Category: Access Control Systems
Understanding the Difference Between Lockdown and Lockout in Schools
- Lockdown and lockout are two distinct security protocols used in schools.
- Lockdown is implemented in response to an immediate threat inside the school building, while lockout is used to secure the school building perimeter in response to a potential threat outside.
- Both protocols are necessary for school safety and should be practiced regularly.
School safety is a top priority for administrators, teachers, and parents. Schools implement two critical safety protocols, namely lockdowns and lockouts, to ensure the safety of students and teachers. Both procedures serve distinct purposes and require different responses. Understanding these differences can help schools implement the right measures to keep everyone safe.
What Is a Lockdown?
A lockdown is a security protocol implemented in response to an immediate threat within the school building. This threat could be an active shooter, a violent intruder, or any other situation that poses a direct and imminent danger to the occupants. The primary goal of a lockdown is to secure students and staff in designated safe locations, minimizing their exposure to the threat.
Here are some of the specific actions taken during a lockdown:
- Immediate Action: The announcement of a lockdown triggers swift and decisive action.
- Securing Rooms: During most lockdown protocols, teachers and staff move students into classrooms or other designated safe areas. The procedure also involves locking doors and barricading entry points.
- Hiding and Remaining Silent: Occupants are instructed to stay out of sight, often on the floor and away from windows. Silence is crucial to avoid attracting attention.
- Lights Out: Lights are generally turned off in the rooms.
- Accountability: Teachers are instructed to ensure all students are accounted for during a lockdown.
- No Movement: Movement within the building is restricted. Students and staff remain in their secured locations until there is an “all-clear” announcement.
- Law Enforcement Control: Beyond instructions and safety processes, the emergency situation is generally managed by law enforcement, who are responsible for neutralizing the threat.
What Is a School Lockout?
A lockout is a security measure used to secure the school building perimeter in response to a potential threat outside the building. This could include criminal activity in the surrounding neighborhood, a dangerous animal on school grounds, or a nearby police situation. The key difference is that the threat is external, not internal.
What Happens During a Lockout?
When a lockout is triggered:
- Exterior doors are locked to prevent unauthorized access.
- Students and staff remain inside but continue their normal activities.
- No one is allowed to enter or leave the building until an “all-clear” is given.
- Security personnel or local authorities monitor the situation closely.
A lockout allows schools to continue operating while ensuring that no external threats can enter the building. It is a proactive measure to prevent a dangerous situation from escalating.
Why Schools Need Both Lockouts and Lockdowns
Schools must be prepared to respond to a range of threats, from external risks to immediate dangers inside the building. Implementing both security protocols can ensure they take a holistic approach to school safety. The effectiveness of both lockdown and lockout procedures hinges on clear communication and thorough training.
Schools must have well-defined protocols, and all staff members must be trained on how to implement them quickly and efficiently. Regular drills are essential to ensure that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities. It’s also important to use the latest surveillance and safety technology. In a crisis, every second counts, and technology can play a vital role in ensuring a swift and coordinated response.
Best Practices for Implementing Lockouts and Lockdowns
To ensure a smooth and effective response, schools should follow these best practices:
- Conducting Regular Drills: Administrators should schedule lockdown and lockout drills throughout the school year. Schools should also work with local law enforcement to ensure realistic scenarios and proper training. Reviewing and refining procedures based on drill results can help streamline the process.
- Educating Staff and Students: Teachers and staff should be trained on how to recognize and respond to threats. The administration should also provide clear instructions to students so they understand what is expected during a lockdown or lockout.
- Implementing Reliable Security Technology: Video surveillance systems can help monitor school perimeters and detect suspicious activity. They can be used with access control systems to restrict entry and enhance security. Schools can also partner with security service providers to deploy automated lockdown solutions for quick and effective response.
- Establishing Clear Communication Protocols: All staff members should know how to initiate a lockdown or lockout. Administrators should also install mass notification systems to quickly alert students, teachers, and emergency responders.
- Collaborating with Law Enforcement: Schools should develop partnerships with local police departments to improve emergency response times. This collaboration can also help provide invaluable training and expertise.
The Role of Security Technology in School Safety
At Digital Provisions, we specialize in providing schools with the security solutions they need to manage lockdowns and lockouts effectively. Our advanced lockdown system allows school administrators to initiate an immediate lockdown at the push of a button. This system integrates with access control, video surveillance, and alarm systems, ensuring a coordinated security response.
