Difference between revisions of "Soft Targets:Countermeasures"

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DETERRENCE AND PREVENTION OF A PLANNED ATTACK
  
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DETERRENCE AND PREVENTION OF A PLANNED ATTACK
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Soft targets by their very definition are difficult to defend against attack. The very best defense may in fact be a good offense as in the use of Intelligence assets to discover terrorist before they strike. Intelligence Agencies (with enhanced authority granted from the Patriot Act)  such as the CIA, NSA, and FBI can zero in on potential terrorist by monitoring communications, tracking financial transactions and information gained form human sources.  When suspected terrorist members have been identified, covert surveillance can watch their activities and possible infiltrate the organization. “Sting” operations can be used such as those that lure terror suspects into a situation where they unknowingly arrange to purchase illegal weapons from undercover agents.
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Soft targets by their very definition are difficult to defend against attack. The very best defense may in fact be a good offense as in the use of Intelligence assets to discover terrorist before they strike. Intelligence Agencies such as the CIA, NSA, and FBI can zero in on potential terrorist by monitoring communications, tracking financial transactions and information gained form human sources.  When suspected terrorist members have been identified, covert surveillance can watch their activities and possible infiltrate the organization. “Sting” operations can be used to lure such suspects into a situation where they unknowingly arrange to purchase illegal weapons from undercover agents. If a plan to attack a soft target avoids these initial defenses then the front shifts to the target itself.
 
  
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Chula Vista High School is a good example of how a public school presents itself to terrorist as an inviting Soft Target. The Chula Vista campus has ?? points of entry by vehicle and ?? pedestrian only entry ways. There is ?? feet of largely unmonitored fence line around the perimeter of the school. Only Two unarmed staff members are assigned as the sole security force of the campus of ??? students and staff. The primary function of the security staff  is to maintain order amongst the students and not so much to guard the campus against a terrorist attack. Improvements could be made to the security of the school by strengthening the perimeter against unauthorized intrusion.  
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Information on the US Department of Justice website(1) Cites the success of the Act in disrupting over 150 domestic and foreign terrorist threats and cells, the killing or capturing of nearly 2/3 of Al-Qaida’s known senior leadership.More then 3,000 operatives have been incapacitated world wide. Five terrorist cells in Portland, Buffalo, Detroit, Seattle, and North Virginia have been broken up. 401 individuals in the US have been criminally charged.  212 individuals in the US have been convicted or have pled guilty. 515 Individuals linked to the 9-11 Investigation have been removed from the US. A 30% increase in sources of human intelligence related to domestic terror. A 63% increase in sources of human intelligence related to foreign intelligence. Increase in the quality of both foreign and domestic intelligence sources, and the freezing of 136 Million Dollars in assets worldwide.
  
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A militarized school perimeter would be a easy technical fix but such measures at a public high school would not likely be desired or tolerated by the American Public. What can be done however is to design the school perimeter so that any attempt to enter or exit by means other than a designated access point will be very noticeable Monitoring the perimeter with posted staff members or thru the use of video cameras can give an early warning of attack and enable a lock down or evacuation code to be given school wide over the intercom as well as emergency notification to Emergency Response Agencies.  Even a two minute increase in warning time can make significant difference in  evacuation or lock down procedures and the arrival times of emergency responders. 
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RESPONSE TO AN ACTUAL ATTACK
  
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Having a controlled and monitored perimeter is valuable in detecting suspicious activity such as someone filming from the other side of the fence line. Anything that makes it easier for staff members (or students) to spot unauthorized campus intruders contributes to the perimeter effectiveness such as the requirements of Identification cards or school uniforms. Of course all these measures can be defeated (fences can be climbed over, ID cards can be stolen or forged) but any overt action that draws attention to the terrorist Increases the chance that someone will notice a “Red Flag” and begin to investigate or activate an emergency response procedure. Detecting and responding to suspicious activities around campus plays a vital role in the schools defense.
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If a plan to attack a soft target avoids these initial defenses then the front shifts to the target itself. Chula Vista High School (CVHS) with its minimal security procedures is a good example of how a public school presents an inviting “Soft Target” to terrorist.The primary responsibility of the CVHS security staff is the safety of the students. Moving the students away from the threat or into a position of safety is of the greatest importance if under attack. There are two main ways to accomplish this, evacuation procedures and lockdowns Evacuation would be enacted in the case of a bomb threat and a lockdown in the event of a “Active Shooter” on campus where students and staff barricade themselves inside class rooms. This is intended to reduce the number of “targets” outside and makes the attacker stand out to law enforcement since in theory, only the attacker will be outside the buildings.
  
