Key management systems reduce costs and enhance efficiency on campuses, says Marcey Tweedie, Marketing Specialist at Morse Watchmans.

Reducing security incidents on campus

Perched on educational building rooftops and throughout lengthy building corridors, security cameras whir and capture video through sophisticated video surveillance security systems all around campus.

Intricately planned physical access control (PAC) systems click and buzz authorized students, faculty and staff members through restricted building portals and access points.

Doors stand as durable fortresses with entry permitted only by the right keys for the right locks by the right people.

Authorized usage of keys permits entry to access assets behind these campus doors, yet what happens when physical keys are mismanaged?

They can easily get into the wrong hands by opportunists seeking to cause turmoil through unlawful forcible entry.

According to the US Department of Education’s Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting, unlawful forcible entry theft is defined as “all offenses where force of any kind is used to unlawfully enter a structure for the purpose of committing a theft or felony when a thief gains entry by using tools; breaking or forcing windows, doors, transoms or ventilators; cutting screens, walls, or roofs; and using master keys, picks, unauthorized keys, passkeys or skeleton keys, or other devices that are used to force a lock.”

With unlawful forcible entry, criminals commit theft, arson, sabotage and vandalism, which costs campus operations upwards of millions of dollars annually.

Security incidents cause liability and higher insurance premiums and put school campuses at risk of being out of compliance with state regulations.

A school’s reputation is also at stake due to mandatory reporting and disclosure of criminal activity and security information on campus with the enactment of the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990, which amended the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965.

Violations or being out of compliance result in monetary damages and penalties, which adversely affect the safety and security reputation of the school.

However, many schools, large or small, still do not have a reliable key control policy nor an electronic key control system that provides accountability and access control and asset management for all keys on campus.

Key control systems are used for the reduction of security incidents and are instrumental in securing and tracking keys, which protect assets and prevent forcible entry into restricted areas of campus buildings.

Key control and how it protects keys and assets

Electronic key control systems replace cumbersome manual key sign-out and sign-in logbooks with secure key cabinets equipped with software that tracks all key removals and returns.

Appointed key control administrators in various departments throughout campus assign specific keys to specific authorized personnel to use them during specific times.

Authorized key users access their keys by entering a PIN code, access card and/or biometrics into the system, and once the credentials are successfully verified, key ports containing their authorized keys light up and release the keys for immediate use.

With all key transactions recorded, it is quick and easy to see which keys are currently in use and by whom, and which keys have been returned to the system.

This provides a complete audit trail, which can be downloaded into reports, viewed and available to print at any time necessary.

Knowing where all keys are enables time-savings and increases productivity, while knowing who is using them provides accountability and prevents insider threats, misuse of keys and lost or missing keys.

For school campus environments, these systems are ideal to have networked throughout multiple locations in multiple buildings and centralized at the campus security and police departments, where all security data activity is updated in real time across all security systems.

Electronic key control systems are designed to integrate with video surveillance and access control systems for synchronized security technology data points.

How key control prevents forcible entry on campus

Unlawful forcible entry criminal activity disrupts campus infrastructure and compromises public safety.

Electronic key control systems prevent disruption and provide accountability by preventing access to areas of the campus that are restricted to only authorized individuals.

Forcible entry through the unauthorized usage of keys can put critical infrastructure at risk of sabotage to circuit breakers and power grids, and interference with campus mechanical and building systems, including generators.

When the power goes out in dormitories or in classroom buildings, the environment instantly becomes unsafe, which precipitates into opportunities for theft of personal assets, data, supplies, historical artifacts and computer hard drives with stored data.

Power outages also create ominous environments to commit physical and sexual assault, arson and theft of fleet vehicles.

An electronic key control system provides security and accountability tracking for all the keys on campus, including fleet vehicle and equipment keys, and provides forensics for security incidents.

If theft or vandalism occurred in a specific locked classroom, the audit trail from the key control system will show who last had the key, including the date and time, which provides essential information for crime investigations.

Although protecting keys will not eliminate all security incidents, nor will any security system be 100% effective at the prevention of all criminal activity on campus.

The goal is to significantly reduce security incidents by making it more difficult for criminals to commit and get away with crime.

Crime statistics are mandatory to report through the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act, and there is no school, public or private, that ever wants a bad report card for security and safety.

Nor does any security team member or administrator at any educational institution ever want the safety of students and staff to be compromised.

The priority security mission for campus security and police teams is to prevent bodily harm, injury or death of anyone on campus and to prevent damage to the campus infrastructure.

Electronic key control is one security technology tool that significantly reduces the risk of keys being misused or stolen through access control and because of immediate audit trail reporting for accountability and the location and the person responsible for every single key.

How key control expedites emergency response time

When first responders navigate through vehicle and pedestrian traffic to arrive to the scene of an emergency on campus, which can be a fire, flood, active intruder, people putting their lives at risk and medical emergencies, keys are often not readily available to access areas of the building to respond to individuals who are at risk, or to access part of a building where a fire or flood is occurring.

Key control systems provide immediate access to master keys for first responders in strategically located cabinets with a convenient key ring specifically for them, which can be gained through the key control system by a pre-programmed access card.

Developing a solid relationship with community first responders is vital for campus security and police.

The master key control policy and plan must include planning ahead with community first responders, so it is known where the first responder keys are always located for any building.

Why key control is an asset for campuses

Key control systems are an asset for campuses that reduce liability.

Protecting people, places and valuable items is essential throughout the entire campus.

Electronic key control is a security technology system that provides an important component for more complete campus security solutions.

By working together with other campus security technology systems, electronic key control is a powerhouse for access control and asset management by taking care of the secure keeping of all keys with accountability.

Key control systems save time and money and, when searching for lost or missing keys is no longer an issue, productivity is greatly improved among all campus personnel authorized to use keys.

Most importantly, key control is essential in preventing forcible entry, which reduces liability and the number of reportable security incidents for educational campuses around the world.

This article was originally published in the special ISC West 2025 March edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.