Here are some key benefits of using our integrated lockdown system:
- Instant Response: Rapidly activates security measures, significantly reducing response times during critical emergencies. It ensures that every second counts by immediately initiating the lockdown procedure. This system also provides a centralized solution for quick and efficient lockdown activation.
- Automated Locking: Wired or wireless door locks automatically lock to secure the building and prevent intruders from moving freely within the premises. This enhances physical security by creating a barrier that restricts unauthorized access and can be integrated with existing access control systems for seamless operation.
- Real-Time Alerts: Immediately notify staff, students, and law enforcement, providing critical information as events unfold. This enables faster response times and coordinated efforts among security personnel and first responders. It also offers customizable notification options—like mobile notifications, PA announcements, and strobes—to ensure the right people receive alerts.
- Live Video Monitoring: Allows security teams to assess threats in real-time, providing crucial visual information for effective decision-making. It enables remote monitoring of the situation, enhancing situational awareness and providing valuable evidence for post-incident analysis and investigation.
By investing in advanced security technology, schools can reduce response times and improve overall safety for students and staff.
If you’re a school administrator looking to implement lockdown or lockout protocols, Digital Provisions can help. Our expertise in video surveillance, alarm systems, access control, and building lockdown systems, including our Lockdown solution, enables us to offer comprehensive security solutions. Contact us today to book a consultation!
Why School Lockdown Systems Are Essential for Safety
Ensuring the safety of students and staff within educational institutions has become a paramount concern in recent years. The increasing frequency of security threats, including active shooter incidents and unauthorized intrusions, has underscored the necessity for robust safety measures. Among these, lockdown systems have emerged as a critical component in safeguarding schools. Implementing lockdown systems serves as a deterrent to potential threats and provides a structured response during crises.
What Are School Lockdown Systems & How Do They Work?
A school lockdown system is a comprehensive security solution designed to quickly secure a facility during emergencies. Its primary function is to restrict access and movement within the school, thereby minimizing potential harm to occupants. Lockdown systems can be activated through various methods, including special card swipes, software-activated initiation (e.g., Milestone, Alertus, IP Phone hotkey), one-touch mobile app buttons, or traditional lockdown buttons.
Lockdown During a Safety Incident
Whether responding to an intruder, an active shooter, or other dangers, lockdowns help minimize risk by keeping people safely inside designated areas until the threat has passed. Schools, workplaces, and public spaces implement these protocols to ensure a swift and coordinated response, prioritizing the safety of everyone on-site.
Understanding School Security Threat Levels
1. All Clear
No active threat; normal operations continue.
This status means there is no danger, and all activities proceed as usual.
2. Event Night
Controlled access for planned events.
This setting allows certain groups to enter with specific doors unlocked, while other security measures, such as ManTrap functions, may be temporarily disabled for ease of access.
3. Elevated Notifications
Potential concern identified; communication initiated.
When a possible issue arises, such as a non-immediate safety concern, notifications are sent to staff and parents, keeping them informed while security personnel assess the situation.
4. Lockout
External threat detected; perimeter secured.
This protocol is used when there is a threat outside the building, such as police activity nearby. All external doors are locked, and access is prevented while normal activities may continue inside.
5. Lockdown
Immediate threat inside; full security measures were activated.
This is the most serious level, used in situations such as an active shooter. All external and internal doors are locked, access is denied to everyone except first responders, strobes are triggered, a lockdown announcement is made over the PA system, and emergency notifications are displayed on public monitors.
These security levels provide a structured, automated response to threats, ensuring the safety of students, staff, and visitors. The ability to customize these levels allows districts to implement security solutions tailored to their unique needs.
Key Benefits of Implementing a Lockdown System in Schools
A well-designed lockdown system provides schools with a critical layer of security, ensuring swift and effective responses to potential threats. Here are the key benefits of having a lockdown system in place:
Enhanced Student and Staff Safety
The primary benefit of a lockdown system is the immediate protection it offers students and staff. By securing entry points and restricting movement within the facility, the system minimizes exposure to potential threats and helps prevent harm.
Faster Emergency Response
Modern lockdown systems integrate with emergency notification platforms, instantly alerting law enforcement, staff, and parents when a lockdown is activated. This reduces response time and ensures coordinated action during crises.
Controlled Access and Intrusion Prevention
Advanced access control systems allow administrators to lock down specific areas or the entire campus instantly. Unauthorized individuals are prevented from entering, helping neutralize threats before they escalate.
