Rural areas typically have a special beauty all their own. In these places we get to experience beautiful landscapes of fields, forests, creeks, rolling hills or mountains. Living in these communities also has some advantages over cities. They are not as crowded, less congested, no traffic, less crime and less daily stress. If you’re lucky enough to send your kids to rural schools, they will get to know all of their classmates.
The Challenges of Rural Life
The very qualities that make rural living attractive, being far from urban centers, also presents challenges to residents. For example, you won’t find water or sewer service in the country. Those residents are just too far from a city to get those services.
Many areas don’t have their own police or fire departments, either. Rural residents tend to live in townships, away from even the smallest of cities. Too often, rural townships don’t can’t support police or fire services so the depend on the county to supply them. Because of this fact, first responders are forced to travel miles, or tens-of-miles, when there is an emergency.
With the increased terror threat, and the on-going fear of school shootings, there is a growing concern over the security of rural schools and the response times to them if an event occurs.
How Rural Schools Can Prepare
This week, SecurityInfoWatch.com reports on how one rural district is dealing with this fear. Weld County School District Re-3J in Colorado put into place a technological solution: a Rapid Emergency Response System (RERS). The system works by pulling one of the pull-levers located around the school. It alerts police so they can respond as fast as possible. Only when an intruder or an active-shooter threatens the school should the system be activated.
While this system may alert police faster, it still doesn’t change the fact the school is located in a remote area and those at the school will have to wait for first responders to arrive.
There is one solution that puts help at the school right away and may even deter would-be threats. That solution is a security officer. Having security on-site will often result in intruders simply leaving the school.
In the event that an active shooter situation develops, security guards will be able to respond immediately and provide aid. With technology solutions and body cameras, the school’s principle, district superintendent and even nearby police can receive real-time reports and video of the situation. This will allow stakeholders and first responders to have up-to-the-second information to use when making decisions.
On-site security is an efficient and effective way to deter crime and respond to attacks. In rural areas where help could be 10, 20 or 30 miles away, having an officer on the scene could save lives.
If you would like to know more about how American Security Force can help secure your school, call us at 877-722-8585.
