Introduction

Schools are safe places as a rule. The vast majority of students will experience 12 years of education and their experiences with school emergencies will likely be not much more than seeing a fistfight or an asthma attack. That is not always the case, however. Schools are large facilities with a lot of people in them, and any number of large or small emergencies can happen. Illnesses, accidents, criminal attacks, weather events, fires, gas leaks… the list of examples of what could happen is endless. As I wrote this chapter, one of the high schools in my district had an electrical fire in the ceiling and the fire department responded while students and staff were evacuated to the gym and cafeteria. School leaders need to have positive relationships and partnerships with the people who will respond to emergencies, at all levels. For the purposes of this chapter, we will focus on law enforcement (police department or sheriff’s office), fire/emergency medical services (EMS) (fire department and rescue squad; in some localities they will be the same agency, in others they will be separate and distinct), and emergency management (disaster planning, response, and recovery). We will examine partnerships at the school and district levels.

Law Enforcement

Police are likely the first responders that most school personnel have experience with. Police return truants to school. They serve as school resource officers (SROs) assigned to schools. They work security at football and basketball games. They show up when you find a student with a bag of marijuana.

At the school level, it is important for the local precinct officers to be familiar with your school’s floor plan, staff, and students. The local officers are the ones who will respond to your school in a crisis and it is crucial that they know their way around. There are a number of ways to accomplish this.

Invite them to lunch or breakfast. In my district, patrol officers are always welcome in our cafeterias. They know upfront what the cost of a meal for an adult is ($3 for lunch) and come prepared to pay, but often principals or cafeteria managers will “comp” them. This lets the officers learn the layout of the school and gives them positive interaction with students.

The principal should regularly meet or interact with the precinct commander, shift supervisor, or other similar police leaders in the area of the school. It could be formal, scheduled meetings or simply regular phone calls or drop-in visits. The communication should be two-way. The principal needs to know what is happening out in the neighborhood, and the patrol supervisor needs to know what is going on in the school. This is the time to discuss gangs, daytime burglaries, truancy, drug dealers, sex offenders… pretty much any issue that affects people within the school, whether they are actually in school or not.

Trust is a key element of a school/police relationship. The school does not need to get the police involved with every little fight or cell phone theft that happens. The police do not need to arrest every student who breaks any law, but they do need to keep each other informed and involved in major situations. Most states have legislation that specifies which criminal acts must be reported to the police by a school. Most police officers do not have to take a full, official report for everything they come in contact with. A good relationship will allow the school to report what they must, and the police to take action if needed. Virginia law requires a principal to report to police if a student threatens a teacher. There is no gray area or judgment. A threat must be reported. However, with a good relationship, a principal can report a threat, and if it is not substantiated and the victim wishes no further action, the police officer can simply make an intelligence report or even just a “duly noted” comment in some cases. Trust is weakened when the perception exists that the school hides or covers up information, or when the police are overbearing or over-reaching. A school was required to report anything that “may be” a sexual assault. A female student was caught having sexual relations outside the school with two male students. The principals spoke to all three who agreed it was consensual, so he issued discipline and sent them home. When the girl got home, she told her parents she had been assaulted and the school did nothing to the boys. The parents called the police who knew nothing about it, and the immediate perception was that the principal was covering it up. That principal learned that the key phrase was “may be” and he now immediately notifies his SRO of anything sexual, even if it is completely consensual. He still does discipline, but he lets the police and the parents determine if there was a criminal violation. On the other side of the issue, the law required the police to notify the principal if a student was arrested at school. The SRO witnessed a parent being verbally abusive and disruptive in the main office. The parent stopped the behavior and left. However, the SRO went to the magistrate and got a warrant charging the parent with disorderly conduct and the parent was arrested at home that evening. The SRO never told the school, because the law did not require him to. The end result was that the SRO and the principal now have better communications and he notifies her of any arrest or report that is even slightly connected to the school.

Another way to build relationships is for the principal to invite the police to train in the school. K-9 s can check the lockers after school as a proactive measure; in doing so the dogs get their training time and the handlers learn the school’s floor plan. On a staff development day, teachers can role-play a crisis situation and the patrol units can train on active shooter response. The intelligence analyst can speak at a faculty meeting about how teachers can recognize and report suspicious activity. At a parent teacher association meeting, the crime prevention officer can speak about drug and gang awareness for parents.