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. “Suspicious” could simply be anything out of the ordinary for the area and time and circumstances of the neighborhoods surrounding Chula Vista High School. Among the people who really know what “ordinary” means for these neighborhoods are the people who live, work, and travel thru it on a daily basis. People such as home owners, mail carriers, waste collectors, delivery people and fitness walkers all are in a position to be the eyes and ears looking out for the well being of the school. School administrators could simple hold a meeting once every four months with the local residences and businesses to coordinate the neighborhood awareness program This is  not only a tool against a soft target attack on the school but a valuable resource in matters such as drug dealing and use, child abduction, sex crimes, and illegal street  gang activity.
+
If the attacker enters an occupied classroom the teacher would be better prepared if trained in hostage situation psychology dos and don’ts and critical decision making under stress conditions. Students and teachers may be isolated in their classrooms for extended periods of time in the event of a lock down. A wise classroom preparation would be having at least a minimum supply of water, food rations, first aid supplies, flash lights, radio and batteries. These items should be placed in back packs or fanny packs (in case the class need to move to another location for safety reasons) and stored inside an emergency locker in each classroom.
  
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In the event of a major incident at CVHS local authorities could receive mutual aide support in a matter of minutes from the large nearby police and fire agencies of both San Diego City and County. State and Federal Agencies would likely join the effort in the event of a protracted situation. Realistic multi agency emergency drills involving a simulated attack at CVHS, practicing the procedures that would be used during a real incident should be performed to obtain proficiency, identify problems areas, and eliminate costly mistakes in a forgiving setting.
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The East Side Unified School District in San Jose, Ca held a armed intruder drill at Overfelt High School in 2000 involving multiple law enforcement agencies, teachers, students, parents, the media, and support services. According to Carla Holtzclaw (from the Eastside Unified district's Office of Safety in Schools) when schools have a "Code Red" or lockdown because of an armed intruder on campus, teachers are typically told to lock their doors and wait to be rescued . "This creates a victim mentality. We wanted teachers to develop a survivor mentality. It's hard, because teachers are trained to be teachers, not SWAT officers".(2)
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Thailand and Israel have armed teachers with firearms and there have been successes in these countries.(3)There are however, serious drawbacks to such a plan in US society which could increase the danger to all. Teachers do not automatically come equipped with knowledge necessary to safely and effectively handle firearms. A Teacher with back turned while writing on the chalkboard creates a dangerous opportunity for a student to take the teachers gun away and endanger everyone present. Armed Teachers without tactical experience may have tragic results when confronting the “normal” schoolyard incidents including accidental discharges and incorrect decisions to use deadly force. An armed disgruntled teacher may become the attacker.Teachers responding to a threat, dressed in civilian clothes and holding a gun might accidentally get shot by confused law enforcement personal. Likewise, an officer might hesitate in a critical reaction if unsure that an armed subject is a teacher or an attacker. Getting everyone out of the way of the law enforcement search for the attacker is a key ingredient of the lockdown concept.
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In the event of a armed attack or suicide bomber there is little that the two CVHS unarmed security staff members could do. The unarmed security staff would likely have the greatest impact on prevention thru awareness, and if attacked in leading evacuation and lockdown procedures. There have been cases in the US where a heroic unarmed person at the scene of an “Active Shooter” incident has seized an opportunistic moment to physically restrain  and disarm a shooter as in the Hudson Valley Mall shooting in 2005 but this is obviously very difficult to do.(4)
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Even when schools have armed police or armed security on site at the time of an attack the results have not always been successful. At Columbine and Beslan the armed defenders of the schools were at an extreme tactical disadvantage. They were overwhelmed by the planning, preparation, superior firepower, numerical superiority(Beslan), of the attackers and the element of surprise. At Columbine the deputy assigned as school security was armed with a hand gun and engaged Harris who was armed with a rifle(5). At Beslan the armed security force of about a half dozen faced 32 heavily armed attackers. 5 security members were killed in the initial confrontation as compared to 1 attacker killed.(6)Once again,armed security and police can achieve the best results with their ability to safely and effectively detain and investigate suspicious (possible armed) subjects before they launch an attack.
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Police performing campus security do have several advantages over security staff. Police have broader legal authority in stopping and questioning suspicious people. Police have the ability to check vehicle license plates and persons against criminal data bases for safety alerts, arrest warrants, stay away orders, sexual registrant status, probation and parole status, gang affiliation, and prior criminal history. Because of their training and equipment, police are in better position to deal with potentially armed and dangerous subjects. During an emergency, on site police can communicate directly via police radios with the emergency dispatcher and other officers saving critical time as opposed to having to work thru the 911 system which is likely to be jammed with many callers trying to report the same emergency. For these reasons campus police are likely to be the first target of an organized school attack. This misfortune may still possible save lives even in defeat, by “buying time” for emergency procedures to be activated.
