A FEW GOOD OFFICERS

Jan 1, 2002 12:00 PM, By KATE HENRY

The violence threatening high schools in recent years has indirectly affected — but thankfully not touched — Kennewick High School, Kennewick, Wash. The school's safety and security approach continues to tend toward the kinder and gentler, and a small, dedicated security staff is out and about ensuring student safety with a little help from a trend-setting digital recording system.

PREVENT, INTERVENE, MEDIATE

Kennewick, a suburban town surrounded by some of Washington's best agricultural bounty, is home to three high schools, of which Kennewick High School is the largest with 1,800 students. The school was founded more than 100 years ago; it implemented a security program in the 1970s; and it's the most ethnically and socio-economically diverse high school in town, according to school security officer Shawnna Morris.

“Our school seems more real than others,” she says. “We have rich kids and not-so-rich kids, as well as Bosnians, Russians, South Africans — it's a real melting pot.” She notes that in terms of safety and security issues, special sensitivity to cultural issues must be considered. “At our school, you're not necessarily talking about a black/white issue, you may be talking about a Russian/Bosnian issue.”

Morris, who has been with the school for 10 years, is one of a three-person security team, all of whom are on equal footing, reporting to a principal who oversees safety and security issues. The school board and director of secondary education mandate safety and security policies to which all schools in the district adhere consistently, Morris explains, adding that schools have the option to build on their programs, but disciplinary consequences for certain infractions remain uniform across the district.

“When I started, it was exciting because the school district was already so proactive. Kennewick school district is unique among any we've talked with in terms of how we utilize our security personnel,” Morris says. “We're not guards. Many school security personnel just sit and watch parking lots, or patrol — but we're a real resource for the school.”

Morris says the key to being a resource is being out and about, building relationships with students and staff and preventing, intervening in and mediating incidents. “The kids need to know they can trust the adults here and can come say to us, ‘Hey, have you seen so-and-so, he's not looking right today,’” she says. “At most schools, you'd go to a counselor or administrator with that, which they do here as well, but they also come to security.”

Says security officer Becca Knudsen: “Kids are often intimidated by security, but we try to break that down and show them we're concerned not only for their physical safety, but also for their emotional well-being.”

Morris credits an ongoing and open dialogue among security officers, teachers, counselors and administrators as an enormous asset. She describes security staff members as facilitators — one is a mediation specialist, another a non-violent crisis intervention specialist and another an EMT who keeps quite busy given that the school is the size of a small burg. “Our training is key, because when there are kids in the hallway fighting and we can mediate effectively — whether before, during or after the fight — that's what helps keep the campus a safer place,” she says.

Security officer Marlene Scott adds that because each security team member brings different skill sets and personalities to the table, each is uniquely suited to making connections with students.

But walking a thin line is also critical. “We do full investigations of serious infractions such as assault, harassments, theft, drugs or alcohol and of arson or bomb threats, then we turn it over to the administration and, if appropriate, the police. We detail a full incident report which will stand up in court and which the police can attach to their reports,” she explains.

Morris notes that in many areas, there is a push to have police departments running the security of schools, which she sees as potentially detrimental. “Often, police officers just don't have the time to bust their butts building relationships and also, they usually have to rotate duty, whereas for security personnel like us, we hang in there, it's our job, and we love it,” she says.

Morris notes, however, that the biggest risk Kennewick High School faces is endemic to schools across the U.S.: “Not knowing that a student is having a problem, and trying to break through that code of silence — encouraging students not to take threats as a joke and to feel comfortable talking about them — those are any school's biggest problems,” she says. “Our entire school staff is trained in vigilance. Plus, we have the cameras.”

LIKE EYES ON THE BACK OF THEIR HEADS

Kennewick High School has no metal detectors, no access cards and no checkpoints — but it does have a new digital recording system, and for now, that is all it needs, Morris asserts. Finding the right system, however, was not easy.

The school invested in digital recording to prevent overnight thefts and vandalism that had become a problem in the parking lots and to obtain images of suspects and license plate numbers on suspect vehicles. It was soon realized, however, that the cameras could be invaluable inside the school as well. “We wanted the parking lots covered, and since we had already paid for the system, it didn't cost much more to add cameras to congested areas indoors where problems could occur,” Morris explains. “When you have 400 kids in 4×8-foot sections of hallway, they're bumping and punching and moving, and that can stress people out and tempers can flare.”

But the first two systems Kennewick procured from its then-vendor “flat out did not work,” Morris says. “Sometimes it would not show images at all. Sometimes the software would malfunction, rebooting over and over so we couldn't use the system. The pictures we did get were tiny and we had to look at hours of them to find incidents, because there was no alarm-activated recording function. We were wondering why we went to digital and thinking maybe we should just buy a bunch of VCRs,” she recalls.

The security team consulted another school in the district, which recommended a Kalatel digital recording system, which led to a referral to Spokane, Wash.-based integrator HTI, which has since continued to work with Kennewick. The new digital system includes 12 CyberDome color cameras. Indoors, pan-tilt-zooms can be programmed to perform 360-degree tours of areas such as the cafeteria or can be manually manipulated. Fixed cameras keep an eye on narrow spaces such as hallways, entrances and exits. Outdoors — specifically in problematic parking lots — CyberDome Day-Nite cameras switch automatically between a color daytime mode and a monochrome nighttime mode.

Video is recorded on a Kalatel Calibur Digital Video Multiplexer and Recorder (DVMRe), an Ethernet model, which has a built-in 160 gB hard drive. Kennewick uses the Ethernet model to provide access to recordings via desktop PCs on the school's network.

“Say the principal or assistant principal is in a meeting and it's a high traffic time — lunch or passing,” Morris explains, “they can turn on their PC and view any of the cameras.” She adds that the system is accessible from six PCs within the school — as well as from other schools that also use a Kalatel system. It was an effective cost justification: “I can look at Tritech, which is a vocational school that has Kennewick High kids in it, and if they have an incident with one of our students, I can log on and watch it happening there. Schools can look right in at a car break-in happening at another school — it's awesome.”

Morris notes the school has used video from the system to confront students about incidents with unequivocal success: “We've never had to go to court on anything, because once the kids see what we have on video, they just confess.”

Knudsen adds that the cameras prompt students to guard their overall behavior. “They'll often think twice before reacting to a dangerous situation,” she says.

Problems in the parking lot have been all but eliminated, conflicts indoors greatly reduced, and Morris foresees other potential in the system, such as sharing video of child offenders among schools. But perhaps most importantly, she notes, the instant recall and search capabilities of the system save time, enabling the security team to be where they need to be — out of the office and engaging with students.

“The student body was excited to see the cameras outside, knowing their vehicles were protected, but I think they were a little bit apprehensive as to why they were being watched in school,” Morris concedes. “But there have been only a handful of questions — it's a no-brainer why they're there.”

FOR THE RECORD

ABOUT THE COMPANIES

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kate Henry is an Annapolis, Md.-based writer and regular contributor to Access Control & Security Systems.

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