Security adjusts to construction layout: Rerouting their routine

Throughout the school, the security staff and student supervisors have had to adapt to the new layout and changes done to DGS. Head of security Dan Niemann explained how these changes affected the security staff’s daily protocols and routines.

“What we have to do is look at the allocation of where we have our manpower, and we ultimately have to have somebody on one side of the school and someone on the other– before we could position [officers] on the corners and we could monitor two  hallways at once. We can’t do that anymore,” Niemann said. 

As more space is added to the DGS building, new plans and routes for the guards to patrol had to be adjusted as well. Dean of students Angela Earwood commented on how they’re working to make staff more efficient.

“We still try to station security and student supervisors in areas where we have high traffic, given the amount of staff we have. We only have so many security and student supervisors to work with, so we take the numbers we have and we figure out what are the most needed spots for them to be in, and we put them there,” Earwood said.

In contrast to the nuisances the construction has caused the security team, the new office for their department is what could be considered  an upgrade. The security office has been relocated to the right of the cafeteria, from where it was previously located near the library. This provides a more strategic overlook for the schools high traffic areas.

Niemann went into further detail with the security office’s new additions.

“We’ve increased the number of cameras, so we’re getting more cameras as the size of the building increases. At the same time, we have a program that we use for checking all visitors that enter the building,- and it helps us identify if there’s someone who shouldn’t be in the building or could cause harm,” Niemann said.

Contrary to popular belief, the number of security personnel has not changed since the 2018-2019 school year. In fact, there is currently an open position for security personnel. Earwood elaborated more on this topic.

“Mr. Mack has moved onto being a police officer. So he was replaced by another man, Mr. Navajaar… We currently have one position open and we have been working to fill that [position]. We will be getting an additional security member, just not yet,” Earwood said.

The school’s new layout has also facilitated the way the security staff directs students around. The schools’ administrative offices were once scattered around the school, yet Niemann states that is no longer an issue.

“They’ve narrowed down where the offices are so now it helps us in the sense that when we need to get students to the right offices, we can get them there as opposed to when they were spread out on the campus,” Niemann said.

Ultimately the construction has not only impacted the building itself, but the faculty as well.