Education Security Consulting Case Study

Private Boarding School

A prestigious boarding school located on over 300 acres in the New England area approached SRMC to conduct a comprehensive security assessment of their campus and surrounding environs. The school was looking for help in understanding the threats, risks, and vulnerabilities they faced as an organization and the most appropriate ways in which to mitigate those concerns. They had never had a formal risk assessment conducted by an independent security consulting firm.

Our Approach

SRMC conducted a comprehensive assessment of the school to review existing physical security technologies, security personnel, emergency plans, and the associated policies, procedures, and processes. We also reviewed the prevention/training strategies currently in place to keep students, faculty, staff, and visitors safe.

A thorough walk of the campus then lead to interviews of administration, faculty, staff, and parents. These interviews helped us understand security concerns on the campus as well as garner an understanding of the overall perception of security. Emergency management and large event planning and processes were reviewed. Interviews with local first responders gave us an inside look into their capabilities with assisting the school in case of an emergency situation.

RECCOMENDATIONS INCLUDED:

Modifying the current method of accessing the campus by reducing the number of entry points for guests to one gate.
Implementing a visitor management program that would require all non-affiliates of the school to register at a central point.
Upgrading the technology associated with the school’s public-address system to improve the likelihood that emergency announcements would be heard at all points on campus.
Reviewing and modifying the emergency management manual to allow for a Run-Hide-Fight plan in association with an active shooter event.
Developing a Security Technology Master Plan and standardizing technology across the campus.

Results

There were a number of significant concerns identified as a result of the comprehensive assessment. Key concerns included:

The need for a visitor management process that would identify visitors on campus and address the issue of student accountability
The lack of a reliable emergency communications system
The need to update emergency procedures, specifically with respect to response to active shooter threats
The absence of a defined program of working with local first responders to coordinate response to critical incidents on campus
The lack of faculty and staff training relative to emergency procedures