In response to the school shooting at Perry Hall High School in late August, The Dagger asked Harford County Public Schools to provide an overview of safety measures in county school buildings. Sadly, this issue is relevant again today with the horrific shootings at an elementary school in Newtown, CT. Below is the overview provided at the time by HCPS:
1. Each school has a critical incident plan and drills are conducted every year to ensure that the plan can be executed effectively.
2. Harford County Public Schools has an excellent working relationship with local and state fire, police, and EMS. Active-shooter drills are conducted with key players to practice the role of each agency in an emergency.
3. HCPS Administrators have been trained in the National Incident Management System (NIMS) program. NIMS is an emergency preparedness program created by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
4. All schools are locked down with a visitor management system in place to help ensure that all buildings remain safe.
5. A School Resource Officer is assigned to each high school. Those officers also serve the feeder elementary and middle schools.
6. Weapons of any kind are not allowed on school property or buses.
Just a question: Did it take HCPS 3.5 months to respond to the your request?
Read the three sentences. This was in response to the Perry Hall shooting. Cindy has re-published it as it is relevant to whe happenings today in Connecticut.
My apologies.
The last part about weapons is great except it lets the bad guys who don’t care about rules know that no one inside can defend themselves or the kids
Here is a part of the plan that is missing. There needs to be one deputy, town cop or trooper (depending on the jusrisdiction assigned to each County school building everyday for at least 6 hours. I would much rather see a police officer in each school protecting and interacting with the kids each day, than sitting at some street corner all day writing tickets to working moms not stopping long enough at the stop sign. But I guess its all about the money,isn’t it?
Someone’s salty about getting a ticket…
I just drove around the area and didn’t see one deputy, trooper or police at a stop sign. I am missing something hard working mom. First off there are not enough deputies to cover the road due to the sheriff pulling them off the road either for specialized units or promotions. Second there are usually at the most 2-3 troopers working the road at one time if lucky. The reason for that is the state police are about 200-300 troopers short. If you want police in every school have them as secondary employment for the officers. Have them in plain clothes with their take home vehicle in the front of the school. When the kids arrive have them in the front til school begins and then do the same after. In between they can walk around, sit in their vehicle in the front or during kids lunch time interact.
Just as an FYI, the power of the police who actually are at schools (they are called “resource officers”) is quite limited. If two students fight and it is broken up before the resource officer arrives (meaning he/she did not actually witness the incident), then the students can only be charged with causing a disruption on school property rather than assault unless one of the students (or their family) press charges. Guess how often that happens.
Your argument is highly prejudicial, and it is doubtful you would have made the same impassioned plea if you had not been one of the “working moms not stopping long enough at the stop sign”.
You people are just always full of lame excuses. You all never have any solutions to offer, you are just part of the problem. Leave it to the cops to focus on the stop sign instead of the issues of protecting kids in school. And then there is the whining about we don’t have enough officers. Maybe you should look at how they are utilized. Interesting how the two states in the U.S. with the least amount of police officers per 100.000 residents also have the least amount of crime. You know why, I have family in both of those States. When I go there, I see officers in schools, in malls, in shopping centers, in neighborhoods, at youth games. What I don’t see is cops hiding behind trees trying to write tickets on roads that no one lives on, yes I too see them hiding with the trunk up writing tickets at stop signs, etc, etc. Fortunatly because they are creatures of habit and are in the same spots all the time, I personally haven’t had any problems. I wouldn’t care what it cost to put an officer in each school, figure it out and do it. You would have to have specially trained officers because they would have a two-fold mission of protecting the kids from outside threats and acting as a mentor to the kids. I wouldn’t want to see them there arresting everyone, but working for conflict resolution…..wow…that would change the paradigm. I have to really laugh when I visit the elementary school. I had a busines owner in a center where there have been alot of robberies tell me that the cop came in to tell her what to do if a robbery happens. She said to him, I see you running radar all day long up from the shopping center, why don’t you walk the shopping center doing the peak crime hours. He said that was someone else’s duty. She is still waiting to see a cop walking in the center.
Policing is not what it used to be. The people that are elected and leaders of police departments are constantly harping on stats, stats, and more stats. Ask the governor or mayor of Baltimore about crime stat, state state, etc. We are constantly being told to work this road that road and yes stop signs. We are also told to account for everything we do. When I first started that didn’t exist. A lot of police would concentrate on businesses and the communities but not now its about how many stops you have or a drug arrests( Leaders believe arresting someone with less than a gram is great when all it does is take that officer off the road for several hours). Putting police in schools is great but not too long ago and even today there are people who cringe when we go into a school. They act like shouldn’t be allowed to come in because we are ARMED. Its a fact because it has happen to me. I was in full uniform getting out of a marked vehicle and when I approached the door a teacher was leaving. AS I approached the door he wouldn’t let me in because I didn’t buzz myself in. The people in the office could see me plus the teacher could tell who I was. Needless to say I made sure what I thought. And what was even funnier, the resource officer happened to walk by and watch the entire episode. Of course he got a laugh. My point is why its all right that we have sprinklers and fire alarms in school, which we should, but put a police officer in the school and the children might be threatened.
