Following the tragic events that happened on Feb 14th in Parkland Florida, at Majorie Stoneman Douglas High School, several Minnesota high schools reported lockdowns in varying degrees. Some of the lockdowns announced were precautionary in nature, but the decision was made from analysis of posted social media comments from students. Hyper-sensitivity allows us to report unsafe acts and potential threats to security & safety. We use screening, searching and detection as integral parts of preparation and deterrence. Our challenge to our campus community team is to report signs of aggression/hostility before a future incident occurs.
Prevention also centers on our accurate ability for public information and early warning.
We accomplish our Emergency Notification System through:
- Mobile radios (spread out throughout the campus)
- Cisco public address system (loudspeakers and phone speakers throughout campus)
- Star Alert messaging (individuals pick the format and to what schools they want the information shared)
- Sign up at https://staralertarccatc.bbcportal.com/
- Campus Social media mediums
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- Public Safety Campus Blog posts
- Anoka County websites
- Coon Rapids and Cambridge police websites
During the MSDHS, Parkland event, the police radios and 911 dispatch center was overloaded with calls and caused delays in communications. Broward county used their county website to provide directives and marshalling areas for parents and students who evacuated the area with success. One important lesson learned is to not call 911 or emergency lines unless you have a valid input to the emergency. This includes mobile radio traffic as well, as we “clear the net” and only provide pertinent information as it relates to the incident.
I have also attached a working task checklist/document on procedures for Lockdown for your work area, classrooms, common areas, etc. It is a practical application used to secure your area, and coincides with our Emergency Operations Plan. Lockdown declarations will be declared when there is an outside threat to the campus, and that credible threat causes our campus to lockdown to prevent entry into the building. The other area of Lockdown deals with Run/Hide/Fight and an armed intruder within the campus area. There may be a situation when a work area is directly at the incident location of the hostile event and you need to secure your area immediately due to proximity. The objective is to secure your door, and use the Hide strategy to lower your “footprint” in the area.
Finally, we would like to thank the many team members who have either emailed or spoken to our office about questions or concerns relating to security and safety. We truly have a campus community who are engaged with providing a safe/secure learning environment. It all starts with you! Thank you!
Be Aware, Be Safe!
Public Safety & Security 