"... 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 2005
The New Jersey Police Chief, October 2005

 
Protecting American Schools in an Age of Violence
 
By Vincent J. Bove, CPP

New realities of violence are demanding that public and private authorities respond with full force vigilance. These realities impel officials in partnership with one another and the citizenry to discuss, implement and continually review strategies, procedures and policies. This open communication with these various facets of the community must be facilitated to not only prevent and manage a crisis but to restore an institution for the community in the event of a tragedy.

Certainly, violence is an alarming reality in American culture as glaringly expressed in school and workplace violence headlines. The possibility of a catastrophic terrorist attack is a lesson learned from the post 9/11 era. The contemptuous attack against innocent children and their families on September 1, 2004 in Belsan, Russia left 350 dead including 156 children (see article.) This shocking incident illustrates the depravity to which demented individuals will turn. The horror of this attack must serve as a wake up call to parents, students, faculty, staff, law enforcement and private security. As a direct response to the reprehensible attack at Belsan, the U.S. Department of Education in a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation analyzed the Belsen event and shared their findings with state and local law enforcement as well as with the American citizenry. The analysis was done proactively and was not disseminated based on any knowledge of a specific threat to any American school or university. Parenthetically, aside from the Belsan attack on a school, on July 31, 2002, nine were killed, including 3 Americans, and 80 were wounded due to a terrorist attack on the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (see article.) Both of these attacks must ignite a response to prevent additional attacks on schools and universities which can indeed take place in any nation.

As part of the analysis of the DHS and the FBI, local law enforcement officials were encouraged to maintain open communication with school administrators and encouraged to report suspicious activity. Complimenting this openness, the Department of Education published specifics on October 6, 2004 (see letter) based on the DHS and FBI analysis. These described proactive measures would be applicable to numerous potential emergency situations including natural disasters.

Short term protective measures include reviewing procedures to safeguard school facilities and students and others within them. Those recommended in the DHS-FBI bulletin include:

  • Review all school emergency and crisis management plans.
    (see www.ed.gov/emergencyplan/)
  • Raise awareness among local law enforcement officers and school officials by conducting exercises relating to school emergency and crisis management plans
  • Raise awareness among school officials and students by conducting awareness training relating to the school environment that includes awareness of signs of terrorism
  • Raise community awareness of any potential threats as well as vulnerabilities
  • Prepare the school staff to act in a crisis situation
  • Consider a closed-campus approach to limit visitors
  • Consider a single entry point for all attendees, staff and visitors
  • Focus patrols by law enforcement officers on and around school grounds
  • Ensure that school officials will always be able to contact school buses
  • Ensure that emergency communications from and to schools are working
  • Disseminate the Red Cross brochure on Terrorism: Preparing for the Unexpected at www.redcross.org/services/disaster/keepsafe/terrorism.pdf
  • Report suspicious activity to law enforcement

Long term protective measures should include physical enhancements to school buildings such as:

  • Install secure locks for all external and internal doors and windows
  • Install window and external door protections with quick-release capability
  • Consider establishing a safe area (or areas) within the school for assembly and shelter during emergencies
  • Apply protective coating on windows in facilities that face traffic.
    (see www.edfacilities.org/)

In the analysis, indicators, particularly when multiple, could suggest a heightened criminal or terrorist threat and are:

  • Unusual interest in security, entry points, and access controls or barriers such as fences or walls
  • Interest in obtaining site plans for schools, bus routes, attendance lists and other information about a school, its employees or students
  • Unusual behavior such as staring at or quickly looking away from personnel or vehicles or leaving designated facilities or parking spaces
  • Observation of security reaction drills or procedures
  • Increase in anonymous telephone or e-mail threats to facilities in conjunction with suspected surveillance incidents
  • Foot surveillance involving individuals working together
  • Mobile surveillance using bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, cars, trucks, sport utility vehicles, limousines, boats or small aircraft
  • Prolonged static surveillance using people disguised as panhandlers, shoe shiners, food, newspaper of flower vendors or street sweepers previously not seen in the area
  • Discreet use of still cameras, video recorders, or note-taking at non-tourist locations
  • Use of multiple sets of clothing and identification or the use of sketching materials (paper, pencils, etc.)
  • Questioning of security or facility personnel; and
  • Unexplained presence of unauthorized persons in places where they should not be

As recommended by the Department of Education, the most effective results of this information is realized through the community of security staff, law enforcement, first responders and emergency preparedness personnel working with school officials for a comprehensive security plan.

In addition to the aforementioned proactive measures and indicators, these are valuable resources available for school violence awareness:

Emergency Plan Web Site

The Department of Education�s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools� Emergency Plan web site (www.ed.gov/emergencyplan/) provides a one-stop for information to help plan for , mitigate, respond to and recover from any emergency (natural disasters, violent incidents, terrorist acts and the like)

Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities

This binder provides schools and communities with basic guidelines and useful ideas on how to develop and refine their emergency response and crisis management plans for each phase of crisis planning: mitigation and prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. This information is available at http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/crisisplanning.pdf.

Infrastructure Protection: National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities

The web-based clearinghouse at www.edfacilities.org/ provides information on school safety issues, such as how to design buildings to prevent or mitigate possible terrorist attacks and violence.

Bomb Threat Assessment Guide: ED and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

The step-by-step guide for bomb threats can assist school districts, administrators and emergency responders in planning an effective bomb threat response protocol in schools. It is available on http://www.threatplan.org/

Campus Public Safety Guide

The Department of Homeland Security�s Office of Domestic Preparedness published a series titled Campus Public Safety: Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism Protective Measures in April 2003 and can be found at
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/campussafe.html

Safe Schools Initiative: ED and the U.S. Secret Service

The 2002 Safe Schools Initiative Guide and Final Report provide guidelines for managing threatening situations and offers ways to create a safe school environment. It is available at
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/preventingattacksreport.pdf

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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