Your School Security Newsletter

October, 2011

Physical Security - The Middle Perimeter

Does Your School have a SART?

(Part 3 in a 4 part series)

An important area to examine when looking at your perimeter security is the middle perimeter.  The middle perimeter is everything between the walls of the school buidling and the end of school property.  This layer could include parking lots, out buildings, driveways, outdoor break areas, and more.

What the middle perimeter of your school encompasses will dictate what security measures you can take to cover it.  It's possible that your school has no middle perimeter.  You may be located on a street in an urban area with only a sidewalk separating the school from the street.  Since you don't own the sidewalk you can't do much there.  You can put cameras on the exterior walls to  monitor the entrance and other areas of the building, and use access control measures to maintan ingress and egress to the schhool.  If your're in an industrial setting you may have a parking lot or multi level garage to secure.  Again, you can use cameras and access control devices to maintain the scurity of the parking area.

A suburban setting may present different challenges because of having more space in the mddle perimeter.  A system called Crime Prevention Through Exterior Design (CPTED) can be used to plan your security measures for this area.  CPTED utilizes landscaping, lighting and security devices to create a secure environment.

If you do own the middle perimeter zone, you control what type of security measures and devices you use to protect it.  Look at this zone as a buffer between the outer and inner perimeter.  You can use it to enhance the seucitty of the inner perimeter with the proper placement of fences, cameras, and other CPTED measures.

Does your school have a SART?  A Sexual Assault Response Team is generally designed to ensure that victims are provided with the necessary care and services (legal, medical, social services).  The more diverse the team, the more effective it can be.

Your school must have a clear policy that has been communicated to all school personnel, administrators, faculty, staff and students, this policy should name the members of the SART and how to contact them.  The moment a report is made, the team must take action to provide the proper services to the victim.

The policy should address the issue of where the assault took place, and what action the school will take, even if the location of the assault is off school perperty.  It should also address just who the policy covers (which should encompass administrators, staff, faculty and students).

For more information on forming a SART go to http://www.nsvrc.org/projects/sart.  The National Sexual Violence Resource Center addresses how to form a SART in a community.  There is also a book titled "Creating a Comprehensive Campus Sexual Response Team" that was co-authored by the Chief of the Montclare State University, Chief Paul Cell, that addresses SARTS's as they apply to a college campus.