MARKET TRENDS
CAMPUS SECURITY
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INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE: KEEPING CAMPUSES SECURE
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he latest trends and technologies for keeping students and faculty safe on college and university campuses was the focus of a recent Canadian Security roundtable discus-
sion. Editor Neil Sutton sat down with industry leaders to discuss how security needs are changing and the types of technologies and services that educators are using to optimize operations on their campuses. Sponsored by Paragon Security and Xtract One Technologies, the roundtable was comprised of Harry Barm, director of client services, Paragon Security; Peter Evans, CEO, Xtract One; and Keith Pua, senior manager of campus safety operations, Trent University and vice-president, universities, at the Ontario Association of College and University Security Administrators (OACUSA). The discussion tackled a wide range of topics such as managing protests, the adoption of AI, shrinking budgets, training, and finding the right fit for a role. MANAGING CONFLICT Managing campus protests are a top concern for security professionals. Pua says a 2
CANADIAN SECURITY MARKET TRENDS - Campus Security
By Canadian Security Staff
great deal of advanced planning and training in de-escalating conflicts with all the stakeholders is vital. “I will meet with our president’s office and the staff that are working in there and train them on how to be competent when dealing with conflict, how to respond to people who might be demanding meetings with the president,” Pua says. Trent University’s campus security team often looks to the school’s use-of-space policy when managing security at events. “The plan is always to keep the peace, and for the most part, we are dealing with our students – sometimes our own faculty and staff as well. We need to get back to working with one another,” Pua says. “We certainly want to provide a safe space for freedom of expression. But the priority is that it can’t impact university operations or the safety of others.” Paragon Security is a large security services provider to educational institutions, so the company has a great deal of experience supporting its clients in academia. Barm says the primary challenge his company faces is ensuring campus operations and access to property can safely continue while ensuring lawful, peaceful protests. “That can sometimes be a challenge. A lot of the time we have to rely on our client
partners to provide adequate instruction that we then disseminate to our security personnel to ensure that they are meeting the client’s expectations. But we’re also meeting the expectations of the protesters who are legally protesting,” Barm says. To help ensure successful on-campus operations, Paragon’s clients will often partner with them in joint training and information sharing sessions. In these sessions, the company will inform its clients of best practices and practices that are working well on other campuses. Paragon’s security personnel are given significant training for managing protests across a number of different sites, not just college and universities. “What we have come to know is these protests are going to happen at a mall, at any real setting where we are providing security services. So, what we’ve done is revamp our training protocols to ensure that everything that a guard would need at a base level is already covered. That could be crowd management training, de-escalation strategies, or even advanced note-taking,” Barm says. While communication with the services provider is important, having the right personnel on hand is also key to successful operations. “You don’t need a hothead coming in
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there to stir things up when it could be handled a little more diplomatically,” Pua notes. THE AI ADVANTAGE While training people in preparation for potential conflicts is a good practice, it comes with an assumption that a person is in the right place at the right time to manage that conflict, Evans says. This is where AI technologies can play a vital role in supporting on-campus security operations. “The advantage of digital technology is it’s infinitely scalable at a very low cost and it could be everywhere,” Evans says. “AI on cameras can now identify malicious actors long before they get to the front of the venue. They can start to do things like taking social media feeds that identify that this is a person who’s been talking maliciously about a particular person, a particular presenter, a particular event, a particular venue. You could draw their images right from their profile page and now I can load that up into my database and recognize they’re within 100 metres of the venue.” AI-enabled cameras can provide eyes all over a campus that quickly relay vital information to help expedite response times and offers an additional degree of safety to security
