While 2022 showed declines in college enrollment, demand seems to be back up. Student housing communities are integral in accommodating the growing number of students seeking on- and off-campus residences. These student housing communities provide a convenient and communal living environment. They foster social interactions and academic support.
However, with the increasing population and the number of valuable assets in these communities, it has become imperative to put a higher priority on the implementation of robust security measures. Here’s what you need to know about why it’s necessary to bolster security in student housing communities. You’ll also learn about the strategies and technologies to apply in ensuring the safety and well-being of students.
Why Student Housing Communities Need to Prioritize Security
Security must always be a high priority for student housing communities. This is especially the case during move-in and move-out. Here are the four top reasons for this.
1. Increased traffic
Naturally, move-in and move-out days often have one of the heaviest traffic on- and off-campus. Students and their families come and go throughout the day. Many student housing communities may keep the doors propped open to make it easier and faster for everyone to enter the building with their heavy loads.
The open doors and increased traffic create opportunities for unauthorized people to gain access to the facility or commit crimes such as theft, vandalism, or assault. Moreover, not all students keep their doors locked on moving day or even throughout the school year.
2. Protect valuable possessions
Students do what they can to turn their home away from home into a comfortable living space. To do so, students tend to bring valuable possessions such as laptops, smartphones, gaming systems, and other electronic devices. This makes student housing communities prime targets for theft.
Property crimes, such as theft and vandalism, are common concerns in student housing communities. Investing in security technologies and implementing security best practices can greatly reduce and mitigate crimes.
Considering student housing communities drastically change every school year, very few people know their neighbors and who lives in the building. It’s impossible to keep track of who owns what and who does or does not belong in the building. Tailgating and piggybacking can easily become a big problem as students try to be helpful by holding the door open for strangers thinking they’re students.
3. Dealing with distractions and stress
Move-in and move-out days can be stressful and distracting for students and their families. It’s not surprising that move-in, move-out, and student housing can be an emotional experience. Students and their families navigate the logistics of moving in or out, adjusting to a new place while being separated from each other, and dealing with the emotional side of goodbyes or reunions. All of these make it easier for criminals to take advantage of distracted or vulnerable individuals.
4. The changing landscape of student housing communities
In recent years, the landscape of student housing has evolved. It has shifted from traditional forms to purpose-built off-campus housing communities. While these communities offer many benefits, they also present unique security challenges.
5. Liability protection
College life is renowned for its vibrant atmosphere, fueled by the energy of students embracing newfound freedom. However, it’s no secret that this excitement can sometimes result in wild antics and occasional mishaps. It’s crucial to address specific concerns such as pool security, nighttime coverage, vehicle incidents, damaged gates, unpaid damage charges, and the need for video evidence to help safeguard your property from liabilities.
Therefore, it’s critical to design and implement a comprehensive security process due to the density of students in a building, the presence of valuable belongings, the diversity of the student population and the need for liability protection.
Ways to Beef up Security in Student Housing Communities
Parents may be struggling with their students leaving home as their child is no longer under their protection. These top four ways to boost student housing security can reassure parents and ease the transition.
Promote personal safety
Improving security in student housing communities goes a long way in promoting personal safety. Adding multiple layers of security measures such as effectively lit pathways, security patrols, and video cameras with monitoring helps deter potential criminal activities and dangerous behaviors.
Additionally, access control systems using key cards or biometric entry ensure that only authorized people can enter the building. This cuts the risk of unauthorized access and potential threats. Moreover, educating students to adopt responsible personal security practices, such as locking doors, expensive items, medicines, and windows, further enhances the overall security posture. That brings up the next item.
Student education and awareness
You can have an unlimited budget for security, but it is only as good as its weakest link. The weakest links are the students and student housing employees. Therefore, it’s crucial to arm students and staff with knowledge and awareness about personal safety and security practices.
The security training needs to educate students about both online and physical safety practices. Examples of this are effective password management, tailgating and piggybacking, and how to spot phishing scams. Training promotes a sense of responsibility and contributes to a safer living environment.