Is there a point to your rambling? You replied to my post, but I don’t think you actually said anything about my post so I don’t know if it was by accident or by design.
Yea Bridge, you would focus on the “warning” and not the sfaety of our kids. You must be a cop.
Here’s an easy plan. Principal keeps locked up loaded shotgun in his office.
Currently MD law does not allow anyone other than a sworn law enforcement officer to bring a firearm onto school property. Even citizens with state or federally issued carry permits are not allowed to carry on school property.
The Ross study looked at every mass shooting in the U.S. with three or more deaths. With the exception of ONE, every one in history has happened in states with the toughest gun control and carry laws. These things NEVER happen in a carry state where honest law abiding citizens can carry a weapon. What no one will ever understand is that criminals break the law. You can make all of the gun control laws you want. Criminals don’t follow them. Just look at DC. The only thing that will stop these mad men, is law abiding citizens carrying a weapon. Think about it, how many times can you remember when a police officer shot a a potetial mass murderer BEFORE he kills people. It doesn’ t happen. But there are many cases west of the Mississippi where a law abiding citizen has taken these thugs out before they could inflict harm.
I agree. A few trained, responsible faculty members that won’t think twice about capping someone who endangers the lives of the kids sounds like a good plan to me. Think of how many kids may have been spared in CT if a staff member was carrying something as simple as a 9mm. Even a shotgun loaded with rock salt may have been enough to stun the sick SOB long enough to restrain him until law enforcement arrived. Strict gun laws will only continue to keep the guns out of the hands of responsible owners that obey the law. Deranged idiots and criminals could care less about what the law says regarding where and when a gun can be carried, and will ALWAYS find a way to get their hands on a weapon.
Perfect. Let’s start a shoot out in school. Brilliant.
Guns in the schools is the last thing we need.
You are wrong.
Amazing that no one talks about the countless violent images shown on tv during so called family programming, ie. csi commercials depicting homocides and or sexual assault during nfl games. And how about the kids that sit around playing Halo or other extremely violent video games throughout their youth. We are desensitized to violence in our culture. If we want the complete freedom to expose our children to violence and then have them grow up and have unrestricted access to assault
weapons, how can we expect a different outcome in the future. Truth is the current set up isn’t working but here we are. I won’t feel comfortable till there is a cop on duty in every school.
In Israel school staff carry firearms. In Germany the government stations federal police, armed with automatic weapons, in front of Jewish schools.
WHy? WHat evidence supports this is a good idea?
The evidence that these things never happen in a carry state. Look it up! Do you know that in colleges in many states, especially in light of the VT shootings, now allow students and teachers to carry. You honestly think you’ll have an VT type attack at those schools…doubt it!
We don’t have a gun problem in this country or in schools. We have a God problem. As a nation we have turned our back on God and he is no longer allowed in our schools.
God, Jesus, or whatever other religious deity are allowed in schools. Students don’t lose their free speech rights when the go to school. They are permitted to discuss religion, and most other things, so long as it does not materially or substantially disrupt school discipline. Religion is not banned from schools. Schools are banned from instituting/practicing/organizing any form of religion, which is how it should be.
Paul,
Jesus is not allowed in schools. This should be evidenced by the political correctness of this time of year, where events are “holiday parties” or “holiday songs,” etc. These parties and songs are reflective of Christmas, but government school’s and government in general are too afraid to say CHRISTmas. Take for example the idiot Rhode Island governor, Lincoln Chafee, who changed the name of the Christmas tree to holiday tree. Bah Humbug. The fact is there is a True Living God and he has been kept out of government schools. Where were to school shootings when prayer was in school? Government has succeeded in keeping God out and the devil in school.
I have to disagree with you here! My daughter was told in an art class a couple years back around Christmas that the assignment was to make a holiday card. She was told specifically that it could not state Merry Christmas , could not draw a picture of a Christmas tree , unless it was called a “Holiday” tree! She was told she could not draw anything that depicted any specific religion, Jesus, or cross. Just a “HOLIDAY” card just in case it offended someone. How is this saying Jesus is allowed in schools when clearly here it was not!!