Modern access control solutions also enable administrators to customize lockdown responses based on the nature of the threat. For example, a partial lockdown can be activated to secure specific wings or classrooms, while a full lockdown ensures that all entry points are sealed off until law enforcement arrives.
Improved Communication and Coordination
Effective communication is the backbone of any successful emergency response. During a crisis, clarity, speed, and coordination are essential to ensuring that all staff, students, and emergency responders take the right actions at the right time.
Modern lockdown systems are designed to seamlessly integrate with various communication modalities, including intercoms, mobile alerts, public address (PA) systems, and emergency notification platforms, creating a centralized, real-time information network. This multi-channel approach ensures that no one is left uninformed, reducing panic and improving response times.
Increased Deterrence Against Threats
When schools implement security measures, such as clear signage indicating the presence of video surveillance and access control systems, it raises awareness among students, staff, and the surrounding community. This awareness helps build trust and communicates to potential intruders that their actions will likely be monitored and recorded.
Studies have shown that the mere presence of surveillance cameras, controlled entry points, and visible security protocols can significantly lower the likelihood of crimes like vandalism, theft, or even violence.
Seamless Integration with Other Security Measures
Lockdown systems work in harmony with a school’s broader security infrastructure, creating a multi-layered defense mechanism. By integrating with video surveillance, alarm systems, access control, emergency lighting, and AI-driven analytics, these systems provide real-time intelligence and automated responses that significantly enhance overall safety.
Compliance with Safety Regulations
Many state and federal regulations require schools to have emergency preparedness plans, including lockdown procedures. Implementing an advanced lockdown system enhances compliance with safety standards and reduces liability risks.
One key regulation is Alyssa’s Law, which requires public K-12 schools in certain states, including New York, to consider installing silent panic alarms that directly notify law enforcement in emergencies. This law aims to improve response times and enhance school security, with efforts underway to make it a federal law.
While the Clery Act mandates emergency response policies for colleges and universities, K-12 schools follow state-specific requirements for lockdowns and emergency preparedness. Ensuring proper safety measures not only strengthens security but also helps schools meet compliance standards and reduce risk.
Peace of Mind for Parents and Educators
Knowing that a robust security system is in place provides reassurance to parents, teachers, and administrators. It fosters a sense of security, allowing educators and students to focus.
At Digital Provisions, we specialize in designing and implementing state-of-the-art security solutions tailored to your unique needs. Our Lockdown Solution provides rapid response capabilities, securing your facility at the push of a button. Ready to enhance your school’s security? Get a free on-site security assessment today and discover how our lockdown solutions can keep your students safe!
Manage Important Employee Information Using Access Control Systems
Modern access control systems can help you better manage employee information while still performing its primary function, which is to secure your facility properly. Your Electronic Access Control (EAC) system can be used to store important employee information such as contact info and vehicle info both of which are relevant to using your EAC system. Advanced systems like those from S2 (www.s2sys.com) can also house other data for each employee using custom fields.
Many organizations will define custom fields to hold data such as emergency contact info, department info, vacation days or anything else that you need to keep stored. Custom templates may also be configured which allow you to make entering new employees easier while maintaining uniformity amongst different records.
EAC card credentials can also store information and be used for employee identification while on the job. You can store each employee’s picture with their person record and then print this directly onto their credential. This essentially gives you an ID badge and key to unlock doors all in one card.
Employee credentials may also be used in conjunction with time limits. Credentials may be set to expire after a certain timeframe, very useful for temporary employees and other unique situations. You may also decide to set a policy in which credentials automatically expire after certain period passes in which they have not been used. This helps prevent lost credentials or fired employees from being granted access into your building. And don’t worry, you can be alerted by email before a credential is going to be deactivated, allowing you to take extended leave situations into account and postpone the deactivation.
Person Trace is a very useful tool for managers to use in conjunction with employee issued credentials. Your system should allow you to flag a particular user’s person record. Once flagged, the system will automatically trace all activity and automatically create an event every time that credential is used. You will also find it useful to run user activity reports which will allow you to filter on and focus on any event type you wish like access denied events for example.
Digital Provisions is specialized in installing and upgrading any type of Electronic Access Control Systems to a more advanced IP-based system. Contact us at (631) 209-2600 for a no obligation site security design. Our access control specialists will give you the information you need to properly secure your facility.