In the radically changed post-9/11 world, perhaps nothing is more on the minds of the general populace than issues of safety and security.
This has come to include the security of major landmarks and buildings as well as smaller, seemingly impervious structures as schools and administration buildings. In law enforcement vernacular, these sites have become possible “soft targets.” And in the interest of protecting the city’s schools in the most comprehensive manner possible, the Union City Board of Education, in conjunction with Union City Mayor Brian Stack’s office and the Union City Board of Commissioners, last week conducted a “Schools Safety and Security Assessment” at Emerson and Union Hill high schools.
The assessment, according to Union City Board of Education Director of Facilities Gerry Caputo, was brought about for a variety of reasons. Said Caputo, “The impetus behind this started from incidents like the Columbine shootings and similar incidents in other parts of the country. Also, 9/11 and the Homeland Security Agency being formed. Safety and security is on everyone’s mind.”
Caputo went on to explain that the assessment is a broad-based initiative that is intended to cover everything from school security to conflict resolution and prevention.
Said Caputo, “We have incidents from time to time. This is an urban setting, and sometimes conflicts are rooted in cultural things.”
The assessment idea and the implementation of a schools safety program was, according to Caputo, actually initiated four years ago (pre-9/11) by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office. A county-wide seminar was held to attempt to assess the level of school violence. The current physical assessment of school safety is an offshoot of that seminar. The level of compliance and training has been effectively left up to each individual town and city.
The assessment was conducted over a three-day period by Buckley-Petersen Global, an Allendale, N.J.-based security firm that specializes in security analysis of various modes of business, schools included.
The assessment followed four distinct phases. The first phase consisted of a physical review of the high schools. A team of 16 professionals including ex-FBI agents, former state police chiefs and structural engineers and security professionals combed the schools and checked such things as the surrounding grounds, lighting, windows, doors, vents, access points and detection devices.
The second phase was interviews conducted with teachers, administrators, student representatives, custodians, security guards, cafeteria workers – literally anyone and everyone who worked in the schools. The idea here, according to city officials, was to get a clear, inclusive picture of what life is like in the schools on a day-to-day basis, not a whitewashed version that might be delivered by a school administrator. According to officials, over 100 people per school were interviewed over the three-day assessment. They were asked basically, “Do you feel safe in the school?” Said Gerry Caputo, “The staff (of the schools) was very appreciative of this process for the most part. They were allowed to speak their minds.”
Phase three was an in-depth analysis of the crisis response plan that is already in effect in each school. According to Caputo, “We try to identify potential threats like fire, flood emergencies, things like that. We review evacuation plans, which are practiced throughout the year in each school.” Added Caputo, “We also meet with police, fire and emergency management and go over the procedures and look for anything that can be improved.”
The fourth and final phase involves training and is actually an ongoing process. According to Caputo, “In September, we will be doing some practices with the schools. Also in September, Buckley Petersen will return to train teachers, staff and parents in different security practices.”
Union City’s two high schools were the only facilities involved in the assessment. According to Board of Education officials, this was purely a financial decision. According to Caputo, the board has applied for a federal “Emergency Response and Crisis Management Grant,” which will, if secured, pump approximately $100,000 into the board’s coffers and allow them to conduct the safety assessment on the rest of Union City’s primary schools.
According to Buckley Petersen co-owner Ed Petersen, who was for a four-year period the director of security for Major League Baseball in the commissioner’s office, he had a personal stake in this assessment. Petersen is a graduate of the Robert Waters grammar school and Emerson High School. Petersen also pointed out that two other team members also hail from Union City. Needless to say, the schools were given a thorough going-over. Said Petersen in a phone interview, “Basically, we are assessing vulnerability from the outside in. We conduct interviews with students, teachers, support staff, parents and students. What we get out of this is a look at the problems from the people who see these things from the inside.”
The report is due on July 15 and according to Petersen, will be “very comprehensive.” Added Petersen, “The recommendations will be logical and cost-effective. It makes no sense to talk about a ‘Star Wars’-type system if the schools can’t pay for it.”
According to Board of Education officials, the money to pay for last week’s assessment came out of the board’s budget, and any future assessments will be paid for using federal grant monies.
The report will be furnished at the end of July.