The very thought of employing full-time security guards at schools in Australia, just 30 years ago, would have seemed ludicrous but nowadays it’s happening more and more frequently. In fact, in 2015 Federal Justice Minister, Michael Keenan announced that 54 schools across the nation were able to use government funds to pay for security guards.
While many people believed that this was in response to the heightened threat of terror that is present both in Australia and across the globe, the minister stressed that other factors had influenced the decision, such as racial and religious intolerance.
The importance of school security
Security at schools has become a growing concern due to the changes in today’s society including knife and gun crime, arson, vandalism, terrorist attacks, child exploitation, and other issues that endanger the safety of children, teachers, and parents.
Everyone should feel safe in the school environment and while CCTV cameras and keypads on doors help to keep intruders out, nothing gives people peace of mind like having security guards at schools in Australia.
So, let’s take a look at 4 of the main reasons that school security is so important.
- Security Patrols – Security guards can patrol the premises even when classes are being held to ensure the safety of both the students and the facility. It is part of their job role to walk around the grounds while students and faculties are busy getting on with their schedules. Making regular patrols of the grounds maintains a level of protection and enables guards to carry out security checks and even break up any student fights which may be occurring.
- Parent reassurance – Another reason that having security guards at schools in Australia is so important is to reassure parents that everything possible is being done to protect the school from intruders and other types of violence that can happen outside the premises. Strangers need to report to security both when they check-in and check out, enabling security staff to know at all times, who is coming and going throughout the day.
- Fast response to emergencies – You never know when an emergency may occur and having security guards already on the premises means they can prevent panic and chaos from breaking out. Trained security guards know what actions to take in an emergency and can also call for police assistance immediately if they can’t handle the situation on their own.
- Guard the school or campus – Guarding the faculty is different from the earlier point we mentioned of patrolling the grounds. Guards must secure all entrance and exit points to prevent intruders from gaining access and causing terror or harm to the students and anyone else working inside the site. By using their guarding skills, they can sniff out if a person is acting suspiciously while also being aware of the faces they see regularly.
Having security guards at schools in Australia makes students and parents feel more at ease when they are in the environment since they trust that should anything go wrong, the school’s security will kick into action.
Naturally, such security will only be effective if the security guard/s are properly trained and if not, then the school or college could be at risk.
Here at MA Services Group, our security guards are fully licensed and undergo rigorous training in a wide range of security aspects before being placed in any educational institutions.
For more information on our security guards or our school security, please give MA Services a call on 1300 020 406.
