Ontario s Provincial Lockdown Guidelines Preventing and Preparing for School Violence OSBIE 2013 Risk Management Seminar Nov 7, 2013 Are we prepared?..if it gets to the point where we have to lock down a school, usually there have been missed opportunities for prevention and intervention....however, despite our best efforts to prevent and intervene in advance, we must be prepared for a school attack.. 1
School Shootings First recorded incident 1891 Newburgh, New York 1927 - Bath Michigan 45 dead, 58 injured 1999 Columbine 13 dead, 24 injured 1999 8 days after Columbine, Taber 1 dead, 1 injured Sandy Hook Dec 2012 26 Dead Canada since 1975 8 recorded incidents, 29 deaths (4 were the shooter) Several other incidents with serious injuries, but no deaths. Most recent shooting: Oct 21, 2013, Nevada Closer to home.oct 31st 50 year old Fenelon Falls ON Secondary School Teacher Attended on school property with loaded firearm (did not enter) Firearm and explosive device seized Individual now charged and before the courts 2
90 / 10 Model 90% PREVENTION Strong school leadership, positive school climate, tolerance, anti-bullying philosophy, student engagement, breaking the code of silence, open communication, threat awareness, good planning and drills (time is on our side) 10% REACTION Lockdown, Run, Fight minutes count, seconds count even more!!! (time is up, we better be ready) Internal vs External Threat Internal Threats are among us student, perhaps staff/parent. They belong in the school and have easy access. External Threats are generally strangers. They are not among us, and have no reason to be in the school. 3
Lockdown, Run, Fight Lockdown Best choice, most of the time in most schools Run If you can t lockdown, get as far away from the threat, as fast as you can Fight If you are trapped and unable to lockdown or run, your only option may be to confront the shooter Ontario - 1st in Canada to Establish Mandatory Lockdowns June 2009 Provincial Lockdown Guidelines released to School Boards, Colleges & Universities (PPM for Education) March 2011 Guidelines now form a mandatory appendix of the Provincial Model for a Local Police/School Board Protocol 4
Police Response Columbine Changed how police respond Officers did what they were trained to do contain and wait for tactical Significant criticism of police in the aftermath regarding slow entry into the school It became clear police needed to do things differently Immediate Rapid Deployment was explored and recognized as the most effective method to stop the threat Violent Incident Armed Individual posing immediate threat to life Gun, knife, explosives, etc Active shooter Seeking targets in populated facility 5
Planning Effective plans must be simple, concise and user friendly Plans must be exercised regularly, or they are of no use Everyone must be aware of the plan, their roles/responsibilities no secret codes Principal is responsible for plan Police are subject matter experts, there to assist Include Fire/EMS Roles & Responsibilities Critical piece to the plan Principal may be out of the school or locked down and unable to engage Students may find themselves locked down alone, without staff Knowing what to do and doing it quickly, will save lives Everyone must to know what to do!!!! 6
If called upon to initiate the plan, police will likely not be in the school, and the school must be prepared to implement quickly and effectively Planning Individual School Plans Mandatory for each school Principal must be involved and set the tone for the importance of lockdown planning/drills Police work closely with the development/annual review of the plans Modifications to school buildings, require update to local plans immediately Spend the time to do it right. Have someone else review it for input (teachers, police) 7
Individual School Plans Involve the caretaker/plant services great resources Staff training/buy-in, a must Student training, compliance & leadership, a must Ensure everyone including visitors to schools understand what to do if a Lockdown is called Floor Plans Should Include Directional indicator (N) Building location in relation to streets All exterior doors labeled (A,B,C or 1,2,3) All interior rooms labeled (room numbers) All exterior windows labeled to match above Electronic copies to Police 8
Colour Coded Floor Plans E D C A B Street name Clear, Consistent Terminology (Mandatory Provincial Guidelines) Lockdown only used for immediate threats to safety (active shooter) Hold and Secure threat outside and not related to the school Shelter in Place weather or environmental situation 9
Lockdown Used for the most serious or potentially serious situations Threat is in the school, or enroute to the school Don t over-use or misuse Don t hesitate to lockdown if appropriate Hold and Secure Threat is near, but does not involve school All exterior doors locked, so threat can t enter School continues to function normally from within Each entry door staffed, so those arriving may enter Police will normally call and advise when to go into Hold & Secure and when to end 10
Shelter in Place Weather related incident Environmental incident Chemical Spill May simply involve staying inside More serious, shut down HVAC system, seal all doors/windows Usually Fire Dept will provide instructions Scenario You are the principal of a school and you have been provided with information that an armed robbery at a convenience store 4 blocks away has just taken place. The suspect is at large. 11
