Visitor Sign-In
Visitor sign-in is a form of access control, as schools aim to maintain safety by monitoring the entry and exit of all visiting personnel into the building.
Statistics
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Many schools have been implementing visitor sign-in at the main office as a safety measure for nearly two decades (1999-2000 - 96.6%; 2013-2014 - 98.6%) (U.S. Department of Education, 2015). This practice was highly utilized following the Columbine school shooting in 1999 (Addington, 2009).
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In 2017, approximately 90% of students ages 12-18 report visitors to their school were required to sign in and wear a badge or sticker (U.S. Department of Education, 2019).
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Visitor sign is among the three most commonly reported school safety measures observed by students, along with adults monitoring the hallway (88%) and a written code of conduct (95%) (U.S. Department of Education, 2019).
Impact on School Safety
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In a national study of 954 high schools...Jennings et al. (2011) discovered that few security measures had any preventative effect, and, in particular, access control measures and outsider identification measures had no significant effect on either violent or serious violent crimes. (Jonson, 2017).
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There was not a significant relationship between visitor sign-in procedures and reports of victimization (theft or criminalization) (Schreck, Miller & Gibson, 2003).
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Security features or equipment (eg, cameras, visitor passes, fences, or monitors) were more important to students’ than to faculty’s feelings of safety, in a study exploring safety measures in twelve schools (Bosworth, Ford & Hernandaz, 2011)
Visitor Sign-In Practices
There are a variety of practices that are used to control access to buildings using visitor sign-ins. Some practices include:
Buzzer Systems
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Visitors are required to use a buzzer outside the main doors upon arrival to the school. After office staff unlock the doors, visitors will sign-in and receive a visitor’s badge in the office .
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Howell Public Schools (MI) are implementing this system.
Identisys
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Identisys is a visitor sign-in system that sends text message notifications to parents when students are signed out of school, prints visitor badges with photo identification, records visitor activity, looks up visitors on the sex offenders list, and “red flags” visitors.
Paper-based Systems
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Visitors sign-in using a running log in the main office. The log is used to track who is entering and exiting the building and provides documentation of visitors’ history..
Raptor Visitor Management
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Raptor Visitor Management scan(s) the identifications of people entering the school and red flag anyone who comes up in the New York Sex Offender Database. The system will also print out time-sensitive visitor IDs...and will keep a record of any visitors in the building, which could be accessed in the future. (Gilson & Seckinger, 2017)
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Bay City Public Schools (MI) implemented Raptor in April 2019 (Davis, 2019).
Additional Information
For additional information on additional visitor sign-in systems:
References
Addington, L. A. (2009). Cops and cameras: Public school security as a policy response to Columbine. American
Behavioral Scientist, 52(10), 1426-1446.
Bosworth, K., Ford, L., & Hernandaz, D. (2011). School climate factors contributing to student and faculty perceptions
of safety in select Arizona schools. Journal of school health, 81(4), 194-201.
Davis, J. (2019). New Visitor Management System to be Implemented at Michigan District. Campus Security and Life
Safety. https://campuslifesecurity.com/articles/2019/03/20/new-visitor-management-system-to-e-implemented-at-
michigan-district.aspx
Gilson, R., & Seckinger, K. (2017). Schools look to security for new year. Raptor Technologies.
https://raptortech.com/resources/news/schools-look-to-security-for-new-year/
Jennings, W. G., Khey, D. N., Maskaly, J., & Donner, C. M. (2011). Evaluating the relationship between law enforcement
and school security measures and violent crime in schools. Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations, 11, 109–124.
doi:10.1080/15332586.2011.581511
Jonson, C. L. (2017). Preventing school shootings: The effectiveness of safety measures. Victims & Offenders, 12(6),
956-973.
Schreck, C. J., Miller, J. M., & Gibson, C. L. (2003). Trouble in the school yard: A study of the risk factors of
victimization at school. Crime & Delinquency, 49(3), 460-484.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2015). Percentage of public schools with
various safety and security measures: Selected years, 1999-2000 through 2013-14. Digest of Education Statistics.
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d16/tables/dt16_233.50.asp
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). Indicator 20: Students’ Reports of
Safety and Security Measures Observed at School. Indicators of School Safety and Crime.