Study shows critical need for security planning, reviews
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission in Broward County, Florida, presented its final report to state officials Wednesday, Jan. 2 in Tallahassee, according to news reports.
Seventeen people were killed, and 17 others were wounded when former student Nikolas Cruz entered a building on campus last February 14 armed with an AR-15 rifle and opened fire. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
The report cited a breakdown in security procedures and protocol that contributed to the mass shooting at the Parkland school.
“Unlocked and opened gates were regularly left unstaffed for long periods of time on the MSDHS campus,” the report said. “School administrators cited a lack of personnel as the explanation for the unstaffed and open gates. This explanation is unacceptable as leaving open perimeter gates unstaffed is a breach of effective security protocols.”
The 15-member panel was also critical of the Broward Sheriff’s Office for its delayed response to the shooting.
Report criticizes employees, school safety training
The report blamed school policy and training failures for many of the mistakes made by employees, claiming administrators lacked know-how in conducting threat assessments, did not have an active assailant response policy or a written policy on how to initiate a lockdown, and gave no formal training to campus monitors.
Report notes physical security failures
In addition to safety protocol, the report found many problems in the school’s physical security. The school had no public address system speakers in the hallways, which kept administrators from telling students and staff to seek shelter.
Only two of the 30 classrooms in the building where the shooting occurred had marked “hard corners” where students can’t be seen by an intruder peering through the window of a classroom door. Many of these corners were blocked by furniture and were too small to fit all the students, which the commission says contributed to students being killed.
Classrooms were also not equipped with coverings to block door windows, making students visible to the gunman.
Additionally, campus gates were not staffed by security personnel and the front gate was left open after school had started.
The commission’s report also gives recommendations for improvement, including full internal evaluations of both police and school personnel responses.
As for the school, one recommendation given by the commission is to update processes for handling threat assessments. Threat assessments regarding the gunman were mishandled on multiple occasions by several employees. The commission recommends the principal be made aware of all threats.
Why security protocol creation, adherence is so important
School security experts agree that that creating and following safety and security protocols is one of the biggest problems facing the educational community.
“Despite having the most advanced security hardware money can buy, without hard and fast security protocols in place, and regular review and training, schools are still going to be vulnerable,” advises Sonitrol Great Lakes Education Market Director Clay Crost.
Sonitrol Great Lakes offers school districts a full spectrum of security threat assessments, including reviews to determine the effectiveness of safety and security protocols. Please contact us to learn more about more effective practices to secure your schools.