Blake Kozak, senior analyst for access control, fire and security at IHS Inc. has made some projections on the trends that could be expected to be seen in 2014 for school security one year on after the Sandy Hook tragedy.

According to the analyst, the market size for security equipment in schools is targeted to reach around $634 million this year and is expected to surpass $720 million by 2014.

High-profile shootings partially impact spending for school security. There is usually a spike in spending and budgets following these types of events. In many cases, funding continues to be a barrier of growth to the expanded use of security equipment. As an answer to this problem additional funds have become available for schools through state-funding and grants. The U.S. Justice Department is helping to pay for additional officers. It awarded $45 million from Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants this year to schools that planned security enhancements. This also includes Secure Our Schools (SOS) programmes.

These terrible events force schools to review their existing policies and create threat assessments as well as new policies and procedures. There is no set standard for what schools need to do to prevent these tragedies. According to IHS, the key here is, perhaps, to have ongoing discussions and security reviews long after such events fade from media coverage. For example continued knowledge sharing between school districts and universities to find best practices. Security equipment installations and upgrades as well as policies will vary by school district and university however IHS finds that video surveillance will be the focal point in the years to come.

The research company found that effective security comes from having effective policies in place and then leveraging the security system you have. For example, video surveillance can act as a “force multiplier” by giving the campus officers greater visibility, either through having more cameras on campus, or by being more intelligent and combining access control and video surveillance technologies. IHS expects growth of video surveillance in schools to be twice as fast as that of access control through 2017.

From the end-user perspective, there are several critical success factors that decision makers look for in a security solution: user-friendly, integration, safety, reliability. School officials are likely to spend money on a case by case basis. However, there is a growing trend to have interactive solutions between staff and first responders. In addition, video is looking to be used in real-time not just for forensics. Having video cameras on the perimeter of the school building can also act as a deterrent in some cases.

Investment will likely differ between universities and K-12. Often times there are a few police officers per school district – and most of the time these officers are used to monitor high schools (rather than elementary). Alternatively, universities often have their own dedicated police which could utilize a control room. It also tends to be easier for universities to increase its police force before a K-12 school district. Having video surveillance in place is crucial, but having a team in place who can quickly respond to a situation is equally important. For K-12, many schools already have access control but these solutions are often very basic using only proximity cards and in some cases push-pin access codes. On the other hand, many universities have already transitioned to higher security access solutions.

For the near future, schools need to continue to develop independent security plans and develop automated approaches when able. But schools also shouldn’t forget other means of security such as stronger windows and doors. At Sandy Hook, there was access control in place but the shooter was able to break through the glass to gain entry to the building. So while video and access provide a good starting point for a high level of security, having several layers of security help schools take a step in the right direction to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again.