"... one of the foremost national experts on school and workplace violence, facility protection, evacuations, terrorism prevention and leadership training"   US Senate

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Vincent Bove Article

Published in:

The Practitioner, 3rd Quarter 2004
The New Jersey Police Chief, December 2004

 
Terrorism: School Safety Tips
By Vincent J. Bove, CPP

School Security procedures must be heightened during terrorist threats and as cautioned by the Department of Homeland Security threat advisory system.

  • Prepared Schools will train teachers and support staff, evaluate and refine all security plans and test/exercise school crisis plans including table top, partial scale and full scale evacuation drills and reviews as well as lock down procedures.
  • Work collaboratively with law enforcement and all first responders and have simulated emergency drills at the school.
  • Conduct training sessions and educational venues such as seminars, conferences and symposium�s for all students, staff and members of educational community on issues relative to school safety, workplace violence, terrorism, diversity and personal safety
  • Conduct background checks on all personnel including janitorial workers and bus drivers.
  • Maintain supervision at all extra curricular activities and all school/community assemblies requiring strict adherence to firm, clear identification card policies.
  • Encourage school personnel to maintain a �heightened awareness� for suspicious activity and to report these concerns.
  • Provide special attention to perimeter security and access control issues.
  • Review staffing and supervision plans including interior and exterior supervision.
  • Maintain a proactive effort of visitor access/egress and control.
  • Verify the identity of service personnel and vendors visiting the school including those seeking access to utilities, alarm systems, communication systems, maintenance areas and other restricted locations. Maintain log of all visits to the facility with all visitor�s reporting to the office.
  • Evaluate security measures at school transportation facilities.
  • Secure access to utilities, boiler rooms and other maintenance facilities. Follow guidance for �Filtration and Air-Cleaning Systems to Protect Building Environments from Airborne Chemical, Biological, or Radiological Attacks� as developed by the Department of Health and Human Services and available on www.cdc.gov as DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2003-136.
  • Evaluate food and beverage service stock, storage, and protection procedures to determine if schools have adequate water, food and related supplies in the event of students and staff being detained due to an emergency.
  • Assess school health and medical preparedness related to emergency kits, medical supplies and medications (three days recommended) in the event of an emergency.
  • Conduct status checks of emergency communication mechanisms including back up charged batteries and testing of the fire alarm and intercom system. Review procedures of notifying parents and documentation of authorized designated individuals who make pick up students.
  • Review procedures for mobilizing mental health services for students and staff in the event of a crisis and establish appropriate partnerships with all appropriate community resources.
  • Evaluate and enforce employee-screening procedures including subcontractors and all individuals who work on school property.
  • Evaluate the storage, access and security of sensitive information and vital records including assessment of school and district websites to avoid posting of security-sensitive information.
  • Identify high-risk facilities, organizations and potential terrorist targets in the community surrounding the school.
  • Continue local field trips unless a specific threat assessment suggests otherwise. Carefully evaluate national travel and seriously consider avoiding international travel. Refer to the United States Department of State public announcements on travel and worldwide cautions as available on www.travel.state.gov
  • Develop, review, refine and test crisis preparedness guidelines including natural disasters and acts of violence. Be sure a crisis planning team is in place with a coordinator and a spokesperson. The crisis team should follow sound guidelines and have core members, advisory members and continual meetings to review all procedures.
  • Provide security, safety, crime prevention, terrorism awareness and crisis management training to entire educational community.

Regarding biological and chemical attacks and threats, refer to the following websites for planning purposes, www.dhs.gov, www.cdc.gov, www.redcross.org, www.ready.gov.

  • Establish procedures for detecting and reporting unusual absence patterns.
  • Do not allow students to open mail.
  • Limit the opening of mail to an assigned trained individual staff member and be sure this person is familiar with suspicious packages as developed by the United States Postal Inspection Service.
  • Work with custodial and maintenance personnel to establish shutdown procedures of HVAC systems, etc.
  • Review lockdown and evacuation procedures and have �Shelter in Place� procedures in place to identify building safe haven areas for relocations
  • Confer with local law enforcement, HAZMAT, and fire officials and have a school resource officer assigned and involved with all planning issues.

General Recommendations related to terrorism and school safety:

  • Preparation is critical to minimize fear and ignorance particularly in regard to diversity and current events. Education is communication and planning.
  • Identify school and community mental health support services and have an action plan of implementing these services.
  • Communicate openly and honestly with students according to their various developmental capabilities.
  • Crisis Guidelines must include alternative evacuation sites, mutual aid agreements and authorized family reunification procedures.
  • Policies and procedures relative to threat assessment and threat management must be continually reviewed.
  • Access control, perimeter visibility and other crime prevention methodologies such as CPTED must be reviewed and updated.
  • Communicate hotline numbers for crime stoppers style reporting measures, which allow for anonymous reporting of crimes and potential criminal activity.
  • Use school district call in lines and web sites to communicate vital information.
  • In the event of an incident, it is essential to have school continuity and recovery programs in place with a preemptive understanding of disaster response and recovery. Proactive appropriate resources with restoration of facility services are necessary.

Vincent J. Bove, CPP is a Board Certified Protection Professional, Board Certified Crime Prevention Specialist, Certified Law Enforcement Instructor and U.S. Department of Justice Certified Community Anti-Terrorism Awareness Trainer.

He is the 2007 New Jersey recipient of the prestigious FBI Director's Community Leadership Award and was hand-selected to serve as a facilitator and mentor for the 2007 National Conference on Ethics in America and speaker for the 2008 conference at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

"Vincent J. Bove is considered one of the foremost national experts on school and workplace violence prevention, specializing in facility protection, evacuations, terrorism prevention and leadership training." -- U.S. Senate

You can visit Mr. Bove's website at www.vincentbove.com or email him at vincent@vincentbove.com

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