The recent bomb threat plot in Utah illustrates the need for schools to be aware of threats from Improvised Explosive Devices (I.E.D.’s) and well as diversionary style attacks. The SafePlans video from circa 2004 illustrates the risk of Secondary Attacks and their countermeasures.
Stay safe
Brad
This post is provided by SafePlans (www.safeplans.com), an all-hazards preparedness solution including emergency plans, staff training, and detailed site mapping.
Those that have attended SafePlans’ Intruderology and Security Awareness For Educators (SAFE) training have learned a little bit about Kip Kinkel. Kinkel’s school attack on May 21, 1998 (he murdered his parents on May 20th) is used to illustrate how threat assessment could have prevented the attack and actions in the school cafeteria mitigated how many lives were lost.
Looks like Kinkel is no longer enjoying incarceration and would like to be moved to a mental hospital. His lawyer is saying Kinkel landed in prison because he had inadequate legal representation. The lawyer claims (among other things) that Kinkel being curled up in the fetal position days before he took the plea deal is indicative of mental illness. He isn’t saying Kinkel curled in the fetal position days before murdering his parents, another student and wounding 25 . No, after the killing and when he realized the rest of life would be behind bars, Kinkel felt bad. I will save my sympathy for the victims of the shooting and hope Kinkel is kept in prison.
More on Kinkel’s Shooting:
http://www.schoolsafetynews.com/index.php/2010/02/fighting-back-…school-shooter/
For more on the transfer request:
http://news.opb.org/article/kinkel-wants-be-moved-prison-hospital/
This post is provided by Brad Spicer, CEO of SafePlans (www.safeplans.com). SafePlans specializes in providing the technology, resources and training needed to improve emergency readiness and protect people and property.
Click here to learn more about the author
The attack on the youth camp in Norway is illustrative of a targeting trend that moves terrorist attacks away from higher value/critical infrastructure targets that have implemented improved physical security. Could this mean that terrorist will forgo attempts on more classic targets and focus on soft targets? If so, schools in the United States would seem to be a logical and obvious target.
Situational Awareness & Analysis Continue Reading…
On November 2nd, millions of Americans will exercise their constitutional right to vote. As this is a security post and not a political commentary, you may wonder how this is relevant to school safety. Simple, in order to accommodate this democratic process, thousands of schools open their doors and become polling places for millions of people. As evidenced by the shooting in New Hampshire today, this is a bad idea.
Regulating access is a fundamental pillar of security, yet because county clerks do not want to take the time to identify polling places that are not full of children, schools become a softer and higher profile target in a single action.
A softer target because the general public is invited unregulated into the school, while school is in session. Certainly election officials were will closely regulate voting activity, but hundreds and possibly thousands of adults will enter these polling schools without being challenged.
Continue Reading…
As fiscal constraints continue to impact schools, more and more districts are applying for grants to help improve school safety and security. The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools or REMS grant funded the Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools recently released over $29 million in funds to make schools even safer.
School districts/grantees need to take caution to ensure they follow sound procurement practices and not be misled by over-eager vendors. Every year, some vendors structure schemes to lock grantees into their services in exchange for the vendor assisting in grant preparation. This can not only violate state & federal laws and grant guidelines; by eliminating competition grantees are less likely to fully maximize their grant dollars. Fair and open competition drives down costs and allows for the acquisition of more comprehensive services and training.
A blatant example of a vendor called SchoolSecure wanting to lock a district into a questionable agreement was posted on a 2010 REMS grantee’s (not the vendor’s) web-site. This overt disregard of the need for competition is undoubtedly drawing the attention of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools and is quite possibly jeopardizing the district’s sizable grant. Since the agreement is on the vendor’s letterhead and not the district’s, the district’s name has been redacted.
schoolsecure redacted
Continue Reading…
August 19, 2010
School districts across the country will be able to improve and strengthen their emergency management plans as a result of $28.8 million in grants awarded today by the U.S. Department of Education. The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) discretionary grant program will enable 98 school districts in 28 states to improve plans that address all four phases of emergency management: Prevention-Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.
“No student should feel unsafe in school,” U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said. “The fact is that no school can be a great school until it is a safe school first, and these grants will support that effort.”