At the division level, it is imperative that the district superintendent has direct and regular contact with the police chief or sheriff. If a major crisis happens, they will be at the forefront of the response and recovery, and they have to know and trust each other. If the community size warrants it, the district security director and mid-level captains and assistant chiefs need to communicate regularly. They will be the “boots on the ground” leaders during a major crisis and have to have a preexisting relationship. They are also the ones who can solve problems before they rise to the top levels.

Fire/EMS

Local structure may vary, but typically the fire marshal and the rescue squad are the two aspects of the fire department and EMS services that a school interacts with on a regular basis. The fire marshal conducts inspections. Are storage rooms safe? Are flammable materials covering walls? Are sprinklers inspected and clear from obstructions? A positive relationship between the school and the fire marshal can make those inspections more productive and less punitive. As homecoming or any other event approaches, the principal should invite the fire marshal to do an informal inspection of the decorations to ensure that they will not be in violation of the fire code. Perhaps the fire marshal would meet with the decorating committees and give them the parameters and rationale for the limits. A new lead custodian would benefit from meeting and working with the fire marshal before a problem develops. The fire marshal investigates false fire alarms and arsons. Even a trash can fire in the bathroom is arson and should be treated seriously by the authorities. A great way to build a positive relationship is for a school’s security officer to review video footage of the event with the fire marshal and work together to develop and interview suspects.

The school nurse is likely the employee most involved with responding rescue squads. The nurse should get to know the “first-in” rescue units in the area before they are needed. Invite them to tour the building and ensure they know which doors are closest to the nurse’s office. The fire department may respond with the rescue squad, but will definitely respond to alarm activations, the smell of “smoke” or “burning,” and for actual fires. I suggest extending an open invitation to the station captain or supervisor for all newly assigned firefighters to come tour the school to learn the floor plan, locations of water sources, and building construction. A principal should also consider inviting fire and rescue staff to bring apparatus to career days and similar events. At the district level, fire and rescue leadership should be part of any safety committees, crisis plan development, and construction design discussions.

Emergency Management

Schools play a vital role in the emergency management plans of most communities. Schools become shelters, buses evacuate residents to safe locations, and cafeterias feed evacuees. There needs to be advanced planning, communication, and a relationship for it to be a positive for all involved. I recommend that schools and emergency management authorities develop memoranda of understanding and outlining exactly how and when school resources will get used, any staffing demands, responsibilities for supplies, cleanup, liability, phone/internet access, and consumables, and funding or reimbursement. There should be one designated school district point of contact with emergency management who makes the arrangements with other school district building or department heads. This person should have a regular and assigned role in the community’s emergency operations center during disasters, drills, and training. Conducting shelter set-up drills every year or two helps ensure that school and emergency management staff will be able to work together to serve the public when a disaster does happen.

Conclusion

Things happen at school. People get in trouble, people get sick or injured, and people in need come to schools for help. To respond effectively, school and district leaders need to have positive, cooperative relationships with local public safety agencies and staff. The media and public will look much more favorably on a statement such as, “working together with our partners in the school district, a potential disaster was avoided and everyone is safe,” rather than, “you’ll have to ask the school district spokesperson about that, we manage our responsibilities and they manage theirs.” The aftermath of a serious event is not the time for the superintendent to meet the police or fire chief. A first responder should already know the principal and the building floor plan. Blueprints or digital maps of every building on campus should be provided to local responders before there is an emergency situation. These maps can be used by first responders during training exercises on school property to familiarize them with the interior of the buildings as well as the exterior exits. It is vital that local officials know the location of fire and safety equipment, utility services, and HAZMAT storage areas on school property before there is an emergency situation.

Public/private sector partnerships such as those between schools and law enforcement and the fire department and local emergency officials are not new concepts. It is accurate to say that the collaboration between schools and first responders has become more publicized with the recent events at schools nationwide, but these partnerships have proved to be instrumental in keeping our children safe. Partnerships make the entire community safer and involve all of the partners in the problem-solving process. Building trust and the exchange of information is crucial to developing a solid, working relationship between the partners. In order for a partnership to be successful, each of the partners has to realize that they are working toward the same goal—a safer, healthier community and school environment. It is important to reiterate that partnerships should not be used only in a crisis situation, but should develop over time as a proactive measure to be better prepared if the unimaginable does happen at schools.

If you are interested in learning more about partnerships, there is a significant amount of information available. For example:

1. Reaching out to the Private Sector, US Dept. of Justice;

2. Operation Partnership, Trends & Practices, US Dept. of Justice;

3. COPS Office, Community Policing Resources, US Dept. of Justice; and

4. Partnering with Businesses, COPS Problem Solving Tools, Series No. 5.

These and other titles can be obtained at no cost from: www.cops.usdoj.gov.