The biggest challenge is determining what methods of education to employ. Students have their own schedules. They also learn in different ways. They have different preferences for how to receive information. When it comes to a topic like security, it’s essential to communicate and deliver the training in multiple ways.
The training can be done through the online community for student housing, videos, articles, emails, text messaging (sending links to the training and other resources), and more. Perhaps, students could be required to complete online training before they come to student housing. They will not be allowed to get access to their rooms until they’ve completed and signed off on the training.
Security training can be in the form of workshops, seminars, or orientation programs. Topics worth covering are personal safety, cybersecurity, and emergency preparedness. The training needs to encourage students to report suspicious activities and give them anonymous reporting channels. Doing these cultivate a culture of vigilance and proactive engagement.
Implement security technologies
Despite your best efforts to educate students, they may not do their part in creating a safe and secure environment. Fortunately, there are two proactive security options that can help overcome this challenge. Together, these technologies manage building access and put eyes all over the student housing community 24/7.
Here’s how it’s proactive and can lower the risk of students not following security protocols. A student uses their key card to enter the building. Someone follows right behind, and the student lets that person in. That person may not be a resident or staff member. Video surveillance with remote monitoring can help catch this and report it quickly before it escalates.
An access control system is one of the top technologies for controlling student housing access. This is the first layer of security as it allows doors to remain locked at all times. Students and employees enter the building using a key card/fob. If a student drops out of college or gets kicked out, then you can instantly turn off their access.
Even with access control, it’s still possible for piggybacking and tailgating to happen. That’s why educating students is an important component of security. But you can’t rely 100% on students to do their part. Integrating security cameras with remote monitoring adds another layer of security.
If anyone tries to piggyback into the building, then the monitoring part of video surveillance can help deter it. Remote video monitoring is done by video analytics and trained monitoring operators. You need both to optimize security.
It’s not effortless to watch the monitors for hours. Videos analytics help the trained monitoring operators by easing their load. The technology contains many programmed scenarios that allow it to constantly scan for potential matches. When it finds one, the system alerts the monitoring operator.
Monitoring operators are not located in the student housing community. They’re in a location far away from it. Their lives are never at risk. This helps ensure they take the right action for the scenario. For instance, there may be someone wandering around the parking garage late at night. The analytics will pick up the activity, but it’s the monitoring operator who can make the distinction between someone just walking to or from their vehicle and an intruder roaming between cars looking to break-in.
The operator could issue a warning on an onsite speaker, letting the trespasser know they are being watched. If the person ignores the warning, then the security professional can call the police. Oftentimes, they’ll arrive on the scene before the suspect escapes.
Traditional security systems tend to be reactive. They don’t know there is a problem until after something has already happened. Remote video surveillance can help catch potential problems that result in actions to deter and minimize the damage from problematic behaviors and crimes. This is the power of an integrated security system. It offers other benefits including saving on costs and mitigating risks.
Video surveillance with remote monitoring is more affordable than most people realize. Many Stealth clients yield a return on their investment within months.
Build partnerships
Student housing communities must develop partnerships with local law enforcement agencies and campus security. This partnership is valuable for information sharing and opening communication channels to ensure proactive responses to potential security threats.
This partnership may consist of regular meetings with partners, joint training sessions, and developing coordinated emergency response plans. These build a cohesive security network focused on the safety of students.
Get Started in Beefing up Student Housing
Don’t wait until the next move-in or move-out to buttress student housing. Security is a year-round effort. Creating a safe and secure home away from home for students depends on promoting personal safety, student education, adopting advanced technologies, and partnerships. Student housing security creates an environment that fosters safety and helps deter property crimes.
Want to learn more about security for student housing communities? Check out the Complete Guide to Securing a Residential Building. This guide focuses on options for securing your student housing community to help protect residents, visitors, vendors, and employees. To find the right security partner, use this video surveillance checklist or contact us.
Texas Private Security License Number: B14187.