Announcing Lock Down Absolutely critical that the announcement be made via the PA ASAP!! Emergency Initiate Lockdown, Initiate Lockdown, Initiate Lockdown It is highly probable the secretary will get the call from somewhere in the school. Whoever receives the call, shall immediately announce the lockdown without hesitation. Remember These situations are over in a matter of minutes. Announce Lockdown, then call 911 911 Immediately after announcing Lockdown, call 911 Maintain open line Feed information to responding officers Safe approach to school vital for officer safety Advise which door to enter Meet officers (if safe to do so) with floor plan and most up to date information 12
Lockdown Procedures Classrooms Classroom to look, feel, sound empty Outside blinds closed Plan B???? - Every classroom should have one. What happens when the window in the classroom door is breached and a hand reaches through trying to open the door? Retreating into a corner is a bad option Lockdown Procedures Classrooms No calls out from locked down classrooms unless information about suspect/incident/bomb/fire No cell phone/texting within the classroom (consider policy where cell phones are up on the desks hands off) Washrooms Elementary must be checked incorporate into plan Take attendance 13
Remain in Portable Portables Thin wall construction Turn desks onto side arrange in a circle, desk-tops facing out Everyone inside the circle, on the floor below the upper edge of the desk-top Open Areas (Libraries, Cafeterias etc) Highly vulnerable areas / Highest probably this is where the incident will occur Considered controlled evacuation if doors leading directly to exterior Significant attention required when customizing local plan for each school Spend the time to plan well for these areas Noise levels? PA can it be heard? Strobes? 14
Outside School Building(s) If outside, do not re-enter enter if Lockdown called Move quickly away from building to identified off-site evacuation location Some will scatter PA system must be working outside the school Consider strobe lights inside and outside school (high noise areas/hearing impaired) Lockdown During Bus Time? Treat the bus as a classroom on wheels Gather as many as possible in close vicinity to bus, and leave the school immediately Proceed to off-site evacuation area, or other area designated for buses, as per local plan Train drivers 15
Off-Site Evacuation Site(s) Pre-arranged Preferably, not the nearby school (they will be in Hold & Secure) Accessibility How far away (winter months, no coats, perhaps no shoes) Staff member to take charge/police to attend asap Attendance & sign-out system in place Plan for media arrival Fire Alarms Worst case scenario is an intruder who starts the incident with a fire alarm pull provides a target rich environment. When in lockdown, if the alarm is pulled, everyone stays put if it is safe to do so. Staff/Students must always be aware of the potential for other emergencies such as fire. Should this occur, staff/students must be prepared to react and possibly evacuate a locked down area for their own safety. 16
Lockdowns / Fire Regulations Ontario Fire Marshall part of Provincial Lockdown Working Group Lockdown Procedures/Fire Regs., not always compatible Need to work together, recognizing that by the numbers, staff and students are at far greater risk from serious violence vs. fire Command Post Locations Establish three locations for each school Two within the school One off-site in the event the school is not accessible Only an issue if the situation goes from an active shooter, to a barricaded or hostage situation 17
Exercising the Plan Mandatory Provincial Guidelines Conduct a minimum of two The Plans belong to documented exercises per the schools Police school year. Consider one are there to assist with fire alarm pulled after with implementation Lockdown announced. and training. This Advise Fire Dept and Alarm Co in point cannot be over advance. emphasized. Minutes Count Seconds Count even more!!!! School Training & Drills Drills Two each year under the direction of the principal, including scheduling Police attend to assist, support and make recommendations, not to direct the drills Drills should include a debriefing Police to ensure all officers who may respond to schools are trained in Lockdowns Consider inviting Fire/EMS Realism of the drills 18
Student Training Elementary: Trained staff, should teach elementary (age appropriate language, not instil fear teachers know best) Secondary: Assembly Presentation, Administration & Police Notifying Neighbouring Schools Neighbouring schools go into hold & secure Neighbouring schools should not be utilized as off-site evacuation locations, if it can be avoided Notification to near-by school, done by school going into lockdown (Announce lockdown, call 911, call neighbouring school) 19
Confronting For many school shooters, no plans for tomorrow Staff & students directed Not to Confront However many situations end prior to police arrival either through intervention or suicide A decision to intervene by staff or students is a personal decision and is not recommended Quickly assess the chances of success in defusing a situation or overpowering an attacker Some U.S. schools adopting Attack the Attacker models Confronting the attacker, could end your life or save your life Fight! The 3 rd option behind lockdown or run Many shooters suicidal, no tomorrow Complying with their instructions is no guarantee you will be spared Fight or Flight response Talking about it in advance, will provide some level of confidence It will always be a last resort, and an extremely high risk 20
Other Factors to Consider Fortifying buildings West Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania Virginia Tech. OACP - Provincial Bomb Threat Guidelines (coming) Terrorism Schools as targets Sandy Hook It could have been far worse Prevention Reduces Risk, Preparation Reduces Impact 21
Questions / Discussion? Mark Allen Ontario Director Respect Group Inc. mallen@respectgroupinc.com 705-300-2120 22