NCJ Number
192918
Date Published
2001
Length
275 pages
Annotation
This handbook examines school safety and includes sections on crisis planning, early warning signs, crisis response, and crisis recovery.
Abstract
Most schools offer safe, secure places where children can learn and develop. But violent incidents and threats to security remain a constant fact of life in the Nation’s schools. Chapter 1 outlines the four key components involved in planning for a crisis: crisis planning, crisis prevention, crisis response, and crisis recovery. As the school safety plan develops and crisis measures are reviewed, it is important to ask six basic questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? These six basic questions help identify areas that have not been addressed by a school’s safety plan. Chapter 2 identifies pre-crisis indicators which can help in the identification of potential problems and may decrease the chances of a crisis. There is a list of 11 indicators that may precede conflict at a school, which include an increasing number of behavior infractions, a perception of unfairness resulting from disciplinary action, an atmosphere of unrest, and an increasing presence of weapons. This chapter also contains information on the traits of violent youth, FBI and Secret Service studies on violent youth, and a threat assessment. Chapter 3 includes information on responding to a crisis. The key to dealing with a crisis successfully includes having a response plan that is unique to each school. This involves a well-trained Crisis Response Team (CRT). CRT elements include an incident Command Post, a student evacuation site, media site contact, parent pick-up area, perimeter site contact, staff resource contact, and transportation site contact. There is also information in this chapter on an emergency code system, the roles of various departments and staff during a crisis (for example, police, fire department, and teachers), crisis response procedures, and crisis types (bomb threats, community violence, shootings, terrorist threats, natural and chemical disasters, child abuse, and suicide). Chapter 4 contains information on crisis recovery. School Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) can help in restoring a sense of calm in the school in a variety of ways, including psychological first aid, comfort, and emotional support to victims of violence. In most cases, a school will respond to a violent event in five phases: initial impact, heroic period, honeymoon period, disillusionment, and reconstruction. Chapter 4 also includes information on organizing for a crisis intervention, the qualities and characteristics of crisis intervention team members, legal considerations in the use of non-school personnel, the effects of trauma, intervention protocols, individual or group counseling sessions, and dealing with the media. Remaining chapters review case studies, and sample letters. Appendices, glossary