Keeping Perspective in School Safety Planning

I had a great conversation with a university police officer from Pennsylvania this afternoon.  He has been tasked by his department’s police chief to help the university emergency manager update their crisis plans, and wanted to see if we had any resources that might be of help to him in this assignment. 

We discussed campus emergency preparedness concepts and how he can draw upon the strengths from his lengthy career in the field of law enforcement to help non-public safety personnel understand that campus employees should be ready to think and act quickly to respond to a wide array of crisis situations.  This is in contrast to the popular focus on active shooter situations.

He was a very open minded law enforcement professional who understands that emergency planning that is focused too heavily on any one type of threat will be less effective for any and all threats that might arise. 

It is always a joy to work with a true professional who can look beyond their own discipline to see the importance of the viewpoints of those from other disciplines who also have a lot to offer to protect human life.

About Michael Dorn

Michael Dorn serves as the Executive Director of Safe Havens International, a non-profit school safety center. The author of 27 books on school safety, Michael’s campus safety work has taken him to 11 countries over the past 34 years.