Campus Security Technology Trends to Watch in 2023

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Improving Campus Safety in 2023

Campus Safety Magazine has been surveying how campuses have been adjusting to the ever-evolving issues posed by weather, violence, and other crisis situations. But how have campus emergency notification systems, policies and procedures fared? How significant were the challenges campuses face, and what lessons did K-12 schools and school districts, colleges and hospitals learn about emergency alerts? What is ahead in 2023 that we should all be aware of?

Those were just some of the questions posed by the latest Campus Safety Emergency Notification Survey. More than 300 campus protection professionals provided their input on those issues along with:

  • Access Control and Campus Security Site Assessments
  • Emergency Notification
  • Video Surveillance
  • Vape/E-Cigarette Detection
  • Cybersecurity

Click for your complimentary copy of the Campus Safety Report:
Campus Security Technology Trends to Watch in 2023.

 

Campus Safety and Emergency Notification systems

Knowing the importance of emergency alerts across large campuses, it was disappointing to learn that fewer organizations are deploying emergency notification solutions now, compared to previous years.

  • Only 64% of respondents reported using 2 or more systems
    • This is an 8% drop from 2020 and a 16% drop compared to 2019
  • 37% of respondents reported using only one system (33% or zero (no) systems (4%) for emergency notification.

Because of this, the report said to anticipate more organizations’ emergency notification/mass notification systems potentially having single points of failure, meaning that if one technology stops working, there might not be other technologies to bridge the communication gap. Having multiple systems also ensures leaders at a school, college, or hospital can reach more people with alerts during a crisis because the strengths of one technology can compensate for the weaknesses of others.

Last year’s spate of bomb threats at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and healthcare facilities that provide transgender medical care also highlight the need for institutions of higher education and hospitals to continue supporting their emergency notification programs.

The need for SMS text alerting technology in schools is particularly compelling considering the rash of hoax active shooter threats (commonly called “swatting”) that have been plaguing K-12 schools and districts in the last half of 2022.

These incidents highlight the need for all schools and other organizations with expansive campus structures to have a well-thought-out plan for how emergency information and student/parent/patient reunification instructions will be quickly conveyed via text messaging to all concerned parties before, during, and after an incident.

Meet ACTIVATE

To learn more about integrated emergency notification solutions, meet ACTIVATE. Powered by the nation’s leading 9-1-1 communications provider, Activate offers a comprehensive and turnkey solution for most education, government, and healthcare organizations that are at risk for crisis situations. Activate works with most existing hardware, making it a cost-effective option for facilities with existing PA systems, bells and alarms. And, when personnel are properly trained on emergency protocols, Activate can empower staff with the training to recognize and correctly respond to critical safety issues in seconds.

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