Abstract

Rising Insecurity in educational facilities such as universities schools and colleges needs to be addressed by the relevant authorities. Educational facilities are faced with serious security threats such as shootings and bombings; vandalism; bullying; theft; terror attacks and assault. These security threats have numerous adverse effects on the educational facility and therefore security measure ought to be implemented to improve its security. Some of the security measures discussed by the report are; employment of school resource officers; use of modern technology like digital surveillance; use of identification cards and budges to identify and monitor the movement of visitors and workers in the school environment; erection of tall and robust perimeter wall surrounding educational facilities; use of layered security; and vetting of staff members to establish their criminal history. The security measures aimed at improving the safety of educational facilities have a severe financial implication. Some security measures are costly to implement given that institutions have limited sources of funds. The most expensive security measure is digital surveillance which uses the closed circuit cameras since they are expensive to acquire.

Introduction

Educational facilities are faced with severe insecurity in the recent past and therefore improved security measures should be put in place to prevent gun-related violence, theft, and destruction of school properties. Security of educational facilities is paramount. Educational facilities tend to cover a vast space which makes it difficult for the implementation of some traditional security measures. Exterior and interior of educational facilities should have adequate surveillance to track down any activity that might lead or instead expose young people, staff, and property into danger. Arguably, school staff, parents, students and other stakeholders have regularly tried to look for ways of keeping learners of all ages safe in the educational facilities. Theft and violence are rampant in our contemporary educational facilities. The advancement of technology has worsened the situation since the perpetrators are using very sophisticated weapons that could cause mass destruction and severe injuries to the educational facility occupants (Altbach, 2015). We have had many cases of school shooting incidents which turned out to be very tragic to the victims.  In the recent past, educational facilities have been vulnerable to insecurity such as violence and other types of threats. Schools should, therefore, develop and implement proper security programs aimed at enhancing the security of students and workers. This report will explore the kinds of security threats; possible security measures for improving safety; and other consideration to solve insecurity snag in educational facilities.

Security Threats

            The security threat is a real phenomenon in our modern educational facilities like universities and colleges. Colleges and universities ought to be vigilant with their security details since there are many types of security threats that affect the core activities of the educational facilities.  Shootings and bombings is a significant security threat in educational facilities such as colleges and universities. Research shows that from 1990 to 2018, more than 240 educational facilities shootings have happened in the United States (Downs, 2015). There are also bombings in schools and colleges which leave serious causalities with a massive number of deaths. Factors responsible for school shooting are mental illness and family dysfunction. Bombings and shootings in educational facilities are motivated by revenge and persecution. It may also be necessitated by suicide as well as seeking recognition in the public domain. The security threats awareness has necessitated most educational facilities to school locks and automated gates to control the types as well as the number of people entering the school compound. Metal detectors are also fitted at every entrance of educational facilities to prevent students and members of the public from carrying weaponry into the school environment.

Vandalism is another threat to security in educational facilities. Vandalism is a big snag in educational facilities because they are an easy target. The act leaves many destructions of the property of educational facilities. Vandalism is categorized as nuisance break-ins; malicious break-ins; and professional break-ins with an intention to steal valuables. It can be prevented by providing sensitization programs to the idle youths who might be vulnerable in committing the heinous deeds. Improving the lighting as well as increased security patrol would eradicate vandalism in educational facilities. Students may make the school insecure for themselves to live in. When students start to riot, they tend to destroy school property further making educational facility insecure to the teachers and other staff members. Nevertheless, they may deface the classes by breaking window panes and doors. In the process of destroying the school, some may be seriously injured. Vandalism is a security threat to everybody in the educational facility.

Bullying is a security threat in many educational facilities. It makes students feel isolated and therefore may drop out of school for fear of being victimized. In high school educational facilities, students face bullying from their fellow students. Ideally, the senior students are believed to beat up their junior. It is against educational facilities for students to torture their fellow students. Bullying in educational facilities is highly condemned, but some few malicious students cannot survive without torturing other learners. Causes of the security threat are gender and racial segregation and social norms. Educational facilities admit students from various social settings and mixed gender. The feature leads to the existence of bullying in educational facilities. The school environment might also promote student bullying especially when the teacher doesn’t care about the behavior of learners. Parents, teachers and other adults can be used to prevent bullying in educational facilities (Gemenne et al., 2014). For instance, teachers should preach against school bullying and advise students on how to harmoniously live with one another in school and outside the school premises. Just like shootings and bombings, students are not secure if they are bullied. The security threat makes a student drop in performance since they live in fear hence no conducive environment for learning.

When a school has many entry points makes it vulnerable to security threat like attacks by terrorists and other malicious people. Terrorists’ activities are a threat to the security of educational facilities since they attack with the sole aim of injuring innocent people and destroying properties. The effects of terrorist activities are very devastating and may create a lot of trauma to the victims. The threat of terrorist is fatal since their actions are made to execute revenge on something. Ideally, a terror attack may not necessarily want to send a specific message to the educational facility but the government.