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In 1997 outgunned LAPD officers borrowed high powered rifles from a locale gun store to confront heavily armed bank robbers. Police Administrators across the country slowly started to change their attitude about arming regular patrol officers with assault weapons. The thinking went from its too militaristic and would represent a scary image to the public to one of tactical necessity.(7) By 1999 many urban areas had equipped patrol cars with assault riffles but in peaceful Columbine the necessity for such changes had not been foreseen. The 1999 Columbine massacre brought home the fact that large scale violence can happen anywhere and forced the re-evaluation of Law Enforcement response procedures to “Active Shooter” events. This resulted in the wide spread use of the LAPD Immediate Tactical Deployment Model.(8)
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Establishing a containment perimeter while a SWAT team is assembled to conduct a slow methodical building to building search is an obsolete procedure. When lives our being lost, the “contain and wait for SWAT philosophy has been deemed to slow in ending the active threat to the students. The strategy now is to have the first responding officers immediately form tactical teams instead of a containment perimeter. The officers then directly respond to the part of the campus they hear the shots being fired.
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ADDITIONAL SECURITY MEASURES
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CVHS does have some procedures in place such as the requirement of all vehicles parked on school property to display placards. All students are required to posses ID cards and all visitors must get passes from the office. All School staff undergo a background during the hiring process. A key vulnerability remains access control and perimeter monitoring issues. Requiring all students, staff and visitors to wear visible ID cards would enhance the ability to spot unauthorized intruders. Of course all these measures can be defeated (fences can be climbed over, ID cards can be stolen or forged) but any overt action that draws attention to the terrorist Increases the chance that someone will notice a “Red Flag” and begin to investigate or activate an emergency response procedure. Even a two minute increase in warning time can make significant difference in evacuation or lock down procedures and the arrival times of emergency responders.
 +
 +
Campus security checks at night and on weekends are essential to protect against the planting of bombs or the theft of resources during off hours. Maintenance, custodians, and groundskeepers should all receive training in the identification and safe reaction to bombs that might be hidden on campus. Additional security improvements include the monitoring (staff or video) of the schools parking facilities for any sign of illegal activity or suspicious behavior. Vehicles without current and valid registration or school placards, rental vehicles, vehicles with signs of forced entry (shattered windows, punched locks, stripped ignitions) are all cases that require closer scrutiny. CVHS would be well served to arrange for campus security assessment by an expert in the field (private sector Campus Security Consultant, Local Law Enforcement etc). All Staff members should be knowledgeable of the safety polices and procedures.
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Detecting and responding to suspicious activities plays a vital role in the schools defense. One of the most efficient means to accomplish this is the use of surveillance cameras. The effectiveness of security cameras has long been appreciated in private industry and now finding increasing acceptance in the public arena. The appeal is that the same 2 staff members assigned to security duties at CVHS could monitor the whole school district from a control room in the school district office via video cameras covering the perimeters, common areas, and access points of all the district campuses."Still photos" can be developed as evidence of incidents and used to identify suspicious vehicles license plates that are  possible conducting surveillance or other suspicious activity on or near a campus.
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Another valuable resource are the people  who live and work near CVHS such as home owners, mail carriers, waste collectors, delivery people and fitness walkers. They all are in a position to the eyes and ears looking out for suspicious activity near the school. School administrators could simply hold a meeting once every four months with the local residences and businesses to coordinate the neighborhood awareness program This is not only a tool against a soft target attack on the school but helpful in matters such as drug dealing and drug use, child abduction, sex crimes, and illegal street gang activity.Security measures that pay multiple dividends are wise investments.
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In 2001 a real life example of response to suspicious activity saved lives in San Jose, Ca. A Longs Drug store photo clerk noticed a disturbing picture of a subject posing with assault weapons and bombs. She called police who arrested the films owner. A search of his home resulted in the discovery of a detailed plan to launch a Columbine style attack on De Anza Community College. The subject was convicted of multiple felonies and sentenced to prison, the school was unharmed and a tragedy averted thanks to her alert actions.(9))
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ESTIMATED LOSSES
 
