Campus IT leaders can help keep students, staff and visitors safe by becoming valuable partners for outdoor campus security. That might include providing access to the latest tools and techniques, understanding best practices for securing outdoor venues, and collaborating with security staff.
Layered Surveillance Is Key Outdoors
On most campuses, surveillance of indoor spaces is standard, but the sprawling complexity of outdoor spaces makes detection and monitoring more challenging. That’s why outdoor security systems need to go beyond basic video surveillance, says Dean Cunningham, public safety development manager at Axis Communications. In addition to monitoring the environment, outdoor systems should also deliver actionable operational intelligence to help campuses identify issues and allocate security resources, he says.
“Outdoor video systems should be integrated into a centralized command center or security operations center, which allows incidents to be monitored and managed in real time,” Cunningham says. “When designed well, camera networks do more than just record footage; they also generate searchable operational data that helps security teams move from hours of manual video review to seconds of data-driven investigation.”
DISCOVER: A layered approach to security keeps campuses safe.
When considering an outdoor space, think of it as one open, operational space rather than a collection of buildings, Cunningham recommends. A layered outdoor safety strategy should include cameras, lighting, emergency communication systems, analytics and trained personnel.
Outdoor surveillance has been around for many years, but the ability for far-flung outdoor systems to be integrated and driven by analytics is relatively new. When the security components are integrated and analyzed through automation, campuses can reduce response times, improve situational awareness and better coordinate emergency response across departments, Cunningham says.
Cunningham recommends campuses use security data for incident response and to improve planning by informing lighting upgrades, patrol routing, event security plans and broader infrastructure improvements. For major events and surge activity, such as concerts, athletic competitions and other large campus gatherings, he recommends scaling existing outdoor systems to cover more ground and more activity.
Employ Emergency Communications for Mass Notifications
Colleges and universities are required by law to send out alerts to the campus community when there is a threat to physical security, says Maureen Rush, former vice president of public safety at the University of Pennsylvania and principal of The Rush Group security consultancy.
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During her time at Penn, “we would send out 60,000 texts and emails to tell people about a security threat,” Rush says. “But we also needed to inform people who weren’t part of the school community, such as neighbors and visitors.”
One of the solutions that worked well was to install an outdoor siren system, which required the help of IT professionals but provided faster communication than a text alert. “You need a siren to alert people of a situation, but it should also have a voice that can clearly provide an update and give people instructions for what to do,” Rush says.
She worked with the university’s IT department and the vendor to place sirens in areas that could be heard beyond the campus perimeter to quickly communicate with off-campus students and others.
Security Partnerships Can Extend Outdoor Protections
While IT plays a crucial role in security, keeping people safe outdoors is not solely a technology project. “It is an all-of-campus responsibility,” Kilfoyle says.
He recommends identifying which outdoor spaces matter most, such as transit stops, parking lots, athletic fields, main quads and other event locations. Next, each of those spaces should be assessed individually for lighting, visibility, emergency communications, wayfinding, vehicle access and response time, he says.
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Kilfoyle also recommends focusing on partnerships as an important component of public safety. “Colleges and universities should maintain strong relationships with municipal police, fire, EMS and transit partners,” he says.
It’s also important to build partnerships with the campus community, ensuring that students and staff know how to report any concerns, where to get emergency information and what to do in an emergency.
The partnership among IT leaders and security leaders is perhaps one of the most important for building and maintaining a safe outdoor environment on campus. That relationship makes it possible for security staff to communicate with each other and the public, extending cellphone service and making it possible to track and manage campus visitors. “It’s crucial for IT professionals to work closely with security professionals,” Rush says. “Without IT networks and extender networks, we can’t keep a campus secure.”
Outdoor spaces are safest when they are appropriately observed, maintained and “backed by a strong culture of shared responsibility,” Kilfoyle says.