personnel on the types of people and situations they are walking into. These types of technologies also assist campuses with meeting security requirements within budgetary limits. “We are trying to invest more in our security technologies, our camera systems. For example, here at Trent, we recently upgraded our video management system and all of our cameras as well,” Pua explains. Pua adds that these types of technologies are vital on for monitoring a massive campus like Trent University. “We have over 30 buildings for our property. We cover 1,300 acres, including nature trails. Our security guards certainly can’t be everywhere,” he says. “We need to rely on our cameras, our access control system, to help lock the buildings, unlock buildings, but also just to have more eyes around campus than what our personnel can do.” At Paragon, the management team go through CPTED training (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) and offer clients CPTED risk assessments. These assessments can be helpful for clients dealing with tight budgets. “Budgets are challenging, but sometimes provability can also be
challenging, and utilizing third parties or even your contracted partner to help you where you are weak, where are your challenges, what are those issues, can support with going back and finding that budget,” Barm says. Another area where new technologies are playing a role is in training security personnel. “We’ve started with AI integration into our fire response training. We’re “The actually looking at having a live advantage simulation through VR goggles and of digital being able to put people through a technology more real-world experience,” Barm is it’s says. infinitely “I think that’s where our investscalable at a ment into technology is really going very low — being able to provide better traincost.” ing, more real-world training, and more applicable training as best as — Peter Evans, Xtract we possibly can before people are actually going out into the field.” One As part of Trent University’s recent camera upgrade projects, licence plate recognition (LPR) cameras have become the standard for parking lots where the school has in and out counters. “It’s for customer service, too. Like when you go to a mall, you have parking lot signage that says, there’s ‘X’ many spots available in this lot. That’s one of our plans for the future
as well, to help direct our students,” Pua says. In addition to counting empty parking spots, the cameras may be useful to support other initiatives, like snow removal, by detecting the level of accumulation. “Our facilities team here has asked me to look into us using the cameras to do automatic notifications to our snow clearing company once snow hits a certain amount accumulated on the ground,” Pua explains. Based on current trends in security operations, Evans believes that weapons detection technology systems will be standard in places like university campuses within the next three to four years. “It’ll be the norm that weapons detection systems will be built into any place where we congregate because those are places that are targets; and it’s going to become a global problem, too,” he says. In the case of specific events, such as football games or a homecoming, additional security technologies might be handy but not make sense for the rest of the school year. In these cases, some technology providers offer temporary solutions. “That’s something we’re looking into right now,” Pua says. “Just the other day, I found an image online of a mobile security camera trailer that can run on generator power, and transmits data with Wi-Fi or cellular. I’ve asked my integrator to look into how much that might cost because we might have a protest or a demonstration at a specific location where we don’t already have cameras installed and we want to be able to get eyes on it. We don’t necessarily want to send uniformed personnel in there because that might escalate the situation.” Pua adds that his team needs to be adaptable and have that flexibility, so they can better prepare for all possible scenarios.
be trained differently for campus security roles versus other assignments? Barm says the first step is finding the right fit for the job. “I don’t think that every person is right for every single job, and having the right personnel assigned is really your baseline for what you’re going “Having the to layer on top. I think having comprehensive hiring initiatives and right having really in-depth screening personnel processes to understand somebody’s assigned is level of mental health, their ability to really your react to situations like suicide, etc., baseline for is really important when you’re aswhat you’re signing somebody to a campus institution,” he says. going to layer on top.” Paragon has also partnered with the Centre for Addiction and Mental — Harry Health (CAMH) and other parties to Barm, ensure its training programs are not Paragon just solely developed by the company. Security “They’re audited and they’re supported by external entities, making sure that the people who are going out into the frontline are getting the information that they need to be successful in their careers,” Barm says. Pua is also a big believer in having a strong organizational fit for each member of his team and interviews them before bringing them on camA GOOD FIT How do security personnel need to pus. “Not only do you need to be 4
