security

Shattering Campus Security Myths for Universities – Part II

 

Following up on our most recent blog, we’re recapping the misperceptions about what is and isn’t feasible when protecting thousands of students, faculty and staff across one or more campuses.  In Part I, we began to explore the misperceptions of campus security and today, we bring you Part II.

Myth 6: It’s not possible to see a true common operating picture of each resource officer relative to each incident that is updated in real-time, throughout their shift. 

Reality: Using the latest technology, campus safety & security teams can view the GPS location of each officer updated in real-time, (not just their vehicle); as well as the means to assign themselves to an incident based on protocols without assistance from Dispatch or Central Command.

Myth 7: When responding to an incident in a multi-story building, there’s no effective way for your team to visualize the location of the person who needs assistance (what floor they’re on), or to identify security personnel who are both available and in close proximity to assist and expedite response.

Reality: Using the Bluetooth technology and cloud-based software, your team can now see a 3D view of incidents inside buildings.  For example, instead of a report of a person suffering from heart attack symptoms in a given building, your safety and security team can now determine the individual is located on the fifth floor, in the west wing, in a specific lecture room, even if the victim can’t verbalize their location. 

Myth 8: Incident management and response systems lack the ability to automatically record every incident, including when and where the incident was first reported, the location of each security responder as the incident unfolded, total response time, etc.

Reality: Campus security teams now have the ability to automatically record each and every incident, including when and where the incident was first reported, the nature of the incident, the availability and location of each security responder as the incident unfolded, including those who responded, and the response time and the total duration of response. Your command team can also playback recordings to analyze performance and can use the data to coach and train your security team and optimize performance on a go-forward basis. 

Myth 9: There’s no effective way to manage the security of ad-hoc events located in areas outside your jurisdiction.

Reality: Campus security teams can now dynamically establish geofenced zones, which can be monitored through central command and supports the management of your team with disparate third-party resources for a cohesive view.  This capability is perfect for events such as a graduation ceremony, speech, or sporting event held at an off-site venue. 

Myth 10: All critical incident management systems have limited day-to-day operational value and are only beneficial when an emergency or critical incident occurs; otherwise, it usually sits idle.

Reality: Campus security teams can now derive ongoing value from their incident management software for a variety of operational purposes such as using it to monitor patrol coverage, to crowd-source crime reporting, conduct trend reporting on incidents and record drills and exercises.

Hopefully, the information we’ve shared with you on how campus safety & security teams no longer need to accept limitations traditionally associated with campus security solutions has helped you realize what’s possible.  In future blogs, we’ll share additional details about the technology that’s now available to help you overcome these challenges. Our flagship product SafeZone helps campus safety & security teams at universities and enterprise organizations respond faster to incidents and emergencies, optimize outcomes, fulfill their duty of care and mitigate risks.

To learn more, check out our product video and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter to stay abreast of industry issues and new features. And if you’d like a free customized report on how your organization stacks up to industry best practices, take this free assessment to see where you stand.

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