Schools, Security and Video: 6 Tips for Surveillance Deployment

Feb 1, 2007 12:00 PM, BY ANDREW WREN AND BRAD SPICER

           

Almost 20 percent of K-12 public schools use security cameras, according to the National Center for Education Statistics Indicators of School Crime and Safety 2005 Report. But few schools use video to its maximum effectiveness. Typically, video has been used in schools as a reactive tool to provide evidence of an incident after the fact.

New Internet protocol (IP) video technology expands the accessibility and usability of video for more proactive, life-saving purposes. Increasingly serious threats are emerging both inside and outside school walls, so here are six tips for achieving successful video implementation in K-12 schools:

1. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE POWER OF IP

   Network/IP video advances how schools can use video proactively. Video technology today is like other network devices and applications that run on the existing IT network. IP cameras are another peripheral on the network, and video management software can be operated from a PC, making video easier to install, scale, access, share and use.

2. GET THE RIGHT PEOPLE INVOLVED

   A cross-functional implementation team for video planning and deployment can decrease errors and ensure buy-in among critical system users. The team should include the principal, administrators, safety officers, IT professionals, teachers and athletic and transportation directors. Each team member can identify unique uses for video in his or her particular area of expertise.

3. CAPTURE THE RIGHT VIDEO

   For video to be useful, it has to be the right video. To identify what areas to cover, the implementation team should consider the problems they are trying to address and prioritize coverage areas to provide the greatest possible breadth of information. Planning should consider a history of problems in the building and which areas are most frequently associated with activities such as fights, vandalism, drug use and sneak-offs. Consider entry and exit doors; high traffic, public areas; loading and unloading areas for buses; corners and stairwells; restroom entrances/exits; and parking lots.

4. ESTABLISH A POLICY

   Schools should anticipate negative reaction to the use of video and construct an official policy outlining its use. The policy should communicate why administrators chose to use surveillance technology and list general guidelines and restrictions of surveillance video. Developing and proactively communicating a plan can address concerns, garner support from the outset and avoid being put on the defensive.

5. LEVERAGE VIDEO WITH OTHER SYSTEMS

   IP video is unique in its ability to augment other systems. Schools should use video to capture and corroborate events and to position video cameras to help verify and increase effectiveness of their other systems. Related to access control, for example, administrators can use video to determine if main entrances are being kept locked during in-class hours, thus forcing visitors to check in at the office. Video can also identify — and suggest the need for training related to — issues such as tailgating, door propping and other activities that may render access control systems ineffective.

6. PROVIDE ACCESS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT

   For video to become a lifesaving tool, law enforcement and firefighters should have a link via a Web browser to provide access to live video from cameras on campus. The school may choose to offer full access to camera views any time, any place, or to offer video access only in case of an emergency. Either choice involves working through the school's IT administrator and security personnel.

Andrew Wren is the president of Wren Solutions, a provider of comprehensive video surveillance solutions based in Jefferson City, Mo. Brad Spicer is founder of SafePlans LLC, also based in Jefferson City, Mo., and developer of the Emergency Response Information Plan (ERIP), a Web-based emergency-preparedness system.

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