CANADIAN SECURITY MARKET TRENDS - Campus Security
right for the role, the role needs to be right for you,” he says. “I give them an idea of what to expect and part of that is to see how they react to the things I’ll say, like the types of incidents we’re dealing with. We’re dealing with medical emergencies. A lot of the work we do is customer service related. We are here for enforcement, but that’s a lot lower priority.” Pua adds that some students may be going through tough times including social isolation, financial strain, housing shortages, and diminished job prospects, so having empathy for them is important. “These kids are stressed and we’re going to see that show up in a number of different ways, whether they’re acting up in class, or at the gym, or whatever else,” he says. While Trent University is an educational institution and you want students to learn important skills and knowledge, Pua notes that the campus experience isn’t only about academics. “We’re teaching kids to be a part of society after they’re done here,” he says. “We just want to be a part of that and help them mature and be functional members of society.” | CS
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Top 10 Under 40
Top 10 Under 40 Spotlight Amanda Anderson, Manager, Investigations & Training, Security and Emergency Management, Mohawk College WHAT WAS YOUR PATH TO THE SECURITY INDUSTRY? From a young age, I knew I wanted a career in law enforcement where I could make a real difference. I wanted to do something meaningful and something that had a lasting impact. To begin my journey in law enforcement, I enrolled in the Police Foundations program at Niagara College, where I had the privilege of learning from retired police officers. Their mentorship was invaluable in shaping my understanding of law enforcement. During and after college, I gained hands-on experience as a Provincial Offences Officer with Niagara Parks Police, where I had the opportunity to work alongside activeduty Special Constables and build professional connections. I understood that my career wouldn’t happen overnight, so I took a strategic approach. I accepted an entry-level security position at Brock University, setting a goal to prove myself and transition into a Special Constable role within a year. Through hard work, I achieved this goal just shy of that timeline. What I didn’’t expect was how much I would love working in security within the post-secondary sector — so much so that I decided to stay. Education has always been important to me and working in an environment where I could combine my passion for public safety with my appreciation for learning was incredibly fulfilling. After 10 years as a Special Constable, I felt I had accomplished a lot and was ready for the next challenge. That led me to Mohawk College, where I’ve continued to grow my career through training, leadership, and new opportunities.
DESCRIBE YOUR CURRENT PROFESSIONAL ROLE AND THE TYPES OF CHALLENGES/ OPPORTUNITIES YOU ENCOUNTER. My role involves overseeing serious policy violations, reviewing and triaging all security incidents, mitigating risk, and working closely with law enforcement agencies. I also develop and deliver crime prevention and emergency preparedness training for the college community. The role presents challenges, such as managing complex investigations, balancing security needs with community expectations, and continuously adapting to evolving safety concerns. However, these challenges also provide opportunities for professional growth, collaboration, and the ability to make a tangible impact in creating a safe and secure learning environment for the college community.
“These challenges provide opportunities for professional growth.”
WHAT DOES THE INDUSTRY DO WELL TODAY AND WHERE COULD IT STAND SOME IMPROVEMENT? One of the biggest wins in the security industry is the increase in diversity, especially the presence of women in leadership roles. When I first started, there weren’t nearly as many women in the field, and seeing that shift is inspiring. Having a diverse workforce is crucial because it ensures the communities we serve feel represented and understood. At the end of the day, security and law enforcement are about people — protecting them, supporting them, and making communities safer. The more diverse, well-trained, and compassionate our industry becomes, the stronger it will be. | CS For more information on the 2025 Top 10 Under 40 recipients, see the Spring issue of Canadian Security.
