Using turnstiles to secure educational facilities

Educational facilities such as schools, colleges and universities are constantly busy and experience heavy footfall and with this comes the potential for criminal activity to take place.

Educational facilities are at risk from a range of different crimes, ranging from petty theft and vandalism to more serious criminal damage and theft. In a recent article we looked at how proximity cards can be used to limit access and keep educational facilities safe and secure, but turnstiles are another effective measure that can be employed to increase the security of your site.

The first line of defence
Turnstiles should be the first line of defence in educational facilities and can prevent criminals from using tactics like tail gating to gain access to a building.

Tail gating involves a criminal quickly following behind a person who has been approved entry, shielding them from view as they go in to a building or area. While you can train staff and security to pick up on signs of tailgating, installing turnstiles is the best way to deter this practice. They restrict entry into a single flow, slowing down traffic and allowing for better monitoring by your manned guards and CCTV operators.

While CCTV footage can pick up on criminal activity in retrospect and be used in court to help convict a criminal, it doesn’t necessarily prevent the act from taking place. A turnstile stops criminals from gaining access in the first place as only those approved by nearby security, or with an access card can gain entry to the site.

In addition to this, they act as a powerful deterrent by sending a message to would-be criminals that the educational site is well secured and provide students, staff and visitors with peace of mind that they can conduct their learning without the fear of falling victim to crime.

Half height turnstiles
Waist & half height turnstiles offer a stylish and modern looking security solution for protecting an educational site which means that students, staff and lecturers can feel safe but not intimidated by security measures that are put in place.

They can be integrated with a number of different access control options including proximity cards, tokens, keypad entry and voice/video intercom control and can be customised to meet your needs. Here at Gateway we offer 4 different styles of waist & half height turnstiles – the TriFlo console, TriFlo Premier, TriFlo Sentry and Rotogate SI.

We also provide free feasibility surveys to assess your requirements and non-obligation quotes. Click here to arrange a callback or click here to download our free brochure.