Blogpost

Maintaining Safe Grade-School Environments with Security Guards

School-Security

In today’s dangerous world schools are no longer guaranteed safe zones. Parents need to know their children are coming home safe at the end of the day. Faculty and staff want reassurance the children under their care are safe while on school grounds.

Taking common sense precautions and working with the right security provider are vital.

What are Essential School Security Officer Duties?

A school security officer has a responsibility to protect students and staff. While every member of staff at a high school or middle school has a duty of care, the school security officer has the specific brief to monitor school safety, and make sure procedures are followed.

On an ordinary day this includes managing admission and exits, scanning the school for potential dangers and maintaining appropriate contact with police officers. Good relations with local law enforcement, and easy access to call for support when necessary are essential. If there is a registered school police officer who visits regularly, the security guard would be the point of contact for that officer.

In an active shooter situation, this person would be responsible for clearing the building, contacting emergency services, and potentially confronting the shooter. Not all security officers are trained to engage in live fire. Most will prioritize overseeing the evacuation and leave law enforcement to respond with force.

Each school district will have different policies and levels of funding available. How to set up a security protocol will be up to individual school administrations. Ranger Guard can provide a designated security officer either full time or part time depending on the needs of the institution. We conduct rigorous background checks to ensure all our officers are adequately trained and vetted before they begin working at your school.

Do Safe Schools Need Armed Guards or Armed Teachers?

In any high school, but especially those in open carry states, there is the risk of a child bringing a gun to school. There is also the risk of a malicious outside actor, such as an ideological terrorist or a violently unstable individual entering a public school.  Many teachers are hesitant to carry weapons to schools. Although some teachers, especially those with a military background, may be trained to carry, for many teachers guns are uncomfortable and are a distraction from teaching. Most teachers do not have the proper training to handle a weapon in and around school buildings. Others feel it is an unfair imposition to require teachers, whose primary responsibility is education, to also have to worry about safety. For this reason, growing numbers of schools are subcontracting their security to armed school security guards.

The presence of a uniformed security guard has a significant deterrent effect. Every morning, when they arrive at school, children will see the security precautions in place. Ranger Guard security professionals are trained to be highly visible, to give people a pause. Anyone who might be considering becoming something will think twice before they try it. Whether that guard is armed or not is up to the school. In some locations, introducing a firearm may scare parents or staff. In others, an armed guard may be a reassuring presence which makes a big difference. In several situations where the unthinkable happened, the presence of a properly trained armed guard made all the difference and saved lives.

How Can Technology Help Security Teams Do Their Jobs?

Protecting students means using every option to increase security capabilities. Where technology can be used to increase efficiency and effectiveness, especially where it can also lower costs, it is worth doing.

Ranger Guard is a full service security firm. We do not simply offer guards, but a complete security assessment of the premises and their strengths and weaknesses. Where appropriate we can oversee the installation of hard security precautions.

These might include a new camera system, enabling one security officer to monitor the site from a central control room. Proper surveillance means an active security situation can be monitored and responded to appropriately. Other forms of technological security assistance include gates, with sensors to allow only authorized individuals or vehicles through. We also offer tracking software to provide updates about where our patrol agents are in real time. This makes sure our security team stays focused and the client knows they can find out what is happening.

Ranger Guard makes security simple and easy to understand. If a professional security team is in your budget, we can make sure school staff can remain focused on education.