Preface
We completed this book in about 6 months. Normally, this undertaking would take 18-24 months. We know that it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. We both know that the faster we could complete this book, get it published and into the hands of those who are responsible for school security, then possibly we could help prevent another incident from happening at a school.
We found ourselves calling each other after incidents were reported on the news: Atlanta, a shopping mall shooting; schools closed down in New Hampshire and Kansas City; the list goes on and on. We recently addressed 80 school administrators and told them that a violent incident was going to happen again this year at a school, but we couldn’t tell them when or where—and they knew it also. It is difficult to say these kinds of things, but we’re sure it was even more difficult for them to hear.
Set security standards for your schools. Conduct a security assessment. Follow CPTED principles and security best practices. After you’ve done so, call your local media to promote your accomplishments. Let the bad guys know that you take crime prevention and effective security at your school serious!
Times have changed. You know that. We are concerned because we know that many of our schools do not have adequate security in place to protect our children. We are not advocating that you make your school a prison for children, and we do not want you to turn your school into a cold, uninviting fortress. Instead, we want schools to be safe environments where our children learn and grow, but also has effective security in place to address vulnerabilities. Our children should feel safe and secure at school and parents should have the peace of mind that they will see their children happy and healthy at the end of the school day. It’s simply a matter of changing the way you think about schools. Be smart about securing your school by training your students, faculty and staff about keeping themselves safe—increase awareness, but not fear. Talk with other schools and find out what they are doing that is working. Establish partnerships and teams to implement security measures that are effective, but not overly intrusive. We are all playing by a different set of rules now, so let’s play to win!
We wish to sincerely thank all of our contributors who made this book possible. We truly believe that compiling the knowledge of many security professionals is a more comprehensive approach to addressing the issue of school security. We thank you for your professionalism as well as your contributions. We will measure the success of this project by the number of incidents that do not occur in our schools because of the information in this book.