In these cost-conscience times, having funds to improve emergency preparedness is an essential component of any school district’s program. In keeping with that philosophy, SafePlans has developed a value-oriented solution that helps keep more grant dollars within the district’s community.
Visit http://www.remsgrant.com to learn more about how SafePlans can assist with your REMS preparedness efforts.
The Missouri School Boards’ Association is putting on a Coordinated School Safety Conference July 22nd & 23rd at the Tan-Tar-A Resort at theLake of the Ozarks (http://www.schoolsafetyconference.com).
School safety conferences are a great way for school administrators to keep abreast of “best practices” and establish a network of professionals that possess a common interest in making schools even safer. School administrators should try to attend a conference with someone from their local law enforcement, fire and/or emergency management agency. This can help foster discussions back home and strengthen relationships between stakeholders.
Pre-conference events (a US Department of Homeland Security certified workshop titled “Understanding and Planning for Campus Bomb Incidents” and a screening of the film “CUT: Teens and Self Injury”) commence on Wednesday, July 21.
Hope to see you there.
Stay Safe,
Brad
This weekend’s storms exhibited a tragic reminder of the importance of all-hazards planning. It is all too easy to focus on events like bomb threats, school shootings and overlook severe weather preparedness. While a school is obviously at the mercy of the storm as to where a tornado appears, a great deal can be done to prepare for and mitigate the effects of a tornado or extreme winds.
In the way of preparedness here are some recommended steps that go beyond the standard severe weahter shelter plans:
Pre-Planning
• Work with local emergency management officials to determine severe weather shelter areas
• Consider Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training for select staff
• Conduct drills to test communications (to include mass notificaiton) and movement to shelter assignments
• Preplan evacuation routes and rally points (avoiding power lines) in the event the school becomes damages and unsafe
When Severe Weather is a Possibility:• Assign staff to monitor weather
• Ensure radios (two-way/walkie-talkies and weather radios) are charged and conduct a staff meeting to review plans
• Consider special events, outdoor activities and bus times
When a Severe Weather Watch Occurs:
• Establish an interior command post
• Ask teachers to review severe weather plans
• Increase staff monitoring during transition times and meal periods
• Compare estimated storm impact with release times. Make plans to hold students and communicate with parents.
When a Severe Weather Warning Occurs:•
Enact severe weather plans
Always collaborate with your local response agencies on emergency planning issues.
Stay safe!
Brad
This post is provided by SafePlans (www.safeplans.com), an all-hazards preparedness solution including emergency plans, staff training, and detailed site mapping.
Click here to learn more about the author
The heroic actions of teacher David Benke at Deer Creek Middle School is certain to generate interest in instructing teachers to fight back when confronted with an armed attacker in our nation’s schools and colleges. Certainly the thought of having teachers (and even students) fight back against a gunman can seem incredible, counter-intuitive and extreme. Luckily no one ever David Benke that his thoughts of doing everything he could to save students were too extreme. Mr. Benke is not the first person to stop a school shooter with an active of selfless courage.
Continue Reading…
Grant applications are now being accepted for the US Dept of Ed Readiness & Emergency Management for Schools grant. The deadline is Feb. 26, 2010 and these grants are highly competitive.
LINK TO GRANT HOMEPAGE
The following is taken from the Dept. of Ed Website:
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This grant program supports efforts by LEAs to create, strengthen, and improve emergency management plans at the district and school-building levels, including training school personnel on emergency management procedures; communicating with parents about emergency plans and procedures; and coordinating with local law enforcement, public safety or emergency management, public health, and mental health agencies and local government.
TYPES OF PROJECTS
Grant funds may be used for the following activities: reviewing and revising emergency management plans, training school staff, conducting building and facilities audits, communicating emergency response policies to parents and guardians, implementing the National Incident Management System (NIMS), developing an infectious disease plan, developing or revising food defense plans, purchasing school safety equipment (to a limited extent), conducting drills and tabletop simulation exercises; and preparing and distributing copies of emergency management plans.
SafePlans is able to provide general recommendations to assist applicants, but as we will compete for grant funds, we do not write grants for applicants.
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