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In light of the recent tragic events at schools, many camps will be re-examining their security measures. Camps evaluated security after the terrorist attacks of 2001. This single act of terrorism and its residual effects caused camp directors to tighten the protective measures around their camps. The threat of anthrax or other diseases passing through the mail, frequent warnings of potential terrorist activity on holidays, tight and elevated security in airports, concerns around online sexual predators finding victims at their camps, and horrific acts of violence against children in school settings are all reminders of the new set of concerns we must now live with and from which we must protect ourselves and our campers.
Directors who are evaluating their current security measures and considering additional security are on the right track. Consider your assets and vulnerabilities, the realistic probability of a dangerous occurrence, and your operational, cultural, building code, and cost constraints.
We suggest that
- Camps assess their security needs.
- Camps assess their level of risk and implement improved security precautions. Consulting with experts and/or hiring a security firm to assist in this effort can be very helpful.
- Camps develop a relationship with their local airports if campers arrive by air.
- Camps develop a relationship with their local law enforcement—police, sheriff’s departments, state troopers.
- Camps make contact with their state’s Homeland Security office. Find them at: www.whitehouse.gov/homeland.
Camp Security Considerations
Each camp should research and evaluate its individual needs and liabilities. The following is a checklist of the most important considerations. Assess these on your own or have a security firm or audit agency help you
- Assess the susceptibility of your campers to threats of kidnapping, international terrorism, domestic terrorism, and other dangers.
- Take stock of your land and location. First, assess your need for fencing, lighting, and telephones or cell phones for emergency calls. If your camp is on a large amount of land, ask your security firm (if you have one) how they can patrol or protect the area, especially the areas that cannot be fenced in or that include hundreds of acres. Review the architectural and environmental layout of your buildings in proximity to one another to determine secure and insecure areas. In addition, consider your camp’s nearness to cities, roads, or heavily forested areas.
- Design a protocol for handling visitors. Your protocol for parents, whose visits are probably anticipated, will be different from your protocol for sporadic visitors like delivery people. Consider the use of sign-in sheets, name tags for staff and all visitors, etc.
- Develop protocols for the acceptance and transfer of luggage, mail, and other parcels. Programs whose campers arrive by airplane have to deal with the handling of luggage in the airport. Contact the airport to create safe and low-hassle methods for transporting campers’ luggage. Many camps have been able to arrange for staff to accompany campers to the boarding gate. Those camps then have staff call campers’ parents when campers board the plane and again when the plane takes off.
- Assess the quality of management and control present in your facility, especially in the evenings. Some programs have nighttime officers or guard patrol. Others request that local law enforcement drive by at regular intervals.
- Coordinate with local support systems. One camp allows local law enforcement to use their land for training when camp is not in session; this helps officers familiarize themselves with the grounds.
- Help parents feel confident. Tell them about some of the safety measures you have in place, but don’t undermine your security plan by divulging all the information.
Homeland Security
The office of Homeland Security in your state needs to know where your camp is located. Contact them—talk with them about security issues. Develop an ongoing relationship with them. This Web site: www.whitehouse.gov/homeland has a link to help you find out who your governor has appointed as the Homeland Security contact for your state.
Find the Right Security Firm
If you decide to hire a security firm, consider the following:
- Many security firms claim to specialize in camp security, but select your firm carefully; even these firms don’t always understand the issues specific to camps.
- Focus on the need to maintain the atmosphere of community and wilderness at your camp even as you increase safety measures.
- Interview several firms and select a professional with whom you have good rapport—one who either understands camp life or is willing to learn.
- Watch for firms that want to sell you equipment inappropriate for your camp.
- The best consultants have experience doing vulnerability assessments and surveys and look at your facility with the eyes of a perpetrator. They consider all the possible ways that your camp’s security can be breached or your campers harmed—and then determine how to prevent such occurrences.
Lessons Learned
- Utilize professionals who know about security issues. Their advice and counsel can be invaluable.
- Measures like substituting existing staff in the role of security staff are often very economical but are ineffective or are less effective than comprehensive security management.
- Camp directors who might be tempted to use low-cost security can learn from the mistakes of the public schools and other institutions before making such mistakes themselves.
- Developing relationships with the authorities in your community is imperative.
Resources
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