Teaching Schools About Crime Prevention

There are many ways in which schools can tackle crime, and it is not always necessary to have a big security budget to do so. Catherine Park of the British Security Industry Association discusses the problems schools face and the solutions that are available.

The Department for Education and Employment cites vandalism, theft and malicious fires - in that order - as the prime criminal threats to our schools.  In extreme cases, such incidents result in their prolonged or even permanent closure.  The problem has grown with a speed that has matched the vast increases in crime suffered by society as a whole during the past two decades.  In some respects, schools have suffered more, since, as the DfEE points out, most schools were designed at a time when crime prevention was not a major factor.  Consequently, the typical combination of open sites with long perimeters, multiple entrances, temporary buildings and excessive glazing make them easy targets.

The experts agree that the best way forward for any school is professional, realistic risk assessment, then allocating resources to the most robust protection it can afford in key areas. The guiding principle should always be to concentrate on the most serious risk, certainly if the alternative is to spread finite resources thinly across several areas of risk with differing likelihoods and outcomes. Evidence of good housekeeping, such as the timely repair of minor damage, the immediate removal of graffiti and the disposal or securing of combustible waste outside buildings, is also highly recommended.

Physical security measures should be the first priority. The physical design of many schools makes crime easier and attracts child trespassers, through, for example, construction features that enable easy access to roofs. To prevent this schools must remove, or physically obstruct, these ‘ladders’ by using devices such as barbed or razor wire, metal grilles, revolving poles, ‘crown of thorns’ spikes, non-drying paint and anti-climb plastic downpipes.  Obviously, safety is a factor here and warning signs may well be appropriate.  Such matters combine with the sound physical security of accessible doors, windows and skylights to form the minimum acceptable security standards for any school.

Only when a school is as physically secure as it can reasonably be made should the next stage be approached; namely, providing the means to detect any intrusion that does take place.  This means installing security systems, such as intruder alarms, CCTV and access control.  Intruder detection should normally take precedence over automatic fire detection because, to some extent, it protects against both burglary and fire by detecting the presence of burglars and potential arsonists alike.  Detection must be accompanied by a means of intervention.  Intruder alarms that do nothing other than give an audible warning are effectively useless in the context of most schools.  For one thing, the police will not respond to them without some other evidence that a crime is in progress.  Always choose a monitored alarm that is connected via a communications network to a 24-hour alarm receiving centre with priority links to the local police control room. 

As with all aspects of security, the quality of equipment and service are crucial. Cost should only become a decision-making factor when comparing potential suppliers of similar ability and repute, preferably those with impeccable credentials such as membership of the British Security Industry Association.

The British Security Industry Association is the UK professional trade association covering all aspects of the security industry.  For information on security issues or products, contact the BSIA helpline on Tel: 01905 21464 during normal office hours or visit the website at www.bsia.co.uk

Case Studies:

•It may be possible for schools to effectively increase their available security resources by partnership arrangements with nearby organisations. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance installed recently by the London Borough of Hillingdon at its Cranford Park Primary School has since been extended to cover an adjacent shopping precinct. The system’s installer, Photo-Scan Systems Ltd, a British Security Industry Association member, explains that the security of both premises is now monitored from inside the school.  This type of simple idea could easily be extended to generate revenue for the school, reducing or even covering the cost of its own security. 

•One local authority in the north of England recently approached specialist BSIA company Computer Security Systems Ltd for advice after 20 per cent of its 133 local schools had fallen victim to computer theft during a single six-month period. The company installed physical security equipment into 24 of the borough's schools. Its Sales Manager, Paul Young, says, ‘It isn't just the equipment that is lost when theft occurs, but all the information stored on it.  So we have locked school computers in place using our entrapment product.  This is the only deterrent that is working.  The initial investment in security will save money in the long run and prevent a great deal of disruption to lessons.’  The borough has now allocated funds purely for the prevention of computer theft. 

•Another simple yet effective theft prevention measure is property marking, which has been shown both to deter theft and to significantly improve the chances of stolen property being recovered. Permanent marking systems are available that are invisible to the naked eye. They can help to identify the origin of valuable property such as computers and video equipment, which prevents the frustrating problem of patently stolen property being returned to criminals because of the inability to prove its true ownership.

•Milton Keynes Council recently decided to address a specific threat to their schools’ computer departments by installing an anti-burglary device more commonly linked to alarm systems in banks, nuclear bases, arms depots and top secret government establishments.  The device, invented by BSIA member Smokecloak Ltd, quickly fills the area with dense smoke, making it impossible for thieves to operate and often trapping them in the building until police arrive.  Milton Keynes has seen a dramatic reduction in school burglary from its security measures, which included a visit to every school by a crime prevention officer.

•Many leading installers now provide intruder alarms linked to microphones that allow operators at the alarm receiving centre to hear what is happening inside the building once an intruder has been detected.  This is known as audible alarm confirmation and attracts a high priority from police forces.  Audible confirmation has been used with particular success in the school environment by local authorities such as Oldham.  Pioneering councils in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and elsewhere have also achieved notable success from developing the use of CCTV in schools. In Newcastle, CCTV was installed primarily to combat and deter serious acts of vandalism and has excelled in this role from its inception in the late 1980s.  Some instances of 100 per cent reductions in vandalism have been recorded, with reduced repair bills covering the cost of the security equipment in a relatively short time.

BSIA Communications Department,
Security House,
Barbourne Road,
Worcester, WR1 1RS
tel: 01905 727707
fax: 01905 613149
www.bsia.co.uk