ESTIMATED LOSSES
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If a terrorist does attack  CVHS  the possible losses depend on variables such as the type of attack used, the severity and duration of the attack, the reaction to the attack by CVHS population and the police, fire, medical  response by  locale agencies. The highest potential for loss of life lies in the densely populated events held in a confined space such as a school assembly in the gymnasium. A powerful bomb blast or multiple bomb attack could have horrific consequences in that type of setting with the possibility of up to 100% causality rate. An arson attack (elaborately planned) could destroy the entire school with resulting financial cost greater then the cost of initially building the school.
 
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The emotional effect upon the survivors of a attack is harder to measure but can be absolutely  devastating with the victims scarred for life. My assessment is that modern day terrorist have the capability in a worse case scenario to destroy the entire school and kill everyone in it. Even in an attack of zero causalities the disruption to school operations and the resulting psychological trauma could be severe.
 
  
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RESPONSE TO AN ACTUAL ATTACK
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If a terrorist does attack CVHS the possible losses depend on variables such as the type of attack used, the severity and duration of the attack. The highest potential for loss of life lies in the densely populated events held in a confined space such as a school assembly in the gymnasium. A powerful bomb blast or multiple bomb attack could have horrific consequences in that setting with the possibility of up to 100% causality rate. An arson attack (elaborately planned) could destroy the entire school with resulting financial cost greater then the cost of initially building the school. The emotional effect upon the survivors of a attack is harder to measure but can be absolutely devastating with the victims scarred for life.
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The primary responsibility of the Chula Vista High School Staff is the safety of the students. Moving the students away from the threat or into a position of safety is of the greatest importance if under attack. There are two main ways to accomplish this, evacuation procedures and lockdowns Evacuation would be enacted in the case of a bomb threat and a lockdown in the event of a “Active Shooter” on campus where students and staff barricade themselves inside class rooms and building. This is intended to reduce the number of “targets” outside and makes the attacker stand out to law enforcement since in theory only the attacker will be outside the buildings in the event of a lockdown. If the attacker enters an occupied classroom the teacher would be better prepared if trained in hostage situation psychology do’s and don’ts and critical
 
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decision making under stress conditions. Students and teachers may be isolated form emergency responders for extended periods of time in the event of a lock down so having a classroom emergency  locker that contains at least a supply of minimum of water, food rations, and emergency first aid supplies, flash lights, radio and batteries
 
  
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There is little that the two Chula Vista High School unarmed security staff members could do towards repelling and armed attack or a suicide bomber.  The security staff would be most likely to have the greatest impact on areas of awareness, evacuation and lockdown procedures. There have been cases in the US where a heroic unarmed person at the scene of an “Active Shooter” event has seized an opportunistic moment to physically restrain or otherwise disarm the shooter but this is obviously a very difficult thing to do.
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(1) U.S. Department of Justice.  "Preserving Life and Liberty."  http://www.lifeandliberty.gov
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(Cite HS in St of Washington, Whitehouse shooter examples ) .  
 
