Navy Region Naval District Washington Fleet and Family Readiness (FFR)’s Post

The Importance of Armed Security Officers in Schools How can Allied pay their guards a decent wage when they are only charging $31.82 per guard per hour? The quality of the candidacy pool drastically decreases as higher-trained or quality candidates will not accept low pay for a job where they may potentially face an active assailant. The picture in the article appears to show an unarmed guard. Is this contract unarmed? How does the school expect Allied to protect their students if their guards are unarmed? What happens if there are bad actors, like in prior school incidents where children are lost? There is no reason why schools should not have armed security personnel, and not just one School Resource Officer (SRO) assigned to the school. Protecting our children is highly important and it should be a priority. Schools must invest in adequately compensated, well-trained, and armed security professionals to ensure the safety of their students and staff. This not only deters potential threats but also ensures a rapid and effective response in case of an emergency. Hiring underpaid and unarmed security guards compromises the safety of our children and does not provide the level of protection needed in today’s environment. It is crucial to prioritize the safety of our students by ensuring that security personnel are adequately equipped and compensated to face any threats. For more insights, read the full article here: Paterson Schools Spending on Security Guards https://lnkd.in/gWJVTDrU #SchoolSafety #ProtectOurChildren #ArmedSecurity #QualitySecurity #SafetyFirst #InvestInSafety #ProfessionalSecurity #WorkplaceSafety #SecurityMatters #ProtectLife #Petersonsschools #Universityofpennsylvania #universities #schools

The "poli-tricks" of #schoolsafety: A district's #schoolsecurity director pushed back against #weaponsdetection systems based upon concerns with fidelity of implementation of such a program. The district has a gun incident. The #schoolboard wants weapons detection (aka: "shiny object syndrome" response) and wants the security director fired. The #superintendent announces retirement. The school board announces new weapons detection systems. Of course we don't know all the facts, but the public-facing side of this fits patterns of how school security directors and other #schoolleaders face not only school security challenges, but political challenges as well. A few takeaways: 1. Your job as a school security director may quickly become at risk when some (not all) school boards and superintendents do not respect your professional recommendations and instead make decisions based upon political and image concerns. 2. Your job as a superintendent may follow the same path as above. (Numerous superintendents have lost their jobs in recent years directly or indirectly related to school safety issues.) 3. When media and parental pressures increase, superintendents and school boards need to have the leadership and courage to make decisions based upon a comprehensive assessment of their security and emergency preparedness needs, not to pander to politics. There are ways to manage the politics and school community relations issues around school safety, in addition to the primary job of managing the school safety issues themselves. But it is a skill school security directors, and increasingly superintendents, need support and training in to survive potential storms. As a footnote, the second chapter of my first book in 1998 is called, "The Politricks of School Security." It stayed in subsequent books. A lot of it still applies in 2024.

School may be out for the Summer, but the work of making schools safer continues. The latest FBI report on Active Shooter Incidents highlights the need for comprehensive, collaborative approaches to mitigate risks and reduce the occurrence of attacks. Key Findings: - In 2023, the FBI designated 48 shootings as active shooter incidents, a slight decrease from 2022 but a significant increase from 2019. - These incidents resulted in 244 casualties, with 105 killed and 139 wounded. Education-Specific Data: - Three active shooter incidents occurred in educational settings in 2023, resulting in 19 casualties - 12 killed and 7 wounded. - Notably, the shooters were neither current students nor employees, emphasizing the need for inclusive safety protocols. Critical Interventions: - Active shooter training for law enforcement, first responders, educators, and civilians is crucial. - Initiatives like the "Don't Name Them" campaign aim to shift focus to victims and heroes, reducing shooter notoriety and aiding community healing. - Collaboration with local law enforcement and resources like the FBI's ASAPP training can significantly enhance school safety. Strategic Recommendations: - Schools must conduct active shooter drills regularly to ensure preparedness. - Increased vigilance, reporting mechanisms for suspicious behavior, and strong ties with law enforcement are vital. - The FBI's latest report underscores the urgency for proactive measures and informed responses to enhance safety in educational institutions and other vulnerable locations. At RESCU3D, we're committed to bringing students, staff members and First Responders home safely.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Empathy based communication isn't talked about much in the realm of #security. Kevin Jones, a former hostage negotiator, provides a good mnemonic to assist professionals on how to conduct a personal threat assessment on an indivdual to make schools safer. BLUF: When combined with hardened #physicalsecurity measures, crisis intervention techniques provide an unseen layer of defense. https://lnkd.in/dm6Nn25e

Many schools are getting so good at locking down that police sometimes find themselves having delays in getting immediate access when responding to a serious or critical incident. Fortunately, many schools are proactively addressing this issue in their #schoolsafety planning (as was reported in the article linked below in the comments section). During our #schooolsecurity and emergency preparedness assessments, we ask #principals, #sros, and other #schoolleaders if police can get access to their buildings if the schools go into lockdown. Most schools have Knox boxes for keys for firefighters, but police typically do not have access to these boxes. This has been a regular conversation point for a couple of decades. The importance became very evident when we worked with a district years ago where a student brought an AK-47 to his high school, fired a couple of rounds in the hallway during class change, and died by suicide. The local police chief, in our interview with him during our post-incident assessment consultation, noted that one lesson learned was that initial arriving patrol officers were delayed getting into the locked down school. Having guidelines for use of the keycards/keys in the school's Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) with police is a prudent practice. The devil is in the details of school security and emergency preparedness planning. The more school leaders allocate the time to train, plan, prepare, and practice, the better the preparedness. #superintendents #schoolboards #schoolshootings

#K12 schools can reduce the threat of violence & enhance safety by implementing reporting programs & creating an environment where students are empowered to share concerns. Learn more about school safety and reporting strategies from @SchoolSafetyGov: go.dhs.gov/JyU This infographic also includes various links to resources schools and districts can use to implement reporting programs and enhance student and school safety.  Enigma Advisory #emergencymanagement #riskmanagement #preparedness

Our most recent post discusses the topic of school background checks. #SafetyFirst #SchoolBackgroundChecks

We provide services for public and private schools. See why in my latest blog post. #privateschool #publicschools #connecticut #connecticutjobs #backgroundchecks #backgroundscreening #vulnerabilitymanagement #charterschools

Substitute teacher accidentally activates an active shooter alarm - twice in the same day - sending Ohio high school students, staff, and parents into panic Students were dismissed from school after the same substitute teacher falsely activated a #schoolshooting alarm using a computer keyboard combination that each teacher has access to. Several key takeaways: 1. The importance of training substitute teachers and including them in your #schoolsecurity and emergency preparedness plans - something we talk about with our client #schoolleaders in our assessment consultations. 2. Any security technology is only as good as the weakest human link behind it. 3. The School Resource Officer (#SRO) came to the rescue, serving as a vital link between the schools and police department. 4. The power and influence of human factors in #schoolsafety: When security works, it is because of people. When it fails, it is because of people. Full article available here: https://lnkd.in/gdM4GWXg

For communities all over the country, ensuring the safety of students in school is a top priority. 🔑 Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) has "access to nearly 25,000 cameras in public schools, houses of worship, and county facilities, the RTCC has assisted in investigating over 5,600 incidents, which led to 117 arrests." 💪 Real-time crime centers are able to help safeguard our most vulnerable locations, such as schools. The use of technology, collaboration, data, and proactive approaches are the force multipliers in an RTCC that keep our communities safe. 🤝 https://lnkd.in/gFahmV_D #schoolsafety #communitysafety #safetyfirst #police #technology #rtcc #realtimecrimecenter #crimeprevention