Safety Solutions

Your school is located in the middle of a dry dessert.  You haven't had a significant rain in years. Yet due to public outcry your school administrator has just  purchased life jackets for every staff and student member and like a cruise ship mounted life boats along the edge of the schools roof for all to board when the school is flooded and swept away.  Might this be a little crazy?  Yes.  But aren't we actually doing something very similar to that in how we often spend our school safety and security dollars?

Are our schools really under siege by pedophiles, psychopaths and mass murders?  Are these people really buzzing our front doors, signing into our guest registry then spreading evil and terror in the hallways and classrooms?  I don't think so.  However if you fall into the trap of believing the hype in our media, social networks and vendors that feed off this hysteria you may find yourself taking burdensom and expensive steps to combat this mystical perception...when in reality it has very little impact on actual school safety. 

Recently I asked a friend of mine, Greg Artz from Punch Alert to consider writing a guest blog.  Here is what he wrote... thanks Greg!

Transgender issues and safety &security services. You make think this is an odd match but actually those working in the field of school safety and security must take transgender issues seriously. The reality is our world is evolving and as it does security professionals must adjust with it and exercise extraordinary understanding and kindness as the public conversation about this issue continues. 

When we think about killers and school violence most of us would have a mental image of a teenager dressed in a  trench coat carrying an assault rifle as he moved through a  crowded school of traumatized staff and students.  But there is another killer to consider.  A silent killer.  This killer doesn't wear a trench coat, in fact this killer is silent and very hard to see.  This killer's work doesn't end in 10 minutes of gunfire...this killer's work can go on for a life time.  

There are a lot of good reasons to evacuate a building besides just fires.  So why is it that we call them fire drills?  After all there hasn't been a fire related death in schools since 1958 in the United States.  The reality is we face all types of hazards that may cause us to flee a school or other building..so why don't we think about other scenarios besides just fires and train on those as well? 

While there are many definitions of terror or terrorism used by government agencies across the globe there is one common thread… “causing people to fear living their daily lives”.  Clearly there are times to fear acts of violence however statistically threats of violence simply don't come to fruition.  The reality is  EVIL DOES NOT CALL AHEAD…IT JUST SHOWS UP. This fact was reinforced  when I received a recent     FBI_bulletin  that reinforces that very fact.  If you want to read the bulletin simply click on the embedded link above.  

When Johnny hops in the back of the mini-van with his soccer buddies and one of them forgets to buckle up mom or dad look in the rear view mirror and remind everyone to fasten their belt before they pull out of the driveway.  It happens.  Sometimes kids forget, sometimes they are lazy, sometimes it doesn't latch on the first try and they just think... "whatever".  Their kids.  Who is going to make sure that every child is buckled up on the bus?  Surely we can't ask the driver to assume this responsibility?  It is not even practical to image a driver being capable of monitoring seat belt compliance and drive the bus!