Theft is a security threat since the action itself leaves many dead or injured. Theft is a coercive activity which most involves shootings. In the process of the robbery, students and workers may sustain injuries while others may be maimed. Theft in educational facilities should be prevented at whatever cost to protect its occupants from unnecessary injuries. Educational facilities are very attractive to bandits, and therefore they may blend themselves in the students and visitors. They may also acquire the school uniform, especially in high school facilities. It is easier for thieves to attack colleges and universities because students in higher learning institution don’t have uniforms. Other than stealing the school property like computers and other expensive valuables, they may make away with vehicles of staff members and those for students.

Assault in educational facilities is a security threat. In the case where students are fighting one another may cause bodily harm to other students far from the conflicting parties. Assault is a crime that renders educational facilities to be insecure since it involves violent crimes such as sexual assault as well as the common attack which inflicts injuries on a person. Anybody within the educational facility can perpetuate the assault security threat or rather a crime. For instance, staff members, students, and visitors may turn against one another. Students from specific educational facilities can be sexually assaulted by people from outside who may conceal to be his or her parent. Nonetheless, students of educational facilities might depict wired behavior ranging from committing minor crimes as well as organizing gangs to gain entry into the institution with a motive of committing dangerous criminal activities.

Measures for Improving Security

            The rising security threat in educational facilities has given all stakeholders sleepless nights scratching their head on what should be done to restore security in our schools, universities, and colleges. In my opinion, it is imperative to involve everybody in finding the solution to the insecurity currently witnessed in our educational facilities. Educational facilities like universities and colleges have numerous activities running every day and therefore lack or regulation of the number of people entering and leaving it is a security threat to students and workers. Institutions should realize that there is expensive property as well as belongs that attracts thieves and other malicious people hence a security challenge. The national school board association, students, teachers, parents, and the educational facility workers should come up with amicable solutions to combat security threats. Effective security policies are imperative to educational facilities because it will ensure the safety of every person ranging from students to workers.

School resource officers are one of the measures of ensuring security in any given educational facility. The body creates awareness on security people in societies. It teaches the students about gang resistance program which helps the youths to avoid gang-related activities as well as reporting suspicion in and outside the educational facility. Educational facilities should use the school resource officers coupled with sniffer dogs for identification of bombs and drugs. Secondly, educational facilities should embrace modern technology like digital surveillance to monitor the movement of students, visitors and staff members (Darling-Hammond, 2015). The move will ensure any malicious person within and outside the educational facility is tracked down and interrogated by the school security agencies. The administration of our contemporary schools should fit closed-circuit television cameras at almost every corner of the institution to prevent crimes from happening. CCTVs will eradicate security threats like vandalism and theft since the images of the perpetrators will be identified and brought to book. The security of school buses can be improved by installing cameras to prevent any illegal activity, theft as well as violence from happening. Additionally, closed-circuit cameras are commonly used for providing security in shopping complexes, airports, and hotels or any other place requiring high levels of security. Therefore, with the constant attacks of educational facilities like universities, schools, and colleges, CCTVs are highly recommended for ensuring top safety for students, workers, and property. The security device should be operated by trained personnel who should identify signs of criminal activities. Educational facilities should not just hire anybody to manage the closed circuit cameras; otherwise, it will be of no importance as far as security is concerned.

It is recommended that educational facilities should use identification cards and budges to identify and monitor the movement of visitors and workers in the school environment (Collins, 2016). Every visitor and work should have a necessary tag hanging on his or her chest for easy identification. The students should move around with their school identification cards to flash out the school intruders. The idea of badges and identification card will improve the security of the educational facility. Fines should be imposed on individuals who fail to comply with the directive for proper implementation and adherence. It is also highly recommended for educational facilities to have tall and robust perimeter wall surrounding it. The walls make it difficult for a criminal such as terrorists and thieves to enter the school premises. School perimeter wall allows for only specified exit and entry thus controlling the number of people entering and leaving the educational facility. Application of school fencing system by erecting perimeter wall is essential as far as security of educational facilities is concerned. Mostly, perimeter walls in learning institutions effectively combat terrorist attacks. Perimeter security should be on the plan on the overall structure of the educational facility. The entry areas along the security perimeter wall should be closed down and accessed by the authorized persons through a highly guarded reception. Durable perimeter security serves several purposes such as preventing students from sneaking out of school and keeping away possible intruders like thieves and malicious individuals.

Moreover, reception security is also recommended to address the rising insecurity in educational facilities. Reception places play an essential role in ensuring the safety of any institution because it is where people are allowed in and out of the premises. Therefore, I urge the school board and other stakeholders to recruit qualified security personnel with specialized training to effectively enhance security in educational facilities. All individuals entering school institutions should provide identification documents such as national identification cards and birth certificates to establish their origin after which they should append their signatures against their name and time in and out. The strictness of the security personnel at the entrance will ensure unwanted, or unauthorized persons in the educational facilities are easily identified and quizzed.

