Dr. Barry Norton, Research Fellow at Milestone Systems, explores how smarter, AI-driven technologies are transforming campus security and creating safer environments for students and staff.

For many students, stepping onto a university or college campus is the first real taste of adulthood and independence.

It’s an exciting milestone, but one that brings responsibility not only for the students themselves, but also for the security teams tasked with keeping them safe.

With universities becoming significant investments in both time and money, safety is a growing differentiator when students and their parents decide where to study.

Research by the University of Sunderland shows just how central this issue has become, with safety and well-being ranked the second biggest concern for parents of college students, just behind financial pressures.

Meanwhile, a 2022 study by Censuswide The Research Consultants found that female students in particular often feel unsafe on campus due to poor lighting, limited CCTV coverage, minimal security patrols and the behaviour of others.

Alarmingly, many reduced the time they spent studying on campus because of these concerns, limiting their opportunities to engage fully with university life.

To combat this, universities are turning to intelligent, AI-driven security solutions that not only improve safety but also help security teams use their time and resources more effectively.

Complex environments, varied risks

No two campuses, even within the same higher education institution, are the same, creating unique challenges for security leaders who need a consistent way of securing and monitoring such spaces while accounting for their individual risks.

A city centre campus is going to have a different risk profile compared to a rural or suburban campus. Some campus buildings will house high-risk medical and lab equipment.

Others will safeguard rare manuscripts and cultural artefacts.

Then there are the everyday but equally vital spaces, such as classrooms, student halls, social venues and offices.

Protecting such diverse environments requires more than isolated tools and manual monitoring.

What’s needed is a system that can bring together multiple elements, including access control, video surveillance, perimeter control and more, into one consistent, easy-to-manage platform.

How modern-day security technology can support

Thankfully, the past few years have brought about advances in security technology that enable campus security to be more proactive, informed and efficient.

Advanced video analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) help security teams go beyond simply reacting to events.

With automatic alerts for any events of interest, such as a person or vehicle entering a restricted area, security teams are able to quickly ascertain if a situation requires their attention and direct ground teams accordingly.

High-quality footage from cameras, along with AI-powered object detection (of a person, vehicle, bicycle and, in some models, attributes such as colour or clothing type) gives vital situational information that will inform a team’s response and help with investigations after an incident.

Audio monitoring can detect heightened emotion or glass breaking, that can indicate an emergency for teams to rapidly respond to.

When more serious incidents occur, video footage can be shared with law enforcement, providing vital evidence for investigations and prosecutions.

Just as importantly, the visible presence of CCTV cameras can act as a deterrent, reassuring students and their families that the campus is a secure environment.

Then there are value-added insights and alerts, for room occupancy or crowd formation, that can improve the overall student experience on campus while also deterring anti-social behaviour.

One of the biggest advantages of AI-driven video systems is their ability to monitor continuously in the background and raise alerts when something requires attention.

This allows operators to focus on other responsibilities, confident that the system will notify them of anything urgent.

Bringing it all together

Consolidating camera footage in a video management software (VMS) with other sensors and inputs, such as an access control system and perimeter control, gives security teams the comprehensive view they need to understand and respond to every potential threat or incident before it worsens.

It also helps different security technologies to work together and complement each other, for example, cameras being used to visually confirm that an individual entering and exiting a restricted area matches the credentials and photo captured in the access control system.

This ability to integrate systems and provide immediate, usable information is what makes modern campus security both more effective and more efficient.

Video analytics and AI provide further insights for operators, with automatic alerts of any events that need their immediate attention, such as an intruder, someone falling or a fire on-site.

This allows them to attend to this task while video analytics are working in the background monitoring everything.

People counting and loitering detection can monitor the occupancy of a space to adhere to any fire or health regulations and issue automatic alerts if a room or corridor is at risk of overcrowding.

Improving long-term planning

Today’s video systems provide a wealth of data to improve operations and processes as well as security.

For example, monitoring foot traffic patterns can help facilities managers optimise cleaning schedules or allocate staff more effectively.

Academic departments can use the same data to identify popular classes that might need larger venues or additional sessions.

Ultimately, the goal of smarter campus security isn’t just about preventing incidents; it’s about creating an environment where students feel safe, supported and free to focus on their studies and personal growth.

By combining modern-day security technology with thoughtful planning, universities can meet today’s security challenges while laying the groundwork for safer, more welcoming campuses for future generations.