Verkada Podcast: AI and Smart Locks Reshape School Security

Keeping intruders out is the primary goal of today’s school security systems, a stark reality for communities grappling with the ever-present threat of school shootings. These tragic events, where attackers breach school grounds with deadly intent, underscore the urgent need for effective security measures.

Pat Hamilton, Alliance Director at the “I Love U Guys” Foundation, has witnessed a significant shift, with 10 US states adopting the organization’s standard protocols for active shooter situations. These protocols encompass technology-driven solutions and subtle yet impactful changes in the behavior of administrators, educators, and students—changes that can ultimately save lives.

Hamilton, a featured guest on Verkada’s new video podcast series and newsletter, Vantage Points, emphasizes the transformative potential of electronic locks and proactive AI-powered school security systems.

Integration Enables Quick Response

Electronic locks are crucial in enabling schools to initiate lockdowns swiftly, before an assailant can inflict harm. In these situations, speed is paramount.

“We know from our data that these things are over 70% in five minutes, 90% in 10 minutes,” Hamilton told the podcast hosts—Michael Evanoff, former US Assistant Secretary of State and current Global Chief Security Officer at Verkada, and Cari Guittard, a homeland security and geopolitical risk strategist.

However, in many school districts, response speed hinges on the situational awareness of individuals involved, as technology to expedite the process is often lacking, Hamilton noted.

“The current state for a lot of schools is someone has to go outside of the classroom door and lock it and then close it,” he explained. He suggested that simple technologies like push-button locks can improve the situation, while also offering practical benefits, such as allowing students to use the restroom without disrupting the learning environment.

The gold standard, he argues, is having electronic locks integrated across the entire campus.

“We’re seeing more and more adoption of electronic locks, and all of this is integrated,” Hamilton stated. “When you are initiating [the lockdown]—it could be a phone, it could be a button on the wall, it could be a call—the doors throughout the whole facility lock.”

Electronic locks can also be integrated with LED lights, signaling to educators that they and their students are safely secured and, crucially, out of sight of the attacker, he added.

Hamilton concludes that tailor-made locking solutions are the single most important element in keeping students safe during an active shooter situation, citing a report by a Connecticut state government commission following the tragic Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012.

Since that tragedy, Hamilton notes that the US has seen only three casualties among students who were locked in during active shooter situations—two were shot through windows next to safely locked classroom doors, and one was shot by an assailant who had entered the classroom before the lock could be activated.

Integrated solutions, increasingly common in the US, automatically alert law enforcement officers, who are then the only ones authorized to lift a lockdown once it has been activated.

Proactive AI

Another critical element is the increasing integration of AI, which has been used in planning threat responses for some time but is now playing a more proactive role in school security.

“If you think of a facility as a series of concentric circles, we can start at the outermost circle. If we can identify a threat long before it even approaches the front door, and we can initiate a protocol, it’s a game changer,” Hamilton stated. “The line denomination and person-of-interest [recognition] is an amazing tool to be utilized, especially if you know the people that you don’t want on campus.”

“Even before they hit the door, the cameras will recognize them and alert you immediately,” he added.

Advancements Beyond Technology

A core focus of the “I Love U Guys” Foundation is organizing lockdown trainings. The organization has been active in the field for nearly 20 years, founded by the parents of a student who tragically fell victim to a school shooting. Their daughter’s last message to them was “I Love U Guys.”

Lockdown trainings are common in the US and other countries that have experienced school shootings, but are virtually unknown in other parts of the world. Even in the US, they are seen as controversial by some, who question their effectiveness and point to the potential psychological harm to children.

Hamilton believes these concerns should be addressed, not used as reasons to avoid such training. The drills, designed by the foundation to meet the needs of different age groups from kindergarten upwards, should focus on enabling a “muscle memory response” rather than traumatizing participants, he said.

When the foundation began its work, the focus was on creating a common language that all those involved could use in every threat scenario—from school shootings to students in mental distress, from children alerting each other of a threat to security and law enforcement personnel.

“At the time we had four responses. It was lockdown, lockout, shelter and evacuate,” Hamilton said. This list has since evolved into “hold, secure, lockdown, evacuate, shelter.”

The foundation has also expanded its suggested approaches, including guidance on safely returning students to their parents after a threat has been managed, and instructions for 15-second “situational awareness breaks” to help educators assess potential threats. Its operations have also expanded beyond the US, with trainings conducted as far afield as the United Arab Emirates.

With Vantage Points, Verkada aims to provide insightful conversations with leading voices in the security industry. Future episodes will explore the dual mandate of modern security: protecting people and places, and using integrated technology to drive operational efficiency. Guests will include academics and other professionals from law enforcement, security industry associations, and security directors at global companies.