Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families who lost loved ones in the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on Friday, December 14, 2012. In light of this event, we want to remind schools of actions they can take to reinforce school security and institute proper risk management. As we have in the past, we want to underscore the importance of Law Enforcement, Schools, Risk Management Professionals and Emergency Responders working together on school security and emergency preparedness. The following points to consider will help better prepare schools to respond in emergency situations:
- Single-point-of-entry procedures should be adopted and enforced under all circumstances. Secure entrances with a buzz-in system are preferred, where no entrance doors are unlocked. Unlocked doors provide easy access to anyone, including those who would do harm. Secure entrances act to deter or provide an early alert to school officials of unauthorized access to the building.
- Preparedness for emergencies includes realistic drills using your emergency procedures, including lockdown/shelter-in-place and lockdown/take-cover drills. While it might be more “convenient” to practice a drill of your school’s emergency plans by holding an “early dismissal,” students and adults must know how to effectively proceed during a realistic lockdown. Emergency preparedness drills should be practiced during normal school hours of operation.
- Schools should have a “credible presence” at the single point of entry of all school buildings. Ideally, that presence would be a School Resource Officer (SRO) or other trained security personnel. Unfortunately, with funding withdrawn from many SRO programs, schools may need to step-up with an in-house individual who has a position and presence of authority within the school system. Schools should not be reluctant to stop all visitors, question the purpose of their visit, ask for valid identification/drivers license, and escort the individual(s) to the main office. This is often referred to as “true screening.”
- If your school has not given thought to implementing a threat-assessment protocol and team, it is highly advisable that on the local level you convene a diverse group to include (but not limited to) school psychologist or other professional in the community with same credentials/background; building administrators at all grade levels; local and/or state law enforcement agencies; and first responders to review the following information:
The findings from the Safe School Initiative (SSI), undertaken by the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education, suggest that some school-based attacks may be preventable, and that students can play an important role in prevention efforts. Using this study’s findings, the Secret Service and Department of Education modified the Secret Service’s threat-assessment approach for use in schools, giving school and law enforcement professionals tools for investigating threats in schools, managing situations of concern, and creating safer school climates.
At the completion of the SSI, the Secret Service and Department of Education published two reports detailing the study’s findings and laying out a process for threat assessment in schools:
The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States (271K .pdf)
Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and Creating Safe School Climates (185K .pdf)
Additional Materials
Press Release: U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Department of Education release CD-Rom based on the Safe School Initiative (84K .pdf)
Evaluating Risk for Targeted Violence in Schools (80K .pdf)
We at Utica National remain committed to partnering with you to help keep your schools safe. We’ll continue to explore – with the input of schools and our independent agents – how we can best bring resources to you to help in your ongoing risk management and violence prevention efforts.
Our best wishes to each of you. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you need assistance.