Addressing Safety Concerns When Choosing a School Perimeter Fence
A school perimeter fence is critical in increasing school safety. It provides the first line of defence against intruders or any forms of violence. Additionally, it ascertains ownership of the school. When installed with the needs of the school in mind and utilising the right material, your school's perimeter fence will establish a safer school environment. To effectively choose the right fence that will keep your school safe, while incorporating other security strategies, you need to consider the following factors.
School Surveillance
The material that makes up the fence should not restrict surveillance. Additionally, entrances and exits should be placed strategically for easier surveillance. Surveillance strategies and elements should be used to supplement the fence; for example, the main entrance should be visible from the main office and points of entry should be monitored to control access to buildings. Monitoring should also be done when students are arriving and leaving school.
Sensing devices need to be incorporated alongside the fence to maximise security. For example, video cameras or motion detectors.
Access Points
Entry points in the school's perimeter fence should be kept to a minimum -- at least two entry points to prevent congestion that can arise where only one entrance has been installed. Limited access points make surveillance easy by reducing the number of entry or exit points to monitor.
In some instances, having limited entry points may unintentionally place the students at risk. For example, if a student has to use an unsafe pathway to use the only access point available. To remedy such a circumstance, you can have lockable gates that will be open and closed at particular periods when students require to use them. You can organise for additional monitoring at those times.
Height and Range of a School's Perimeter Fence
The height of the fence will depend on your school environment. Is there a risk of intruders scaling it? Have you employed other security devices on the fence? Have you reinforced the fence? What type of fence have you chosen? A good fence should be six to eight feet or higher. Perimeter fences should not be close to school buildings -- you need to leave a safe space. Any risky event happening outside the school perimeter fence, which could be damaging should not affect any structure.
If you have a parking area in the school, it should also be located away from buildings. You can use fixed short steel or concrete bollards to prevent vehicles from getting near to buildings. For more information, contact your local fencing company today.