4 cautions for school attack planning
Summary
Schools continue to be a very safe place statistically but experience teaches us that failing to prepare for an effective response to violence is plain malfeasance. Not everyone will agree with the assertions of this article, but disagreements on strategy, planning and training must be made known among response partners so that everyone involved has a consensus on basic expectations. Knowing ahead of time where a staging area and incident command will be can avoid having to back out of a hot zone to make a hasty re-organization. How does your department plan to coordinate with other agencies in the event of a school attack, and what measures are in place to avoid confusion and maintain effective communication? What measures does your department have in place to ensure that officers can effectively use their equipment, such as breaching tools and patrol rifles, under the stress of an active shooter situation?