CANADIAN SECURITY MARKET TRENDS - Campus Security 5
MARKET TRENDS
CAMPUS SECURITY
Safer Campuses Through Innovation
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oday’s campus security landscape is evolving faster than ever. Colleges and universities are vibrant, diverse ecosystems where thousands of people study, work, and live and they expect safe, welcoming environments that support their well-being. At Paragon Security, we believe the strongest campus programs are built on three pillars: exceptional people, meaningful partnerships, and smart innovation. What sets Paragon apart is our long-standing commitment to collaboration. We don’t simply provide security services, we work alongside industry-leading partners to ensure our campus teams stay ahead of the curve. Our training partnership with CAMH reinforces our belief that mentalhealth awareness is central to modern security work. Through CAMHaligned learning, our guards develop deeper understanding of crisis response, empathy-driven communication, and the unique needs of students facing stress or mental-health challenges. On a campus, where the first interaction can define the tone of an entire situation, this specialized training makes a tangible difference. We also invest heavily in leadership development. Our relationship with Dale Carnegie ensures that every member of our management
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CANADIAN SECURITY MARKET TRENDS - Campus Security
team, supervisors, team leads, and site managers benefits from proven coaching on communication, confidence, and service excellence. These skills translate directly into better support for our guards and better experiences for students, faculty, and staff. When leaders lead well, campuses feel it. Our focus on innovation extends beyond traditional training. Paragon recently partnered with the MIT School of Business to advance our integration of artificial intelligence into everyday security and business operations. But for us, AI isn’t about replacing people, it’s about empowering them. Whether it’s improving incident reporting, strengthening situational awareness, or identifying emerging risk trends, our technology strategy is designed to enhance decision-making and free teams to focus on what matters most: human connection and support. This holistic approach is rooted in our belief that security on a campus is not simply about protection, it’s about community. Guards are ambassadors, problem solvers, and trusted points of contact. Technology helps them be more effective, partnerships keep them learning, and leadership programs ensure our teams show up with professionalism and purpose.
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CAMPUS SECURITY
If Your School Is Considering Weapons Screening, Human Relationships Should Drive the Decision
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anadian schools evaluating security technology face a different calculation than American districts responding to gun violence statistics. Violence in Canadian schools remains statistically rare so many districts still question whether detection technology can support student safety without creating the institutional atmosphere many Canadian educators want to avoid. Some districts considering weapons detection worry that visible security measures will change how students experience school. They’re right to worry. Security technology that treats every student as a potential threat undermines the trust-based relationships that define effective schools. Traditional metal detectors alert on everything metal, expecting students to empty their pockets and backpacks while walking through screening that flags their binders and metal water bottles. School staff spend their time investigating false alerts rather than interacting positively with students.
Unbiased Detection Frees Human Attention Some AI-powered systems can distinguish between laptops and weapons and generate alerts on actual threats while ignoring the everyday items that overwhelm traditional screening. Instead of investigating every backpack with a metal binder, staff or volunteers can observe how students interact with peers, whether they seem withdrawn or agitated, and if their behavior seems different from typical patterns. The technology handles objective threat detection while
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CANADIAN SECURITY MARKET TRENDS - Campus Security
humans handle the complex behavioral assessment that technology cannot perform. Security staff who work in schools daily build relationships with students. They recognize when a normally social student starts arriving alone, their clothing changes, mood shifts, and social dynamics that outsiders miss. These observations matter for violence prevention. Threat assessment relies on identifying students in crisis before they act. The staff members seeing students every morning have the best opportunity to notice warning signs, but only if they’re not consumed with managing false alerts.
Where Technology and Human Judgment Meet The most effective school security combines unbiased detection technology with staff who know their students. Systems that reduce false alerts to minimal levels free security to use their training on what actually prevents violence: recognizing behavioral warning signs, building trusted relationships with students, and identifying those who need intervention. Technology screens for weapons without bias based on appearance, clothing, or past behavior. Humans provide the context, relationships, and judgment that identify students planning harm before they bring weapons to school. Districts investing in detection systems should ask whether those systems will free security staff to focus on students rather than investigating what they’re carrying.
Protecting What Matters Most To Your Students
Xtract One Gateway detects actual threats while ignoring laptops and everyday items. Students walk through at natural pace. No stopping. No divesting. No institutional barriers. If weapons detection fits your school's safety approach, choose technology that preserves the trust-based environment defining Canadian education. Xtract One is the only Canadian-owned and operated AI-powered weapons detection company For more information, visit xtractone.com.
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