Security does not need to be difficult

Keeping our kids safe in schools is a top priority. With the recent grants being made available there are quite a few new products floating around but nothing really beats the old tried and tested. Last week in Vermont I had the opportunity to work out of a high school in Burlington. Always curious to see what security features different places have - I took the opportunity to walk around the school. One of the features that caught me eye were the classroom doors.

The doors feature a window which allows for natural surveillance to see what is occurring in the hallway and who is at the door. The window glass is safety glass which contains an embedded screen - this will hold the glass together in the event of breakage, which will deny and certainly delay an intruder.

The window also featured blinds. In addition to locking or barricading the door, turning off the lights, staying out of sight is key and the blinds offer an added measure to accomplish that.

Another item of note is the door lock. These do not need to be fancy or elaborate - a simple commercial lock will do the trick. The door also opens inward and has a door closer which affords the opportunity to barricade and slip something over the door closer for added security.

Studies have shown that active threat incidents do not last a very long time and those looking to cause harm want to inflict as much damage as quickly as possible. Something as simple as a secured door will go a long way to mitigating the effects of an incident!