Since Isreal armed school principals in 1974, they have had ZERO children killed in schools. Something to think about.
I feel like if we have to depend on arming our principals and staff in order to make schools safe, we have failed as a society. I personally do not want the message to my children being “You will be safe only if you have a gun around.”
We need to get away from all this failed as a society stuff. We aren’t going to change society any time soon so we need to deal with the here and now.
Wow, just throw in the towel and arm everyone, it’ll be like the wild wild west again. You just seem a little too eager to have guns in the schools, it quite honestly makes me a little afraid of you.
I want the message to be “you will be safe.” Period.
The message is a gun makes you safe. I don’t like that message.
You are certainly entitled to not like that message, even though I disagree with your interpretation of it. I’d happily send my kids to a school where someone responsible in the school was carrying a concealed weapon, Hell, a responsible person with an openly displayed weapon and a gigantic billboard outside the school that reads “Warning to those who wish to cause harm: Multiple staff members have firearms and will shoot you dead if you draw a weapon on someone in this school.” You be happy sending yours to a school where the only things teachers have to protect children are their lives.
Yes that would be great gym teachers carrying while teaching tumbling, pool techs carrying in the pool, Chemistry teachers carrying in the lab! Not to mention some teachers who lack good sense
Your descriptions are ridiculous. There are ways to identify and assess individuals who might volunteer and be selected to hold such responsibilities. Such screening is standard operating procedure for law enforcement agencies and the military.
Isn’t Virginia A carry state? Wasn’t Arkansas and Colorodo?
We are talking about authorizing certain school staff not the general public. Even states with less restrictive carry laws limit citizens authority to carry on school property or school sponsored activities that may be off site.
A small school district in Texas just authorized staff to carry in school if they already had Texas concealed carry permits.
All it takes is for someone to be the first.
Great, sounds like a perfect employment opportunity for you.
None of which are appropriate for a school setting which is my point. Sorry if this is not attatching to the correct reply but the new format is difficult to interface with
Jesus is not allowed in schools. This should be evidenced by the political correctness of this time of year, where events are “holiday parties” or “holiday songs,” etc. These parties and songs are reflective of Christmas, but government school’s and government in general are too afraid to say CHRISTmas. Take for example the idiot Rhode Island governor, Lincoln Chafee, who changed the name of the Christmas tree to holiday tree. Bah Humbug. The fact is there is a True Living God and he has been kept out of government schools. Where were to school shootings when prayer was in school? Government has succeeded in keeping God out and the devil in school.
As long as there are tests there will be prayer. Additionally God id everywhere He does not need an invite. It seems God is in churches and we had a Sikih Temple shooting, How do you explain that?
BTW if the removal of GOD and Prayer is your issue how do you explain the 11 Shootings in the late 1800’s, or the 32 from 1900-1940, or the 11 in the 1940’s?
Realist a school is not a law enforcement organization. My point is good teaching can not effectively be done with a gun to be responsible for.
A gun locked in an alarmed safe would effect teaching how? I guess the police can’t do their job as effectively having to be responsible for their guns.
We protect courts, banks, stores and other businesses, not to mention politicians and celebrities with firearms, but not our children
policing is not teaching!!!!!! I am not saying a police officer with a gun at a school is a bad idea. I am saying that having teachers, whose primary mission is to educate children, carry guns as a matter of policy is a bad and unrealistic idea.
Why?
It is perfectly realistic and will become policy in many school districts across the country. No one expects teachers to be “policing” their schools. There are plenty of qualified school based professionals that would be willing to volunteer for training and assume the responsibilities of carrying during school hours. I have no doubt that most of those volunteers would either have previous military or law enforcement experience. It certainly is possible to do both without taking away from teaching classes.
Anyone know what prompted a call from
Harford Co. Public Schools in the past thirty minutes that vaguely hinted at rumors of an attack tomorrow going around on “social media” and a “greatly increased” police presence tomorrow? What the hell?! It’s 99.9% likely a sick “joke” or kids running off at the mouths on Facebook; nonetheless, not cool.
Now we are forced to make the decision of deciding whether or not to send our children to school. Do we trust that our kids will be safe tomorrow or do we decide after what just happened last week, not to send them? While I agree that we should not live our lives in fear, our child’s safety is just not worth the risk!
The Zoombies?
The Myan Calandar
Christmas is coming
Take your pick…..this is what your kids talk about!
I don’t see these crazy people entering police stations. No these crazies are shooting innocent mass crowds. If some type of gun control is known to be at schools. They will not target the schools as much. Unfortunatly we have to addapt to the new normal. Its horrible, its senseless, and we have to change in order to stop the ” new ” bad stuff from happening.