Three Arab terrorists dressed as Israeli Defense Forces soldiers attacked a school in Ma’alot, Israel. They took hostages and killed twenty one school children along with several adults. Many of the casualties occurred when an elite unit of the Golani Brigade attempted a tactical response to rescue the hostages. This incident resulted in the formation of special tactical units within the Israel National Police. This attack has come to be referred to as the Ma’alot Massacre.
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Respond to school shootings with proven research
January 2, 2013 by
A Research-based response to school shootings
Here are some books that contain good information that can help us be more likely to prevent, as well as more effectively prepare for and respond to school shootings and other school crisis events. While there are no solutions that offer 100% protection from school shootings or other types of violence, the research and experience these authors bring to the table can help us more effectively note and react to the behaviors of people and the fast breaking situations that can be so critical in these types of incidents. The techniques that we can use to respond to school shootings are the same techniques that help people survive tsunamis, plane crashes, fires and other types of disasters all over the world. They also provide a balanced approach and remind us that we are far more likely to be killed or injured from everyday accidents or disease.
The Gift of Fear – Survival Signals that Protect us From Violence by Gavin DeBecker
On Combat – the Psychology of Deadly Conflict in War and Peace by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
Sources of Power – How People Make Decisions by Gary Klein
Sharpening the Warrior’s Edge by Bruce Siddle
Unthinkable – Who Survives Disasters and Why by Amanda Ripley
I have found all of these books to be very helpful in my school safety research work.
School Security Assessments: Carefully Consider Your Needs First
December 28, 2012 by
School Security Assessments and Safety Audits versus School Climate and Culture Assessments
We have been inundated with requests to conduct school security assessments since the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Many of the schools and school districts that have contacted us have never had any of the various types of school safety assessments conducted before.
We felt that it might be helpful to provide few thoughts on the pros and cons of different types of school safety assessments. Aside from the more popular “safety audits” or “school security assessments”, there are also a number of more detailed or nuanced approaches to performing a hazard and risk assessment for a school, school district, private school, hospital campus or other type of facility.
What types of school security assessments are a good fit for my organization?
One of the first considerations is the scope of the assessment needed. For a comprehensive assessment, we normally suggest that our clients have us conduct a school safety, security, climate, culture and emergency preparedness assessment. This approach goes far beyond the scope of most school security assessments and does not focus solely on the prevention of mass casualty loss of human life. This is of course one of the main reasons most people want to conduct school security assessments, so that is always going to be a key focus of the assessment. What sets this type of assessment apart is that it includes findings to improve security and general safety while also looking for ways to improve rather than to degrade school climate and culture through the safety process.
In contrast to safety audits or school security assessments, this type of evaluation is usually far more comprehensive and holistic in its scope and approach.
These are important distinctions because there are significant differences between security and each of the other areas described above.
Should a written report be prepared or not after school security assessments are performed?
Another important factor involves whether or not a written report of findings is a good fit for the school or district. While most for-profit school safety firms require or recommend a written report, there are distinct advantages and disadvantages to having a written report. One basic difference is that such reports are discoverable and are often used by plaintiff’s counsel as an avenue of attack in litigation. This is a particularly important issue for non-public schools due to their lack of qualified immunity. Another difference is that written reports do drive the cost of a project upward due to the time required for their preparation. In some instances, this could make it impossible for schools with a limited budget to conduct an assessment at all. Written reports do however, make it easier for school officials to maintain a record of suggested improvements, may be helpful in convincing a board to take action and are often required if the assessment is being paid for with a grant.
If a written report is desired, will the client have an opportunity to fact-check the report for accuracy after school security assessments are performed but before reports are delivered?
We have seen instances where school officials have been provided with a written report that is not accurate because the consultant or firm issuing the report does not allow the client to fact-check the report for accuracy. While a credible consultant or firm will not alter their basic findings relating to potential dangers, it is very typical that a comprehensive report from even the best firms will contain factual errors and omissions, especially when conducting school security assessments for districts with a large number of facilities and multiple personnel performing the site assessments. We suggest that clients require the opportunity to review a draft of the report and to provide feedback on any factual errors or omissions.
Getting stuck with an inaccurate report can cause significant problems during litigation and, more importantly, can result in a less effective report. For example, we had a report that suggested that a new position for security director be created. The client asked if we could use a term other than “director” because in their school district, director’s positions salaries were set at $120,000 per year while the city police chief was paid less than $60,000. Administrators were concerned that the school board and community would become fixated on the terminology and the requisite costs and reject funding for the much needed position. Changing the title to “coordinator” allowed the position to be easily approved, funded and filled by the board. Had we not learned of the important nuance of terminology in this district, our client feels the position might never have been created. For firms that deliver comprehensive reports containing linear data, photographs as well as numerous detailed findings and recommendations, it can be especially important to vet the report in this manner before it is finalized. School safety experts and firms that have a strong reputation in the field will be able to defend assertions that the firm was pressured into making changes by a client organization.
