Fair warning: I've brought my soapbox :soapbox: and I'm gonna use it.
A couple of different things brought this to my mind today. And I'm gonna freely steal from David Grossman's presentation, too. Because he makes a very valid point, very well.
You see, the firefighters have done a great job in our schools and public places. It's pretty near impossible to burn a school, or to kill kids with a fire in a school, or a lot of other public places. You've got sprinklers, flame resistant and flame retardant materials, fire alarms (both automatic and pull stations), multiple marked exit routes, fire drills... And how many fires are there in schools and public places? Pretty few...
Now, let's look for a moment at how safe our public places and schools are from violence. Most are, at best, barely cognizant of the dangers. How is your local mall prepared for violence? Do you really trust the "mall ninja" security guards? (Note: many security guards are professional about what they do, and do their jobs well. But there are, sadly, plenty that are just plain scary!) But, even more importantly, how many of these places actually go deeper than "one event" planning. They'll evacuate the school to the ball field or parking lots... but no plans for what to do if that area isn't safe, or if they have to move them again.
Meanwhile, we've seen instances since the 90s (and earlier) where criminals planned secondary attacks, on the safe areas or on the areas where first responders will be going to set up and deal with the original event. In Columbine, Klebold and Harris placed bombs at exits before storming the school. Cho at Virginia Tech blocked the exits so that people had no way to get out. There were several incidents of abortion clinic bombings that included secondary devices timed to go off AFTER the first responders were on scene.
Why is there this gap in planning? Because nobody wants to think the unthinkable. So they don't do it any longer than they have to. And that means that, unless someone forces them to do so -- most people won't go any deeper than they have to. I'm going to start by focusing on what we can do in schools; they're a public area that's much more amenable to control. (About all you can do in a mall or many other public areas is recognize potential dangers, and be prepared to act in whatever way is approrpiate for you, given the totality of the circumstances.)
What can we do? Start by thinking the unthinkable. What can happen to your kids? Who might attack the school? How can they do it? I assure you -- if you can see a vulnerability, so can the kids, and so can anyone who might hurt them! Then ask if your children's schools are ready for that. Ask about the security planning. Do they have a back-up plan? Or is their planning limited to "lock down and wait for the cops?" How are they going to notify parents about where to pick the kids up? Do they have a plan to move kids to facilities, safely? Don't expect them to reveal detailed security plans -- there are legitimate reasons not to!-- but they should be able to give some general details. They should be able to show that they've addressed multiple tiers. Demand that the school be at least as prepared for a violent attack as they are for a fire!
In public spaces -- make the same demands of the appropriate authorities. Expect your local government to require vulnerable targets to actually be prepared; demand that they inspect the security plans just like they inspect fire plans and fire protection systems.
And, accept that you are always responsible for your own safety! In the end, nobody can protect you from everything. Not even the best of plans survive contact with the enemy; some aspect will fail when put into execution. So, in the end, you have to be ready to protect yourself. And you have to prepare and teach your children to do the same.
A couple of different things brought this to my mind today. And I'm gonna freely steal from David Grossman's presentation, too. Because he makes a very valid point, very well.
You see, the firefighters have done a great job in our schools and public places. It's pretty near impossible to burn a school, or to kill kids with a fire in a school, or a lot of other public places. You've got sprinklers, flame resistant and flame retardant materials, fire alarms (both automatic and pull stations), multiple marked exit routes, fire drills... And how many fires are there in schools and public places? Pretty few...
Now, let's look for a moment at how safe our public places and schools are from violence. Most are, at best, barely cognizant of the dangers. How is your local mall prepared for violence? Do you really trust the "mall ninja" security guards? (Note: many security guards are professional about what they do, and do their jobs well. But there are, sadly, plenty that are just plain scary!) But, even more importantly, how many of these places actually go deeper than "one event" planning. They'll evacuate the school to the ball field or parking lots... but no plans for what to do if that area isn't safe, or if they have to move them again.
Meanwhile, we've seen instances since the 90s (and earlier) where criminals planned secondary attacks, on the safe areas or on the areas where first responders will be going to set up and deal with the original event. In Columbine, Klebold and Harris placed bombs at exits before storming the school. Cho at Virginia Tech blocked the exits so that people had no way to get out. There were several incidents of abortion clinic bombings that included secondary devices timed to go off AFTER the first responders were on scene.
Why is there this gap in planning? Because nobody wants to think the unthinkable. So they don't do it any longer than they have to. And that means that, unless someone forces them to do so -- most people won't go any deeper than they have to. I'm going to start by focusing on what we can do in schools; they're a public area that's much more amenable to control. (About all you can do in a mall or many other public areas is recognize potential dangers, and be prepared to act in whatever way is approrpiate for you, given the totality of the circumstances.)
What can we do? Start by thinking the unthinkable. What can happen to your kids? Who might attack the school? How can they do it? I assure you -- if you can see a vulnerability, so can the kids, and so can anyone who might hurt them! Then ask if your children's schools are ready for that. Ask about the security planning. Do they have a back-up plan? Or is their planning limited to "lock down and wait for the cops?" How are they going to notify parents about where to pick the kids up? Do they have a plan to move kids to facilities, safely? Don't expect them to reveal detailed security plans -- there are legitimate reasons not to!-- but they should be able to give some general details. They should be able to show that they've addressed multiple tiers. Demand that the school be at least as prepared for a violent attack as they are for a fire!
In public spaces -- make the same demands of the appropriate authorities. Expect your local government to require vulnerable targets to actually be prepared; demand that they inspect the security plans just like they inspect fire plans and fire protection systems.
And, accept that you are always responsible for your own safety! In the end, nobody can protect you from everything. Not even the best of plans survive contact with the enemy; some aspect will fail when put into execution. So, in the end, you have to be ready to protect yourself. And you have to prepare and teach your children to do the same.