Schools have moved away from an open front door environment where parents and delivery personnel can freely walk into a lobby. Administrators can now incorporate locked entrances where people can only enter the building after initially being vetted by staff.
Implementing two-way intercom systems at the school entrance provides an important first layer of protection and can enable front desk personnel to not only talk to someone who would like to enter, but also clearly see the person when the system includes an integrated IP video camera.
The ability to see, hear, and talk to the person is invaluable to staff and school security. Faculty can quickly determine if the person is who they say they are, check credentials using the video camera, and see if the person is agitated or carrying a weapon.
It is important to ensure that teaching staff have access to security tools and can easily communicate with the appropriate people. In the event of an emergency, school staff can trigger a lockdown event while alerting school personnel and law enforcement.
When an intercom system is installed in classrooms and lecture halls, it enables a professor to reliably call for help without having to worry about a poor cellular phone signal.
Many intercoms also come equipped with paging capabilities. This means that an intercom station can be used to provide direct communication into classrooms, hallways, or lecture halls if a threatening situation unfolds, such as a major weather event or an active shooter incident.
Pre-programmed and recorded messages can give students and staff directions on what to do next, such as shelter in place, relocate to a secured location, or evacuate the premises immediately, improving school operations.
These messages can also be set to be repeated every few minutes, ensuring the message is heard and that everyone within an educational building on campus receives the same consistent information.
Better Management of Staff, Students & Visitors
It is important to know who is visiting your school. It is equally important to implement an access control program for staff and students too.
Access control enables staff or security to easily track who is coming and going and provide secure access at authorized entrance points.
In the event of a school employee being terminated, a school district can quickly deactivate the access control credential to remove access privileges without interrupting access for other staff members.
Meanwhile, visitors can be provided with a badge that allows them to access certain areas within a building. An access control credential can also be pre-programmed for a set duration, so that when a visitor does not swipe out by a certain time, an administrator can be alerted.
Overall, intercoms and access control systems can provide valuable data on all individuals, whether they are an employee, delivery person, or visitor.
An integrated video intercom system can automatically record the interaction between a visitor at the front door who presses the button of an intercom system to request access into a building.
The access control component, which requires a person to present a badge to a reader to enter an area, can also record access point data, showing exactly where a person went in the building.
For students, the added benefit of an intercom system is the ability to easily reach campus support staff should they arrive and find their keycard is missing or not functional.
A two-way video and audio intercom system also provides an additional layer of school security for staff, by providing visual verification of the visitor.
Staff members can use a two-way video intercom system to confirm a person’s identity, whether the person is a food delivery driver or an individual whose access to a particular building has been restricted.
This can help to quickly determine if the person is who they say they are or check identification credentials using the video camera.
Securing Parking Lots and Outdoor Spaces
Security in parking lots often presents one of the biggest challenges for campus and school security.
Emergency parking towers, equipped with an intercom system, can be strategically placed throughout parking lots, providing an additional layer of school security.
If a student does not feel safe walking to their vehicle at night, an emergency tower can be quickly used to speak directly with on-campus security staff or to request an escort.
Including a video intercom allows campus and school security staff to see the student requesting assistance. This can provide critical identification when staff arrive on-site.
As these towers are tall and equipped with a light beacon on top, they are easy to locate even at night.
Additionally, these well-lit towers can act as a crime deterrent by presenting a secured and monitored environment to would-be criminals.
Since emergency towers are hardwired, each tower provides a secure and highly reliable method of communication, even in areas where cell phone coverage may be spotty.
Many parking garages are also maze-like structures, which can make it difficult for a person to clearly communicate their specific location.
Intercoms with built-in mapping mean that the specific location of a wall box is shared with security personnel when an emergency communication button is pushed. This helps to ensure that responders are dispatched to the correct location.
When a video intercom system is located inside a parking garage, it allows a campus or school security officer to clearly hear and speak with the individual who is calling about an emergency.
An optional overhead camera can provide a birds-eye view of the area around the person in distress as compared to the identifying view of the intercom.
Intercoms, emergency towers/wall boxes, and access control systems help enhance campus and school security, manage building access, and provide a valuable means of communication in the event of an emergency.
The reality is educational institutions are prone to unexpected events. The addition of these solutions will strengthen the efficacy of any comprehensive school security system and can help protect students, faculty, and visitors during emergencies.
This information is courtesy of Aiphone Security Communication and Access Control Solutions, www.aiphone.com. Providing access control, visitor screening, communication, video integration, and mobile app capability, their systems can solve a wide range of school security challenges. They promise top-notch service and support, which are guaranteed through their award-winning teams. Every system is the result of painstaking attention to detail, offering the finest quality and technology.
