guards offer students and faculty.
Every movie with criminals shows individuals who are motivated to do so to disable and block video in cameras. Additionally, it is worth noting that surveillance video does not have the same impact as a live guard because it is only valuable after the crime and is often inadmissible in court. When it comes to protecting today’s college students, there is no replacement for trained and experienced private security guards on the campus. Security officers can monitor areas of concern, public spaces, and perimeter 24 hours a day. Small campuses and large universities all deserve to be protected from criminals and those intent to cause harm to students and faculty. It is not worth the risk of leaving students exposed and vulnerable when they have openly expressed their concerns and an affordable way to protect them is available. Imagine how much more can be learned and achieved at the collegiate level if students feel safe and families can rest at night knowing their sons and daughters are being protected from harm!
Investing in the Future Through Safe Campuses
Taking action and providing a school campus with the security it deserves is a solid investment in the future of our nation. Today's college and university students should not have to worry about walking to their car at night or watching over their shoulders as they leave a building. Faculty should not have to think twice about holding study groups after hours and whether the students will be safe leaving later. School budgets need to incorporate funds to allocate to the security of school campuses.
If you have a student at a college or are responsible for providing resources to keep students safe at a university or college, you need to consider the impact this will have. Off Duty Officers has been protecting college and university campuses nationwide since 1993 – that’s more than 30 years of experience monitoring behaviors and activity on campuses everywhere. Local law enforcement can’t protect every school, and private school security officers are a reputable way to bridge that gap and help students feel safe.
As we enter the summer and college campuses prepare for camps and the fall semester of freshmen, remember that they deserve to feel safe to maximize their learning potential. Faculty also deserve to feel safe for themselves and their students. If you want more information or a free quote on school campus security guards, please do not hesitate to contact the security coordinator at Off Duty Officers today. We are standing by and want to help protect our nation's campuses! Call us at 844-293-7358.
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