Anti-vandal paint should be used in all educational facilities to prevent properties from being vandalized (Kim, 2014). Vandalism is a severe snag to universities and colleges which costs them billions of money in repairing the damaged properties. The vulnerable areas should also be fitted with cameras to deter students as well as other malicious individuals from committing the criminal act. Anti-vandal paint should be applied in vulnerable places to keep away criminals. Educational facilities should use cable locks and security tagging on valuable properties such as laptops, scanners, and television. Thieves are less likely to steal properties with security tags since they will not sell it and if they manage, the property will be easily tracked and identified. Educational facility property will not be sold when the name of the institution is printed on it. Cable looks are useful in enhancing the security of portable valuables such as television sets and computers. Therefore, it is imperative for educational facilities to try the policy of security tagging and cable locks as a security measure.

Ideally, most educational facilities are compromising their security by employing unqualified staff. Vetting of staff members is very crucial since it helps the educational facility human resource managers to identify the previous behavior of applicants before hiring. Thorough background checks are essential before hiring a person. The competition in the job market has necessitated individuals about their qualifications and history. Failure to vet employees might result in insecurity in educational facilities. School boards should select a vetting panel for ensuring the best and qualified staff is hired. The security personnel in any educational facility should be subjected to interviews and vetting to establish the competency of the applicant (Zhang et al. 2016). The interviewing panel should also check for criminal conviction history before they reach to the hiring decision. Employees may turn out to be a security risk to the institution if they have a criminal history background. Dishonest employees may plan and execute theft from within the educational facilities. It is advisable for the management to track down the movement of the school employees as well as the people they associate with. For instance, some may have close links with bandits and terrorist who may in one way use them to commit criminal activities in the educational facility.

Educational facilities should use layered security to protect the occupants of the school premises against terrorist attacks and shootings (Singh et al. 2016). It is possible for managers of educational facilities to improve the security of institutions. For instance, they should have several stopovers before entering educational facilities. Managers should have a sophisticated architecture of erecting gates in the school entrances. Furthers, construction of numerous barriers is imperative to make it hard for intruders to access the main entrance. All gates and doors should be closed to avoid access to unauthorized people into the school premises. Since educational facilities are bound to have as many visitors as possible, the managers and administration must install secured vestibules fitted with a greeter window and security glass. Creation of vestibules that filter visitors to the central office is a good strategy for improving security.

From my research, it is evident that there is laxity with the security personnel who don’t even do thorough frisking of the educational facility visitors, workers, and student. This is a loophole for the entrance of weaponry and other security threat items. I urge the management to be very stringent and ensure the security personnel performs their duties as expected. When the perimeter wall of educational facilities is vandalized, it takes a considerably long time to be repaired. The destruction of the perimeter wall provides an avenue for easy access to the educational facility by intruders which further poses a security risk to the institution. Once a perimeter wall is destroyed, the management should immediately initiate the process of repairing it. In the case of closed-circuit television (CCTV), the educational facility should procure the best ones with high definition images to clearly identify individuals captured when criminal activities occur.

The above report has financial implications which should be met by the educational facility. For instance, the numerous security measures provided require vast amounts of money for their implementation. Erecting security wall around educational facility calls for funds ranging from labor, architectural work, and materials. Layered security requires adequate personnel hence increased expenses in salaries and remunerations. Closed circuit cameras are costly to install and manage thus stretching the educational facility finances. University, colleges, and schools require adequate funding to improve their overall security.

Conclusion

            Security at educational facilities should be managed appropriately to protect students, workers, and property. In our contemporary institution, security threats have evolved due to advancement in technology. Educational facilities should adequately invest in improving its security to provide a conducive learning environment. Universities and colleges may have a dwindling budget, and therefore, the security measures should be cost-effective while delivering the best services. Proper security measure should be implemented to make our institutions safe and secure for everybody. Research should also be conducted by security agencies to identify the weakness of educational facilities that make them vulnerable to insecurity. The architectural design of educational facilities further contribute to, and therefore, there is a need for the invention of better designs of buildings to enhance the security of students and workers.

References

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Darling-Hammond, L. (2015). The flat world and education: How America’s commitment to equity will determine our future. Teachers College Press.

Downs, S. (2015). Active shooter in educational facility. Journal of emergency management (Weston, Mass.), 13(4), 303-326.

Gemenne, F., Barnett, J., Adger, W. N., & Dabelko, G. D. (2014). Climate and security: evidence, emerging risks, and a new agenda.

Singh, U. K., Joshi, C., & Gaud, N. (2016). Measurement of security dangers in university network. International Journal of Computer Applications, 155(1), 6-10.

Zhang, A., Musu-Gillette, L., & Oudekerk, B. A. (2016). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2015. NCES 2016-079/NCJ 249758. National Center for Education Statistics.