Yes, this article is originally meant for private schools, but a lot of this information could also be pertinent to churches (both in the sanctuary and Sunday schools), businesses, office settings, manufacturing and other organizations.
A 2025 report of school safety showed that over 50% of violent school incidents occurred outside the classroom. For this reason, we may wish to modify our training from just classroom protection to campus-wide protection.
We may have to expand our field of operations from simply the four walls of the classroom, or any room, into the hallways, into parking lots and even into our sports fields. We need to be prepared to respond quickly in an incident, no matter where on campus it happens. By changing this thought process, we can be better prepared to respond to incidents campus wide.
The 2024-2025 school year saw a decrease in school shootings, with 254 incidents reported, a 22.5% drop compared to the previous three school years of 2021-2024, which had an average of 330. While this is a positive trend, the number of shootings is still significantly higher than decades ago.
We are going to be doing another article soon going over the recently released 2024-2025 School Shooting study that the Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) and the U.S. Department of Education (DHS) has released.
It’s going to take me a bit to pour over the hundreds of pages of information to be able to give you an understanding of what all that verbiage actually means. So, stay tuned here for that article!
Most incidents that occur every day in schools and organizations are emergencies such as medical issues and behavioral incidents. Technology is not the best tool for these. This fact needs to be taken into consideration developing safety plans, policies, and training. These practices then can be incorporated to better protect the entire campus.
Access control should still be at the core of any safety program. Understanding who is on campus and why they’re there is crucial for protecting areas both inside and outside the classroom. Visitor management systems, vetting, and issuing badges for all visitors who enter buildings are also essential parts of access control.
You can dream about license plate readers for your parking lots and such, but we all know that budgeting for that is just a fantasy.
So, how do we keep the bad guys outside?
Let’s start with communication with your local first responders. It is a must that the local police and first responders know your property, your people, and are a presence at your school. Invite them to tour the building. Provide them with an opportunity to meet the students. Make it a friendly place for them to be. When a call for help comes into dispatch regarding an incident in your school gym, the first responders should not have to ask where the gym is when they arrive at your location!
Nowadays police departments can also create portals where critical information is brought on to one screen to monitor and respond in real time. Schools and organizations can now integrate their camera systems into these real-time programs, as well. This integration provides local law enforcement with real-time visibility during emergencies, so that they can see what problems are occurring, where they are happening, and can make informed decisions about where to dedicate their resources and deploy tactical units.
Floor plans and full campus mapping are paramount. Mapping can also show precisely and immediately where safety assets are located — such as fire alarms, first aid kits, extinguishers and evacuation points — which are critical details for responders to make the most of every second.
Many schools have sports and after-hours events, so ensuring there is a plan in place and that safety procedures are followed during these times are crucial.
Schools must develop robust safety policies that clearly define response expectations and procedures.
Where do you want responders to enter? What are the expectations of the school staff? These all can be discussed while the responders are touring the buildings.
These tours need to be done not just by the supervisors or the PR people, and not just a one-time thing but be done frequently by the daily responders for true safety preparedness.
Play the What-If Game
Training must be continual and realistic. Role-playing is paramount, we often refer to this as “tabletop” training. So, play the “What-If Game” often. There is an understanding that people need to be put in a somewhat plausible situation so they can train in real time. The more people train, the more they commit to the process.
It is stated that “The Body can never go where the Mind has never been.”
The best communication tools for emergencies are simple and easy to use without requiring people to think about or taking multiple steps. When communicating in an emergency, the most essential thing to do is to communicate that there is an emergency, where it is and how to respond to it. Cell phones just are not the only tool available, nor are they the best ones.
There is a big misconception that an app-based panic button solution is sufficient. When an emergency happens, you may not have adequate cellular or Wi-Fi coverage. A user may also have to find the app and then login, which can take time when seconds matter. A simple process where you can press a button on a radio makes it easier to respond.
Safety responsibilities should not just be left to leadership or security personnel. Everyone on campus — students, educators, janitorial staff, volunteers — all need to be trained. These are the people there every day and have eyes on what’s always going on in the school.
Technology is great, radio/communications absolutely, but most needed is training. That expensive computer monitor showing all the cameras is useless if no one is monitoring it. If the staff are not carrying the radios, they are just pricey paperweights on desks.
Without training on what to do, panic ensues…and that simple emergency turns into a catastrophe.
If you fail to train, you have trained to fail!
Terry Berringer is the owner operator of Church Emergency Consulting in Pittsburgh, www.churchemergency.com. For more information on these and many more training opportunities, contact him at 412-527-3673 or terry@churchemergency.com.
