In California’s Central Valley, San Joaquin Community Colleges—an established network of campuses—faced a growing challenge: increasing safety concerns among students, especially in parking lots and during night hours. Despite their commitment to student protection, budget limitations made it difficult for the administration to make sweeping security upgrades all at once.
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That’s where Spade Security Services stepped in.
We began with a comprehensive security assessment across the San Joaquin campuses. This included analyzing recent crime data, inspecting current systems and patrol procedures, and collecting honest feedback from students, staff, and faculty. The results identified four major pain points: poorly lit parking areas, a lack of visible security presence, outdated alert systems that delayed responses, and low student awareness of available safety resources.
To address these issues within the school’s budget, Spade Security designed a phased, 3-year security enhancement strategy, starting with the most urgent vulnerabilities.
In the first year, we implemented quick, high-impact improvements:
Replaced outdated parking lot lights with energy-efficient, brighter LEDs
Installed high-definition surveillance cameras in high-traffic zones
Rolled out a mobile alert system to enable real-time contact with campus police
Launched a “See Something, Say Something” awareness campaign to promote shared responsibility
With the infrastructure foundation in place, Phase 2 focused on visibility and student safety access:
Hired additional evening security personnel for visible patrols
Installed informative emergency signage around the campus
Expanded night-time shuttle services to escort students safely to and from parking areas
The final stage incorporated modern tools and a culture of prevention:
Deployed smart surveillance analytics to proactively detect unusual behavior
Upgraded the central command center to streamline multi-campus coordination
Continued student education through safety programs and self-defense workshops
Thanks to Spade Security’s strategic, budget-conscious plan, San Joaquin Community Colleges were able to:
Significantly reduce incidents in key hotspots like parking lots
Improve student and staff perception of campus safety
Build a scalable, future-proof system that evolves with changing threats
This partnership showcases what’s possible when security is both smart and human-centered. San Joaquin now stands as a regional example of how to modernize campus safety—without compromising financial responsibility.