Require and check references with care before hiring a firm to conduct school security assessments
The school safety consulting field is largely unregulated and school officials should use due diligence when selecting service providers for school security assessments or any other service. A civil action is not the time to learn that your school safety consultant works in the field because they were terminated from a job for embezzlement, arrest for felony theft or other serious issues. We recommend that school organizations require and check at least six references from school clients and that the firm’s website be reviewed for “red flags” such as vague credentials, indications that schools are not a primary area of expertise, etc.
A bit of thoughtful evaluation and research can reduce the cost of school security assessments for large organizations by as much as 75% while improving the quality of the project.
We hope these tips are of help to school officials who are considering school safety assessments.
School Security Improvements: Focus on Quality Rather than Speed
December 26, 2012 by
School Security Requires a Measured Approach
Parents, students, school officials and community leaders across the country are reviewing school security and emergency preparedness measures in the wake of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School last week.
Our center has been receiving hundreds of requests for assistance each day since Friday and we were getting an average of one call per minute on Tuesday. Many of the calls we have been fielding have centered around three areas:
School access control
Improving school crisis plans
We have also focused our energies on providing free resources that can help school employees improve school security, safety and emergency preparedness. We typically post new resources on our website on a weekly basis.
Choosing the right path for school security improvements
School security and public safety officials should consider taking a measured and assessment-based approach for all three of these areas. For example, implementing new school access control measures too quickly can result in a poor quality and easy to defeat system that costs substantially more than a more reliable approach.
Similarly, many schools have rushed to purchase ready-made crisis plans that are not tailored to local conditions, building designs or public safety capabilities. Effective plans have to be developed with local public safety officials because protocols that might work very well in a San Diego school could result in mass casualty losses in a rural Pennsylvania township. For example, a San Diego school could probably expect a much faster police response during a lockdown than a school in a rural area, where the first police car may not arrive for half an hour during a school security crisis.
School security assessments
School security assessments should be approached with particular caution. There are now literally thousands of school safety trainers and consultants in the United States, and many of them refer to themselves as “national school safety experts” in large scale PR campaigns. There many highly qualified and talented individuals and firms out there. At the same time, there are also practitioners who have limited relevant experience or serious skeletons in their closet that can come back to haunt a school or district during litigation. For example, there are several school safety consultants who have been terminated for serious situations such as an arrest for felony theft, substance abuse and embezzlement.
This matters because there are a number of untested and highly controversial approaches to school safety that are being taught across the country. These include the lockout/lockdown technique as well as the practice of teaching students to attack an active shooter. School officials and school security professionals should carefully consider whether they want to be the first test case in a civil action for new and untested concepts that are highly controversial among experts in the field of school security.
There are also widely varying approaches to school security audits and safety assessments. For example, some firms will not allow clients to review a draft version of their report to ensure accuracy. This can lead to a school or district being stuck with an inaccurate report that can come back to haunt them during litigation. A quality firm will allow review and comment without compromising the integrity of their report.
Another important consideration for some types of school security assessments is whether the client should opt for a written assessment or not in the first place. These reports are discoverable during school safety litigation and are often utilized as an avenue of attack by plaintiff’s counsel. This can be and extremely important consideration for independent, parochial and other non-public schools. School safety consultants usually recommend written reports because they are billing thousands of dollars for the report and because they structure the report in a manner that will reduce their exposure to liability should a major event occur at a client school or district.
Cost is another important issue. Fees for these services vary widely between vendors and cost is not always an indicator of the quality of the assessments. Obtaining several bids with an open bid process takes longer but can reduce project cost by as much as 75% while improving the actual quality of services. Keep in mind that schools should be able to prove in court that they used due diligence in selecting a vendor if a school security incident ever occurs.
Lessons from past school security incidents
I have served as a school security expert witness in large school safety malpractice civil actions where I was asked to evaluate the work performed by school safety consultants. In one case, the district settled 26 lawsuits after a school security incident. This was an especially hard financial blow because the district had previously spent considerable money to hire a school security consulting firm. The plaintiffs then filed suit against the consulting firm, which quickly settled the case for a reported $1.5 million. The most tragic thing about this case is that the school district dedicated a considerable amount of time and fiscal resources trying to prevent and better prepare for this type of tragedy only to experience mass casualty loss of human life.
A thoughtful and careful approach to improvements in school security, safety and emergency preparedness will typically yield much better results.