Arapahoe High School, Aurora Central High School, Deer Creek Middle School, Platte Canyon High School, and Columbine High School all had victims of gun violence within the past 20 years. Each tragic incident got a lot of media attention and invoked a lot of discussion about security. But the media attention may have distracted the conversation from a more prevalent problem at school campuses. Students are more likely to be victimized at school from things other than a gunman.
School fights, bullying, sexual assault, gang related violence, property crimes and drug trafficking are threatening thousands of students’ sense of well-being and safety every day. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports 749,200 victimizations at schools with students from ages 12-18 in 2012 alone. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/school_violence_fact_sheet-a.pdf College campuses have much less violence than secondary schools but more property crimes and rape. According to Victims of Crime statistics 92,695 crimes were reported across college and university campuses in 2010. https://www.victimsofcrime.org/docs/ncvrw2013/2013ncvrw_stats_school.pdf The University of Denver definitely has experienced its fair share of problems due to crime. https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/university-of-denver/student-life/crime/#
Victims from violent and nonviolent crimes experience profound emotional impacts. They experience emotional symptoms limiting their ability to focus and learn. When they are victimized on campus it compounds the problem. Even students who are not the direct victim of crime report feeling unsafe and anxious. The aftermath of crime affects the entire learning community. Chronic absenteeism often becomes a problem because people are afraid to be at school. https://www.nctsn.org/resources/audiences/school-personnel/effects-of-trauma Fear and stress from crime may actually increase the risk of further violence because students are more apt to jump into the flight or fight mode. Obviously, educators want to keep their students safe, but many lack the knowledge of how to best handle security issues.
Maintaining a Safe Learning Environment
Secondary school principals and college presidents have immense responsibilities for directing the learning environment of the student body. Maintaining a feeling of safety and security at school is paramount to students’ ability to learn. Many effective prevention strategies target student behavior, such as reporting bullying and gang intervention programs. https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/center-for-prevention-of-youth-violence/research/ Such programs go a long way toward keeping students safer, but they take a long time to implement.
Having visible, uniformed security guards sends parents, students and community members a clear signal that student safety is a priority. The security officer team is dedicated to reducing the likelihood of both violent and nonviolent crime. Many school campuses hire a security guard team to help with many safety issues, such as:
- Identifying high-risk areas, such as inadequate lighting and poorly supervised locations.
- Patrolling and checking for any unusual behavior.
- Using a metal detector to keep weapons off campus grounds
- Using surveillance cameras
- Checking all doors and windows for security compliance.
- Acting as a liaison with law enforcement.
- Closely monitoring gang affiliations.
- Responding to alarms.
A Campus Security Guard can be a Friendly Face
Striking a balance between security measures and having a relaxed atmosphere is challenging. Fear of crime is detrimental to learning, but feeling stifled does not help learning either. Security guards who have friendly interactions with the student body earn their trust and improve the learning environment. The private security guard company, Twin City Security in Denver, uses concierge security to strike the perfect balance. These security officers are a great fit for school campuses because they get extensive training in public relations and communication.
If you would like to learn more about how TCS- Denver protects middle schools, high schools and college campuses, please give them a call at 720-593-6185