  
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Even in the event of schools that have armed police or armed security on site at the time of an attack as both Columbine and Beslan the results have not always been successful as in both cases the armed defenders of the schools were at an extreme disadvantage in terms of weapons systems  (Cite Columbine example)  or personal with the attacking force greatly outnumbering the defenders (Cite Beslan example)
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(2) "Operation: Safe School." ''California Educator.'' Vol. 5, No. 3. November, 2000. http://www.cta.org/CaliforniaEducator/v5i3/Feature_3.htm
  
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In 1996 outgunned LAPD officers borrowed high powered rifles from a locale gun store during to confront heavily armed bank robbers.  Changes is Police Administrations attitude about regular patrol officers vehicles being equipped with assault weapons went from thinking it was to militaristic and would represent a bad or scary image to the public to one of tactical necessity. Columbine forced the re-evaluation of  Law Enforcement  response procedures to “Active Shooter” events and resulted in the wide spread use of the LAPD Immediate Tactical Deployment  Model.
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(3) Kopel, Dave.  "Follow the Leader." ''National Review Online.'' September 2, 2004.
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http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel200409022215.asp
  
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  The concept of establishing a containment perimeter and attempting negotiations while a SWAT team is assembled to conduct a slow methodical building to building search is an obsolete procedure. When lives our being lost, the “contain and wait for SWAT philosophy has been deemed to slow in terms of ending the active threat to the students. The strategy now is to have the first responding officers already equipped with assault riffles and immediately form tactical team instead of a containment perimeter. The officers would then directly respond to the part of the campus where they hear the shots being fired instead of conducting a room to room search..  
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(4) Bonapartis, Nick, and Oluwa, Rasheed.  "Gunman opens fire in mall." ''Poughkeepsie Journal.'' February 14, 2005.
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http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/etc/mallshooting/po021405s2.shtml
  
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There is current research into the possibility that sound weapons could temporally incapacitate. In the event such weapons become available, one potential application could be in support of rescue attempts in hostage situations by incapacitating everyone in the school prior to the rescue attempt.
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(5) "School Safety, Resources, Columbine Shooting." ''knowgangs.com.'' http://www.knowgangs.com/school_resources/menu_003.htm
  
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In the  event of a armed assault upon Chula Vista High School the Chula Vista Police would likely request assistance from neighboring agencies such as the San Diego Police Department ( Downtown San Diego is just 7 Miles North of Chula Vista) and the San Diego Sheriffs Department  (largest SO in the country?) Both of these agencies combines have the capability  of deploying  hundreds of patrol personal in a matter of
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(6) "Beslan school hostage crisis." ''Wikipedia.'' Visited December, 2005. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan_hostage_crisis
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minutes to CVHS and to provide additional resources such as SWAT, K-9’S, Air Support, Bomb Squads and trained negotiators.  Additional State and Federal Agencies would likely join the effort in the event of a protracted situation. Similar assistance is available for the Chula Vista Fire Department with large Fire agencies from both the City and County of San Diego nearby.  
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(7) Lloyd, Jillian. "Change in tactics: Police trade talk for rapid response." ''Christian Science Monitor.'' May 31, 2000.
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TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS
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http://csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/durableRedirect.pl?/durable/2000/05/31/fp2s2-csm.shtml
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In addition to the possible future devilment of non lethal weapons the increased quality and efficiency of video technology and information collection perhaps holds the greatest contribution to school safety. The US Governments “Total Information Awareness program”, and  the increasing  use of video monitoring and covert video and audio surveillance methods have elements  of George Orwell’s  “Big Brother” brought to real life. Privacy concerns aside, the effectiveness of security cameras has long been appreciated in private industry  and now finding increasing acceptance in the public arena  The appeal is that the same 2 staff members assigned to security duties at CVHS could monitor the whole school district from a control room in the school district office via video cameras covering the perimeters, common areas, and access points of all the district campuses which could then linked to law enforcement  command centers in the event of an emergency. Still photos can be developed as evidence in the event of incidents and used to identify license plates on suspicious vehicles possible conducting surveillance on a campus.
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(8) Macko, Steve. "Lessons learned from the Columbine massacre." ''ERRI Emergency Report.'' Vol. 3.  August 20, 1999.
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http://www.emergency.com/1999/co-anlys.htm
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(9) Mullins, Robert.  ''Officers, Cleark Honored.'' Silicon Valley/San Jose Journal. February 2, 2001. http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2001/01/29/daily58.html

