It’s Time to Harden Security Measures in Schools | #ESC_LLC #Security #School #Student #Education | In a world where, as parents, we send our children to school in the morning, fully expecting them to return in mid afternoon, there is no room for error. We simply cannot allow our schools to take the path of least resistance when it comes to the security of our children. http://bit.ly/2kJJ0SW | (Note Additional Reading List Added Below!)
The fact is, it’s not always a gun that perpetrators use when attacking groups of innocent people, as was the case in Tallahassee, Florida, where five individuals were injured by a single assailant armed with a knife.
Interim TPD Police Chief Steve Outlaw told media at a new conference “you can’t help but wonder” whether the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were a factor in the attack, but he said police have found no evidence of any connections to the anniversary. He said police still have not determined a motive and the attack was “spontaneous.”
He said co-workers fought off the knife-wielding Brown with objects in the office.
Chief Outlaw noted Brown has prior run-ins with law enforcement from years back. A Florida Department of Corrections offender website shows the 41-year-old spent time in prison for drug dealing and grand theft in cases going back to 1996. He was most recently released from prison in July 2009. (Source: click here.)
Schools are unusually soft targets by their very nature due to the fact that there are so many people contained in a relatively small area. Inside a school, the same incident might have rendered ten times the number of injuries, if not deaths.
ESC provides consulting services to schools with respect to methods of hardening defenses. Last year, in fact, we published a two part series entitled School Security for Local Communities. John Larkin provides information on school security trends. To read this two-part series, click here for part one, and click here for part two.
Violence Prevention in Schools
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Additional Reading:
- School Security for Local Communities, Part 1
- Providing School Security, Part 2
- How to Prepare for an Active Shooter Situation
- Put the Power of Video Surveillance to Work for You
School Security News
We’ve placed a number of postings on school security in our regular social media channels. What follows are additional news items selected:
Ohio to Launch School Safety Center | #ESC_LLC #School #Security #Safety | Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued an executive order creating a specialized division of Ohio Homeland Security (OHS) devoted exclusively to the safety of Ohio’s students and schools.
The Ohio School Safety Center (OSSC), will assist local schools and law enforcement in preventing, preparing for, and responding to threats and acts of violence, including self-harm, through a holistic, solutions-based approach to improving school safety.
“Given that schools are often targets of violence, school safety proposals are a prominent part of STRONG Ohio, my 17-point plan to reduce violence with dangerous weapons and increase mental health treatment,” said Governor DeWine. “Having one office where the staff solely focuses on keeping our students safe and our schools secure, will allow analysts to nimbly assess threats, proactively address potential issues, and expertly train and support school faculty in a more streamlined manner.”
To read the remainder of this news article, click here.
Ohio Debuts School Safety Center in Wake of Recent Shootings | #ESC_LLC #School #Security #Safety | The Ohio School Safety Center houses seven homeland security officials, who will scan social media sites for information that could lead to preventing the next school shooting or other violent acts, including suicide.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is hoping a centralized source for all things related to school safety might help thwart the next school shooting, as well as suicides and other violence. DeWine recently announced the Ohio School Safety Center, through which public safety and homeland security officials can obtain and share information about possible threats.
The center will serve as a hub for intelligence and is a source for schools that need information about mental health services, physical security, vulnerability assessments, emergency management plans and training. It is staffed by seven professionals from the Department of Homeland Security who were already deep into developing emergency management plans for schools.
To read the remainder of this news article, click here.
Waterford Elementary goes into lockdown | #ESC_LLC #School #Security #Safety | Someone in the Wolf Creek Local Schools district was alarmed enough by a short Facebook live post Wednesday to call Waterford Elementary School and report it. After that, lockdown procedures went into place, law enforcement authorities were called, and neighboring schools were alerted.
Someone in the Wolf Creek Local Schools district was alarmed enough by a short Facebook live post Wednesday to call Waterford Elementary School and report it. After that, lockdown procedures went into place, law enforcement authorities were called, and neighboring schools were alerted.
It was not clear late Wednesday afternoon what the social media post content was, but authorities said it was not created by a student.
Wolf Creek Superintendent Doug Baldwin said the call was taken by Jana Thomas, principal at Waterford Elementary School.
“It was a call from someone in the community who thought it was threatening,” Baldwin said. “I don’t know what it said, it was a live stream on Facebook, we just had the word of the person who saw it, but we don’t question that. We let the authorities sort it out.”
To read the remainder of this news story, click here.
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