When it comes to campus security, training is more important than technology, Barton Community College staff learned at a national conference on the subject.
Dean of Administration Mark Dean reported on the conference last Tuesday during the BCC Board of Trustees meeting. The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Summit on Safeguarding College Campuses was held Oct. 7-8 at New Orleans. It was attended by Dean, Barton’s Coordinator of Facility Management Jim Ireland and the college’s lead campus security officer, Lucas Stoelting.
“What’s important to you about campus safety and what I think of a safe campus is not as important as what a parent thinks is a safe campus or what our students think of as a safe campus,” Dean told the trustees. According to BCC Director of Public Relations Brandon Steinert, staff proposed using a student advisory board to help guide campus safety initiatives.
“More cameras in more places is on the list of things we hope to accomplish,” Steinert said, reporting on the meeting. “In the past our system has been focused on watching entrances, but a more standard approach involves a more comprehensive coverage of campus.”

Takeaways
The report to the BCC trustees notes the following takeaways from the conference:
• Violent Intruder - Typically, by the time an alert message is received, the event is over.
• Training is more important than technology.
• ALICE (Alert-Lockdown-Inform-Counter-Evacuate) or Run-Fight-Hide training is a must.
• All campus student groups and organizations should participate in the training (athletics, clubs, etc.).
• Recommended one camera per 1,000 sq. ft. of indoor space.
• Recommended expenditure for security on campus equals 1 percent of total expenditures.
• Recommended 24/7 security presence on campus.
• Armed security — either in-house or contracted — doubles the cost of having a security presence on a campus.