Latest revision as of 00:31, 8 December 2005

DETERRENCE AND PREVENTION OF A PLANNED ATTACK

Soft targets by their very definition are difficult to defend against attack. The very best defense may in fact be a good offense as in the use of Intelligence assets to discover terrorist before they strike. Intelligence Agencies (with enhanced authority granted from the Patriot Act) such as the CIA, NSA, and FBI can zero in on potential terrorist by monitoring communications, tracking financial transactions and information gained form human sources. When suspected terrorist members have been identified, covert surveillance can watch their activities and possible infiltrate the organization. “Sting” operations can be used such as those that lure terror suspects into a situation where they unknowingly arrange to purchase illegal weapons from undercover agents.

Information on the US Department of Justice website(1) Cites the success of the Act in disrupting over 150 domestic and foreign terrorist threats and cells, the killing or capturing of nearly 2/3 of Al-Qaida’s known senior leadership.More then 3,000 operatives have been incapacitated world wide. Five terrorist cells in Portland, Buffalo, Detroit, Seattle, and North Virginia have been broken up. 401 individuals in the US have been criminally charged. 212 individuals in the US have been convicted or have pled guilty. 515 Individuals linked to the 9-11 Investigation have been removed from the US. A 30% increase in sources of human intelligence related to domestic terror. A 63% increase in sources of human intelligence related to foreign intelligence. Increase in the quality of both foreign and domestic intelligence sources, and the freezing of 136 Million Dollars in assets worldwide.

RESPONSE TO AN ACTUAL ATTACK

If a plan to attack a soft target avoids these initial defenses then the front shifts to the target itself. Chula Vista High School (CVHS) with its minimal security procedures is a good example of how a public school presents an inviting “Soft Target” to terrorist.The primary responsibility of the CVHS security staff is the safety of the students. Moving the students away from the threat or into a position of safety is of the greatest importance if under attack. There are two main ways to accomplish this, evacuation procedures and lockdowns Evacuation would be enacted in the case of a bomb threat and a lockdown in the event of a “Active Shooter” on campus where students and staff barricade themselves inside class rooms. This is intended to reduce the number of “targets” outside and makes the attacker stand out to law enforcement since in theory, only the attacker will be outside the buildings.

If the attacker enters an occupied classroom the teacher would be better prepared if trained in hostage situation psychology dos and don’ts and critical decision making under stress conditions. Students and teachers may be isolated in their classrooms for extended periods of time in the event of a lock down. A wise classroom preparation would be having at least a minimum supply of water, food rations, first aid supplies, flash lights, radio and batteries. These items should be placed in back packs or fanny packs (in case the class need to move to another location for safety reasons) and stored inside an emergency locker in each classroom.


In the event of a major incident at CVHS local authorities could receive mutual aide support in a matter of minutes from the large nearby police and fire agencies of both San Diego City and County. State and Federal Agencies would likely join the effort in the event of a protracted situation. Realistic multi agency emergency drills involving a simulated attack at CVHS, practicing the procedures that would be used during a real incident should be performed to obtain proficiency, identify problems areas, and eliminate costly mistakes in a forgiving setting.

The East Side Unified School District in San Jose, Ca held a armed intruder drill at Overfelt High School in 2000 involving multiple law enforcement agencies, teachers, students, parents, the media, and support services. According to Carla Holtzclaw (from the Eastside Unified district's Office of Safety in Schools) when schools have a "Code Red" or lockdown because of an armed intruder on campus, teachers are typically told to lock their doors and wait to be rescued . "This creates a victim mentality. We wanted teachers to develop a survivor mentality. It's hard, because teachers are trained to be teachers, not SWAT officers".(2)

Thailand and Israel have armed teachers with firearms and there have been successes in these countries.(3)There are however, serious drawbacks to such a plan in US society which could increase the danger to all. Teachers do not automatically come equipped with knowledge necessary to safely and effectively handle firearms. A Teacher with back turned while writing on the chalkboard creates a dangerous opportunity for a student to take the teachers gun away and endanger everyone present. Armed Teachers without tactical experience may have tragic results when confronting the “normal” schoolyard incidents including accidental discharges and incorrect decisions to use deadly force. An armed disgruntled teacher may become the attacker.Teachers responding to a threat, dressed in civilian clothes and holding a gun might accidentally get shot by confused law enforcement personal. Likewise, an officer might hesitate in a critical reaction if unsure that an armed subject is a teacher or an attacker. Getting everyone out of the way of the law enforcement search for the attacker is a key ingredient of the lockdown concept.

