Campus Safety Plan Template: The 6 Elements Every Plan Needs

A campus safety plan is the document that decides how well the next emergency goes. Not the cameras, not the officers: the written plan that tells several hundred people what to do while the situation is still unfolding.

Natural disasters, major medical issues, acts of violence: emergency situations often strike when we least expect them. While it won’t stop bad things from happening, a campus safety plan can significantly impact the outcomes of these events, mitigating chaos, providing direction, and improving the odds for a more positive resolution.

The increased feelings of safety that come from a campus prioritizing security can make all the difference. After all, the core purpose of higher education is to foster growth and facilitate learning, and neither happens if people do not feel safe.

While no two college campuses are exactly alike, the ultimate goal of a campus security plan is to protect people (students, faculty, staff, and visitors) and to create a space where they are free to thrive. 

This article outlines the basic framework for developing a comprehensive campus safety plan that will help your college cultivate a supportive, secure environment.

What is a campus safety plan?

A campus safety plan is a written document that sets out how a college identifies risks, who is responsible when something happens, how the campus is notified, and what students, faculty and staff should do in each kind of emergency. It is not the same thing as a security program. The program is the cameras, officers and access control. The plan is the document that tells people what to do with them at 2 a.m. on a Saturday.

A usable plan covers six sections: a description of the campus and its facilities, the security services and technology in place, the emergency response team and contact chain, communication methods, training and drill protocols, and emergency procedures by scenario. The outline below follows that structure and can be copied directly into your own document.

Laying the Groundwork for a Safe Campus Environment

While a safety plan is important for creating a safe campus community, the plan itself is only one piece of a larger puzzle. Other important steps include identifying and evaluating risks, ensuring campus security staff is adequate, and implementing supporting technology.

Since college campuses vary so much in size, location, and layout, it’s important to start the preparation for your campus safety plan by evaluating the risks your campus is most likely to face. 

Here are some steps to take for risk identification and analysis:

• Inspect campus buildings (including classrooms, offices, and dorms) and any other facilities
• Speak with security teams, students, faculty, and other staff members to learn about any potential security concerns or other relevant insights
• Review past security concerns and incidents
• Examine the uncovered risks and concerns, evaluating each for their likelihood and their impact (who it would impact, how it would impact them, what it would cost)
• Prioritize these risks, implement appropriate security measures, and create appropriate response protocols (which will then become part of your campus safety plan)

Once you’ve identified and analyzed the risks on your campus, it’s important to make sure your security personnel team is aware of those risks and the best ways to prevent them. Unlike law enforcement whose job is primarily to react to crimes that have already occurred, the job of security teams working on college campuses should be focused more on solving dynamic challenges and preventing crime. 

Tech Tools and Their Roles in Campus Security

In addition to a well-trained team, the security technology used on campus is one of the most important and effective tools to combat crime and other crises. 

• Surveillance cameras allow you to monitor for unusual or suspicious behavior and activity. They let you keep a constant watch on areas with a tendency for problems. Camera footage can also serve as vital evidence in the case of a crime. 
• Mobile security units let you easily place cameras in areas with little infrastructure such as parking lots. You can adjust the placement of these units to align with current needs (such as in anticipation of large campus events). 
• Artificial intelligence and advanced detection can be paired with security cameras to free up security personnel and alert them to issues. 
• Access control systems keep campus buildings safer, making it harder for intruders to easily slip in. This is particularly valuable in residence halls and apartments, though it can make a difference for main campus buildings as well.
• Alarms can be used to detect a number of threats, including off-hours entry, fires, floods, and more.
• Mass communication systems allow for quick and efficient notification of students and staff members.

6 Essential Elements of a Campus Safety Plan

1. A Description of the Facilities, Campus, and Equipment

Describe the campus grounds, buildings, and layout. List any equipment of significant note (such as biohazards or other potential hazards) and current enrollment and staffing numbers.

2. Security Services and Technology

Explain the basics of the campus security teams in place and how to contact them if needed. Also give a brief overview of the equipment employed around campus to create a safer environment. (While this information is good, there is no need to get too specific here. The goal is to inform relevant parties about what resources are available.)

3. Emergency Response team and Contact Procedures

Give a list of the positions and responsibilities of the campus emergency response team. Explain the chain of command and the appropriate contacts in emergency situations (and include the best way to contact the people in these roles). Frequently update this with current names and contact information to ensure it is accurate.

4. Communication Methods

Detail how campus officials will spread the word in the event of an emergency. Add all communication methods that may be used, including the appropriate sources to check in the event of an unfamiliar alarm. Also include the best way to contact the college in the event of an emergency situation.

5. Training and Drill Protocols

Outline the frequency of and the protocols for emergency drills and trainings. This should include the protocols for new staff member training and the general semester guidelines.

6. Emergency Procedures

After assessing the risks for your campus, outline your emergency procedures in your campus safety plan. This is perhaps one of the most important elements of the safety plan as it gives clear instructions on what to do (and what NOT to do) in the case of various scenarios. 

The situations covered should include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Lockdown/active shooter
• Fires
• Natural disaster
• Power outage
• Medical emergency
• Biohazard response
• Pandemic/epidemic

Campus Safety Plan Outline You Can Copy

1. Campus and facilities. Grounds, buildings and layout. Enrollment and staffing numbers. Equipment of note, including biohazards and other hazardous materials. Maps, including building access points.

2. Security services and technology. Who is on the security team and how to reach them. What is deployed and where, at a level of detail that informs without creating a map of your gaps.

3. Emergency response team. Positions, responsibilities and chain of command. Named contacts with current phone numbers. A review date, because this section goes stale faster than any other.

4. Communication methods. Every channel you will use, in what order. Which source the campus should check when an unfamiliar alarm sounds. How someone contacts the college during an emergency.

5. Training and drills. Frequency, scenarios covered, who must attend. Onboarding requirements for new staff. Semester schedule.

6. Emergency procedures by scenario. Lockdown and active threat. Natural disaster. Power outage. Medical emergency. Biohazard response. For each: what to do, what not to do, and who is notified.

Keep it short enough that people remember it. A plan nobody can recall under pressure is a compliance document, not a safety plan.

Word to the wise: While detail is admirable, people tend to have an easier time with simple and straightforward plans. The simpler you can make your campus safety plan, the higher the chance you have of people remembering what to do in emergency situations. In that same vein, drilling emergency procedures with faculty and staff on a regular basis can have a significant positive impact in a crisis situation.

A plan is only as good as the coverage behind it. If your emergency procedures assume visibility into parking lots, athletic fields and the paths between buildings, check whether your cameras actually reach those places. LVT campus security systems cover the outdoor areas fixed installations miss, and relocate as your risk map changes. Talk to an LVT specialist about your campus.