NSA School Safety Resource Site
The NSA School Safety Resource Site is a new initiative centered around promoting and accelerating multidisciplinary efforts to build, maintain, and manage schools that are safe from violence; in particular from law enforcement perspective with a focus on active shooter and other mass casualty hostile events. It will endeavor to support all communities in creating school environments that minimize the potential threats and maximize the potential survivability, while providing insight to public safety and recognizing that the first responsibility of a school is to educate.
Check out this video from Madison County (NY) Sheriff Todd Hood on cyberbullying and how schools and parents can help students:
The Prevention Awareness Network has teamed up with NSA's School Safety Committee to create a series of videos on school safety topics.
The first video, below, discusses the importance of school resource officers (SROs).
VIEW RECORDING: School Safety Risk Management: In addition to a systematic examination of the learning environment, a quality school safety risk assessment should identify significant threat areas, the likelihood and severity of an unwanted event and implementation of realistic control measures to reduce environmental risk. In this webinar you will be introduced to the three school safety risk assessment thresholds found in any professional learning environment, the likelihood and severity of an undesired event at each threshold, and the implementation of recommended control measures to reduce commensurate risk. (Recorded Nov. 19, 2020)
Check out all the upcoming school safety webinars >>>
ANNOUNCEMENT: COPS Office Releases the Ten Essential Actions to Improve School Safety Publication
The COPS Office School Safety Working Group, which is composed of representatives from eight national law enforcement organizations, has identified 10 essential actions that can be taken by schools, school districts, and law enforcement agencies to help prevent critical incidents involving the loss of life or injuries in our nation's schools and to respond rapidly and effectively when incidents do occur. These actions are applicable to school shootings as well as to other areas of school safety, including natural disasters and traumatic events such as student suicide. Adopting policies and practices based on the recommendations in this publication can help make school communities safer and save lives.
ANNOUNCEMENT: [Webinar] Trauma-Informed Practices: Prevention and De-escalating Disruptive Behavior
Uncertainty about school, economic wellbeing of families and communities, ongoing racial tension and unrest, and COVID-19 have increased all stakeholders’ concerns about the emotional and physical wellbeing of students and staff as they prepare for the 2020-2021 school year. In Part II of Trauma-Informed Practices Across all School Settings, the focus will shift from overall environmental practices to prevention and management of behavior arising from stress, distress, and trauma through positive and thoughtful interactions between staff and students.
ANNOUNCEMENT: NSA Amends School Safety Resolution
The resolution, effective June 25, 2020, through June 25, 2024, aims to guide the nation's law enforcement in handling school safety and security issues.
ANNOUNCEMENT: US Secret Service Releases New Report on School Violence
The study, Protecting America’s Schools: A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Targeted School Violence, identifies 41 incidents of attacks against K-12 schools in the United States from 2008 to 2017. Researchers with the Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) have examined the background and behaviors of the attackers and identified a series of key findings and significant commonalities.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to school safety, but most approachs break down into three phases: proactive measures, active measures, and reactive measures.
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ACTIVE
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REACTIVE
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An Obligation to Ensure Our Schools are Zones of Safety
Concerned about the increasing incidence of school violence, the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) has moved to address the myriad of challenges surrounding this serious issue. Assuredly, everyone has a real and moral obligation to ensure our schools are zones of safety. While school violence is a valid national concern, it has an immediate effect most felt in local jurisdictions.
While jurisdictions could build a “Fort Knox” facility for each school, that would still not resolve school violence. The approach must be layered and shaped for each community. Many challenges face us in this endeavor such as: school structure; preparedness; legal and privacy concerns; training; measurement and metrics; collaboration with all aspects within the community and available resources. Additionally, as communities we need to look strenuously at legislation which hinders our children’s safety or could enhance it. Further, no cohesive repository of numerous resources has been fully identified and made available to communities.
Creating a Structure for True Analysis of the Entanglement of School Violence Issues
NSA is striving to convene a workgroup to begin to put together a structure for true analysis of the entanglement of school violence issues. This group would look at practices addressing school violence and make them available to communities of differing size and shape. We know state and local legislative bodies have made strides in dealing with the issue. We also know the health and mental health fields have solutions and are vital partners.
There is no question except we take action forthwith! We must find and promote evidenced-based practices to mitigate this crisis. Information must be shared among the law enforcement, intelligence and health communities, particularly mandatory reporting of all threats. There will be some tasks which are non-negotiable, requiring massive cooperation and sharing of information, practices and policies.
NSA Believes the Solution to School Safety Exists
We propose to lead participants who are decision makers from: Federal; Industry; Health and Mental Health; Schools; Legislative Bodies; Governors and Local Officials; Architects; Parents and Children to assemble necessary information and give it an open-source, easily accessible central repository.
Promote & Accelerate Multidisciplinary Efforts to Build, Maintain, & Manage Safe Schools
We will assemble Subject-Matter Experts (SME’s) for guidance and validation of the information assembled, insuring the solutions enunciated are Affordable, Feasible and Sustainable. We will then assemble the structure of the repository for ease of use. This initiative will promote and accelerate multidisciplinary efforts to build, maintain, and manage schools that are safe from violence; in particular from law enforcement perspectives with a focus on active shooter and other mass casualty hostile events. It will endeavor to support all communities in creating school environments that minimize the potential threats, maximize potential survivability, insight to public safety and recognize that the first responsibility of a school is to educate. It is clear we, as a nation and local communities, must “seize the moment” because the time is now upon us.