In the event of a armed attack or suicide bomber there is little that the two CVHS unarmed security staff members could do. The unarmed security staff would likely have the greatest impact on prevention thru awareness, and if attacked in leading evacuation and lockdown procedures. There have been cases in the US where a heroic unarmed person at the scene of an “Active Shooter” incident has seized an opportunistic moment to physically restrain and disarm a shooter as in the Hudson Valley Mall shooting in 2005 but this is obviously very difficult to do.(4)

Even when schools have armed police or armed security on site at the time of an attack the results have not always been successful. At Columbine and Beslan the armed defenders of the schools were at an extreme tactical disadvantage. They were overwhelmed by the planning, preparation, superior firepower, numerical superiority(Beslan), of the attackers and the element of surprise. At Columbine the deputy assigned as school security was armed with a hand gun and engaged Harris who was armed with a rifle(5). At Beslan the armed security force of about a half dozen faced 32 heavily armed attackers. 5 security members were killed in the initial confrontation as compared to 1 attacker killed.(6)Once again,armed security and police can achieve the best results with their ability to safely and effectively detain and investigate suspicious (possible armed) subjects before they launch an attack.

Police performing campus security do have several advantages over security staff. Police have broader legal authority in stopping and questioning suspicious people. Police have the ability to check vehicle license plates and persons against criminal data bases for safety alerts, arrest warrants, stay away orders, sexual registrant status, probation and parole status, gang affiliation, and prior criminal history. Because of their training and equipment, police are in better position to deal with potentially armed and dangerous subjects. During an emergency, on site police can communicate directly via police radios with the emergency dispatcher and other officers saving critical time as opposed to having to work thru the 911 system which is likely to be jammed with many callers trying to report the same emergency. For these reasons campus police are likely to be the first target of an organized school attack. This misfortune may still possible save lives even in defeat, by “buying time” for emergency procedures to be activated.

In 1997 outgunned LAPD officers borrowed high powered rifles from a locale gun store to confront heavily armed bank robbers. Police Administrators across the country slowly started to change their attitude about arming regular patrol officers with assault weapons. The thinking went from its too militaristic and would represent a scary image to the public to one of tactical necessity.(7) By 1999 many urban areas had equipped patrol cars with assault riffles but in peaceful Columbine the necessity for such changes had not been foreseen. The 1999 Columbine massacre brought home the fact that large scale violence can happen anywhere and forced the re-evaluation of Law Enforcement response procedures to “Active Shooter” events. This resulted in the wide spread use of the LAPD Immediate Tactical Deployment Model.(8)

Establishing a containment perimeter while a SWAT team is assembled to conduct a slow methodical building to building search is an obsolete procedure. When lives our being lost, the “contain and wait for SWAT philosophy has been deemed to slow in ending the active threat to the students. The strategy now is to have the first responding officers immediately form tactical teams instead of a containment perimeter. The officers then directly respond to the part of the campus they hear the shots being fired.

ADDITIONAL SECURITY MEASURES

CVHS does have some procedures in place such as the requirement of all vehicles parked on school property to display placards. All students are required to posses ID cards and all visitors must get passes from the office. All School staff undergo a background during the hiring process. A key vulnerability remains access control and perimeter monitoring issues. Requiring all students, staff and visitors to wear visible ID cards would enhance the ability to spot unauthorized intruders. Of course all these measures can be defeated (fences can be climbed over, ID cards can be stolen or forged) but any overt action that draws attention to the terrorist Increases the chance that someone will notice a “Red Flag” and begin to investigate or activate an emergency response procedure. Even a two minute increase in warning time can make significant difference in evacuation or lock down procedures and the arrival times of emergency responders.

