School safety, security, and violence prevention resource

Safety drills are an important part of many institutions’ precautionary measures. They are a good way of giving people practical experience when it comes to dealing with emergency situations. That is why even school authorities deem it necessary to conduct spot safety drills. In some cases, though, things do not go as well as planned.

Based on a report by Alex Peshkov:

A school safety drill caused some confusion and concern among a few staffers and students of the Gateway Regional School District yesterday after a teacher was given a note saying that there were armed people on the grounds.

“I don’t believe (a panic) was extensive,” said Wendy V. Long, the district’s spokeswoman. “It wasn’t widespread, but it did cause a certain confusion, as it would do in case of a real crisis. (Drills are) part of our emergency plan. We usually practice it once a year.”

Schools Superintendent David B. Hopson and State Police Lt. Dan Kennedy handed a teacher a note saying there was a threat to the school, said Long.

“I don’t know what the teacher’s reaction was exactly, but I am (on the district crisis team) and I know that this could be very disorienting,” she said. “The instruction to initiate a practice response to ‘armed intruders’ led to some confusion. Some colleagues didn’t realize that it was just a drill.”

I was particularly impressed at the twist they added to the drill. There were people who left through the wrong door and they were asked to stay behind with the aim of checking whether they would be able to identify the missing people.

While I was reading the article, I did not know how to react, honestly. At first I thought it was a bit funny. Then again, I felt that it was not right. Safety drills have been designed with a good purpose in mind. Yet are they supposed to create false alarms when they are carried out?

On the one hand, the element of surprise is important thing when it comes to drills. Not knowing what is going to happen when it is going to happen will test the authentic response of people. This is a good thing because the authorities can determine the strengths and weaknesses of a school’s safety program. On the other hand, confusion can result – as what happened in this case.

I guess since the drill went alright overall, all’s well that ends well.

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