Campus Safety Voices Campus Safety Magazine

It’s no secret that a key ingredient to having an effective campus public safety department is ensuring officers are paid a competitive wage. However, since the pandemic, keeping officer salaries competitive has become a significant challenge with the inflation rate skyrocketing to 7% in 2021 and 6.5% the following year. Although inflation dropped quite a bit in 2023 and this year, it’s still higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.This was the challenge facing Keene State College Director o...

Communication failures have played a significant role in many school tragedies. While we can't fully prevent human and technological errors, there are ways to improve emergency response without breaking the bank.Donald Webster, Chief of Campus Safety at Kalamazoo Public Schools and a 2024 Campus Safety Director of the Year finalist, turned to several available grants to help improve communication technology throughout the district.In this interview, Webster shares how he used funds from the M...

Lockdown drills have become a standard part of school security across the United States. Although it is important to feel prepared to respond to a school emergency, these drills often elicit anxiety, fear, and sometimes trauma among students and staff.Ian Lopez, director of safety and security for the Cherry Creek School District in Colorado and a 2024 K-12 Campus Safety Director of the Year finalist, has worked diligently to ensure lockdown procedures minimally impact student and staff menta...

Each year, Orange County Public Schools conducts training, dubbed Preparedness Days, to train school leaders on emergency management and safety issues. However, this annual event started much smaller, the way many safety initiatives do. Several years ago, the Florida school district was gifted tourniquets and Stop the Bleed kits from one of its hospital partners, Orlando Health. Over three days in the summer, Orlando Health helped train district principals on how to use the new supplies. The ...

Southern hospitality may be alive and well in much of North Carolina, but safety precedes manners at Buncombe County Public Schools.For Joseph Hough, district assistant superintendent of auxiliary services and school safety and a 2024 Campus Safety Director of the Year finalist, access control has always been a priority. Over the years, he has implemented several inexpensive -- and even some free -- access control programs or systems that revolve around student and staff training.Hough shares...

Nineteen years ago, Aaron Skrbin, now director of safety and security at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, was unwittingly thrust into the role of school safety. During his second meeting as assistant principal at a Pennsylvania school district, the superintendent noted he had a first responder background before handing him a dusty binder containing the district's emergency operations plans written following September 11. "You're in charge of this now," the superintendent said. ...