Campus security checks at night and on weekends are essential to protect against the planting of bombs or the theft of resources during off hours. Maintenance, custodians, and groundskeepers should all receive training in the identification and safe reaction to bombs that might be hidden on campus. Additional security improvements include the monitoring (staff or video) of the schools parking facilities for any sign of illegal activity or suspicious behavior. Vehicles without current and valid registration or school placards, rental vehicles, vehicles with signs of forced entry (shattered windows, punched locks, stripped ignitions) are all cases that require closer scrutiny. CVHS would be well served to arrange for campus security assessment by an expert in the field (private sector Campus Security Consultant, Local Law Enforcement etc). All Staff members should be knowledgeable of the safety polices and procedures.


Detecting and responding to suspicious activities plays a vital role in the schools defense. One of the most efficient means to accomplish this is the use of surveillance cameras. The effectiveness of security cameras has long been appreciated in private industry and now finding increasing acceptance in the public arena. The appeal is that the same 2 staff members assigned to security duties at CVHS could monitor the whole school district from a control room in the school district office via video cameras covering the perimeters, common areas, and access points of all the district campuses."Still photos" can be developed as evidence of incidents and used to identify suspicious vehicles license plates that are possible conducting surveillance or other suspicious activity on or near a campus.

Another valuable resource are the people who live and work near CVHS such as home owners, mail carriers, waste collectors, delivery people and fitness walkers. They all are in a position to the eyes and ears looking out for suspicious activity near the school. School administrators could simply hold a meeting once every four months with the local residences and businesses to coordinate the neighborhood awareness program This is not only a tool against a soft target attack on the school but helpful in matters such as drug dealing and drug use, child abduction, sex crimes, and illegal street gang activity.Security measures that pay multiple dividends are wise investments.

In 2001 a real life example of response to suspicious activity saved lives in San Jose, Ca. A Longs Drug store photo clerk noticed a disturbing picture of a subject posing with assault weapons and bombs. She called police who arrested the films owner. A search of his home resulted in the discovery of a detailed plan to launch a Columbine style attack on De Anza Community College. The subject was convicted of multiple felonies and sentenced to prison, the school was unharmed and a tragedy averted thanks to her alert actions.(9))

ESTIMATED LOSSES

If a terrorist does attack CVHS the possible losses depend on variables such as the type of attack used, the severity and duration of the attack. The highest potential for loss of life lies in the densely populated events held in a confined space such as a school assembly in the gymnasium. A powerful bomb blast or multiple bomb attack could have horrific consequences in that setting with the possibility of up to 100% causality rate. An arson attack (elaborately planned) could destroy the entire school with resulting financial cost greater then the cost of initially building the school. The emotional effect upon the survivors of a attack is harder to measure but can be absolutely devastating with the victims scarred for life.

(1) U.S. Department of Justice. "Preserving Life and Liberty." http://www.lifeandliberty.gov

(2) "Operation: Safe School." California Educator. Vol. 5, No. 3. November, 2000. http://www.cta.org/CaliforniaEducator/v5i3/Feature_3.htm

(3) Kopel, Dave. "Follow the Leader." National Review Online. September 2, 2004. http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel200409022215.asp

(4) Bonapartis, Nick, and Oluwa, Rasheed. "Gunman opens fire in mall." Poughkeepsie Journal. February 14, 2005. http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/etc/mallshooting/po021405s2.shtml

(5) "School Safety, Resources, Columbine Shooting." knowgangs.com. http://www.knowgangs.com/school_resources/menu_003.htm

(6) "Beslan school hostage crisis." Wikipedia. Visited December, 2005. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan_hostage_crisis

(7) Lloyd, Jillian. "Change in tactics: Police trade talk for rapid response." Christian Science Monitor. May 31, 2000. http://csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/durableRedirect.pl?/durable/2000/05/31/fp2s2-csm.shtml

(8) Macko, Steve. "Lessons learned from the Columbine massacre." ERRI Emergency Report. Vol. 3. August 20, 1999. http://www.emergency.com/1999/co-anlys.htm

(9) Mullins, Robert. Officers, Cleark Honored. Silicon Valley/San Jose Journal. February 2, 2001. http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2001/01/29/daily58.html

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