Educational Campus Security in California

School and campus security services in California typically cost $40-$80 per hour per security officer, depending on whether officers are armed or unarmed, educational level (K-12 vs college), security role (stationed vs patrol), and contract length. School Resource Officers (SROs) for K-12 schools cost $40-$60/hour for unarmed and $65-$80/hour for armed. Most schools budget $6,000-$20,000 monthly for professional security coverage.

A School Resource Officer (SRO) is a trained security officer or law enforcement professional assigned to work in schools to provide campus security, student safety, emergency response, and positive interactions with students. SROs perform access control, visitor management, campus patrols, threat assessment, emergency response, and serve as positive role models and mentors for students. Professional SROs balance security effectiveness with supportive youth engagement.

Most K-12 schools utilize unarmed security guards or SROs to maintain a welcoming learning environment while providing effective security. Armed security may be appropriate for schools with history of violence, schools in high-crime areas, large high schools, or specific threat situations. Many districts prefer unarmed security complemented by strong visitor management, access control, and coordination with local law enforcement. We provide security assessments to determine appropriate security levels.

School security guards complete specialized training in educational environment security, positive student interaction and youth development, visitor management and access control, active shooter response and lockdown procedures, emergency evacuation and crisis response, threat assessment and reporting, conflict de-escalation with students, bullying and violence prevention, trauma-informed security practices, and child safety protocols. Officers also receive school-specific training on campus layout, policies, and emergency procedures.

Security guards help prevent school violence through visible deterrence discouraging attackers, access control preventing unauthorized entry, threat identification and reporting to administration, relationship building with students who may report concerns, rapid emergency response and lockdown coordination, and monitoring of campus areas and visitors. While no security measure is 100% guaranteed, professional security significantly reduces risk and provides rapid response capabilities.

Yes, ShieldWise Security provides comprehensive campus security for community colleges, universities, and higher education institutions throughout California including campus patrols and building security, residence hall and dormitory security, parking structure and lot security, library and facility access control, athletic event security, student safety escort services, emergency response and coordination, and special event security for campus functions.

Security guards support school administration and staff with safety and security issues but do not handle student discipline, which remains the responsibility of school administrators and teachers. Security officers can assist with safety concerns, de-escalate conflicts, separate students in fights, remove unauthorized individuals, and coordinate with administration during incidents, but school staff maintain authority over student discipline decisions and consequences.

ShieldWise Security can deploy school security guards within 1-2 weeks for most California schools and campuses to allow time for comprehensive background checks (DOJ clearances, LiveScan), TB testing as required, school-specific training and orientation, and coordination with school administration. Emergency deployment may be available faster for urgent situations. We recommend planning 2-3 weeks in advance for new school security programs.