WSSCA s 25 Point School Security Checklist Gary Rosploch Peter Pochowski WSSCA School Safety Assessment Team Sandy Hook Commission Report Schools should be required to perform an assessment (all hazards and risks) every 3 to 5 years unless intelligence or events suggest a more rigorous schedule. 1
#1 Does the school have a designated Safety Coordinator? Primary person responsible in that school. Maintains the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). May wear two hats (or more?) Keeps informed. Maintains contacts. Attends training (2013 major report released). #2 Does the school have an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)? Does it address the 5 Mission Areas? 1. Prevention 2. Protection 3. Mitigation 4. Response 5. Recovery 2
#3 Is there a building access plan in place? The main entrance is the main thing! Staff Students Visitors Vendors Harden the Target (Sandy Hook Report) #4 Has there been external input into the EOP? Fire Police EMS Local Businesses Parents Students Etc. (Per Sandy Hook Report) 3
#5 Are there Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with external agencies? Where to go in evacuations. Media assistance (announce plans, etc.) Annual training sessions with fire/police, etc. Local Businesses. #6 Does the school have a Safety Committee? Principal/AP, etc. as chairman. Address the safety and security challenges. Prioritize the problems. Make recommendations for solutions. Make recommendations for funding priorities. (per Sandy Hook Report) 4
#7 Has the staff received emergency training? Formal (conference, training sessions, etc.) Informal (review of the EOP and the duties and responsibilities of each staff member). Table top exercises or drills? Updated annually? Exercised annually? #7 Continued Sandy Hook Report: The Commission finds that effective training of staff provides the most critical, timely, and effective mechanisms for resisting a threat to schools based upon a human actor. 5
#8 Does the school have an effective camera system? School level appropriate. What do the cameras see? (busy areas, bottlenecks, bus stops, cafeteria, secluded areas). Maintenance of cameras. Who is watching the cameras? Archive plan? #9 Are classroom doors locked and open or closed? Recommend locked and closed but.., Teachers should be able to quickly lock and close doors with minimum exposure to danger. Sandy Hook Report: Consider Requiring that all classrooms in K 12 schools be equipped with locking doors that can be locked from the inside by the teacher. 6
#10 Have the principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) been applied? Natural Surveillance: open, optimal use of glass, Access Control: signs, directions, locks, bottlenecks, Territoriality and Maintenance: ownership, broken windows theory, Sandy Hook report: Security elements should be incorporated at the earliest stages of design (construction). #11 Is the school in compliance with Act 309, the safe schools law of 2010? EOP. ALL schools now required. Reviewed and signed by chain of command. Reviewed every 3 years. Anti bullying program and day of recognition (4 th Wednesday in September is Anti Bullying Day. ) Two emergency drills annually. 7
#12 Are school ID s required and worn by students and staff (grade appropriate)? Very poor record everywhere in Wisconsin! Students, maybe. Staff, definitely. If no compliance, why have a policy? Helps to quickly identify those who have no clearance to be in the school (thefts and noncustodian parents are a great threat to schools). #13 Are there written protocols for before and after school emergencies? Very poor record across the state. Legal liabilities follow the students, not the bell. Schools not in compliance face criticism, complaints and lawsuits. And they place students and staff in unnecessary danger. 8
#14 Does the principal have a safe school mindset? Everything else revolves around this! Hard to measure but easy to spot. Hard to measure what you have prevented. Safety principles begin with a safety principal. Interactive with students and staff. Understands the EOP. Promotes safety regularly. Monitors the Safety Committee. #15 Does the school have a dedicated security person (SRO, security agent, guard, etc.)? 9
#15 Continued Son: Daddy, why are all those police officers around the school? Dad: Because there was a bad incident there and police make the school safer. Son: Will they be there next week too. Dad: No. Son: Why not Daddy? Dad: I don t know son. I don t know. #16 Are all entrances/exits marked on the outside? Facilitates the action of first responders. Can save minutes and seconds for responders. Can save lives. 10
#17 Is there a process in place for students to report threats to staff? Phone #? Email? 25% of WI students say they have no teachers they trust to ask for personal advice. Fights Weapons Drugs Possible Suicides Dangerous conditions Other fears #18 Is there a written door key/electronic control policy? Keys and FOBs must be controlled in a system. Compliance? Master keys Grand master keys Great grand master keys 11
#19 Is the campus well maintained? Broken windows theory. Pride of students and staff in the school. Conveys an image of organization or disorganization. A preventative measure. #20 Is there a written plan for the handicapped? They are least able to train correctly. They are least able to respond to drills. May endanger others to assist them. They have the same right to safety as anyone else. 12
#21 Is there a written protocol for field trips? Emergency contact info. Is a second adult prepared to assume command? Any student leaders who could handle the first steps of an emergency? #22 Do adults wear identifiable garb while on playground duty? Shows unwelcomed guests that there are adults in in charge. Allows students to quickly identify adults in an emergency. Quickly shows first responders who is in charge in an emergency. Violates all known acceptable fashion standards. 13
#23 Is the school office located near the main entrance? Minimizes the time unescorted visitors are free in the school. Maximizes the safety features of double vestibules, door locks, etc. #23 Continued Sandy Hook Report:.. we must redouble our efforts to restrict access to school buildings by those who may, by effort or inadvertently, expose school children to risk. 14
#24 Is the staff visible in the halls and interacting with students? May be the second most important consideration after the principal. Helps prevent misbehavior, fights, etc. Scan, focus, act. Quickly identify problems and act. Reassures students. Reassures principals. Reassures other teachers. Reassures parents. #25 Does the school have a grab and go bag? Student s names. Phone tree. Evacuation site. Identification signage. Etc. 15
Control v. Influence v. Mere Interest o o In Closing If there must be trouble, let it be in my time, that my child may find peace. Thomas Paine, circa 1800 s 16
WSSCA Membership or School Security Assessment contact: WWW.WSSCA.ORG Website WSSCA@WSSCA.ORG Office email Peter Pochowski, Executive Director 414 559 7487 Education First Safety Always 17