ATLANTA — Many parents are wondering how to protect their kids in school right now. Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes spoke with a safety and security consultant about practical steps school administrators can take to make schools safer.
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Jesse Hambrick, a former law enforcement officer with over 30 years of experience, now teaches school administrators all over the state about campus safety. He emphasized that communities shouldn’t believe they are immune to the threat of school shootings.
“We’ve gotta quit believing that we’re completely impervious to this problem because there’s literally some kid somewhere planning something today – that we have to identify,” Hambrick said.
One of the key recommendations Hambrick made is to identify five key areas on campus that might have security loopholes for outsiders to exploit.
“You can install a million-dollar security system that can literally be defeated by a kid pushing a door open,” Hambrick explained.
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Hambrick also discussed the case of Colt Gray at Apalachee High School. Gray, a student who had several red flags, was supposed to be in the building. Hambrick asserts that students with similar issues exist in other districts right now.
“Former trouble with law enforcement, a prior threat towards the school, access to weapons, playing violent video games, a troubled home life – all of those things that police are identifying now could’ve been put together by a behavioral threat assessment team,” Hambrick said. “We need to look and say, ‘here this guy has 7 of the 10 red flags – how are we gonna mitigate each one?’”
Hambrick suggested creating a multi-jurisdictional task force comprised of school administrators, law enforcement, mental health counselors, and parents. This task force would maintain close contact with troubled students and even follow them to different districts to ensure they don’t fall through the cracks.
Creating a culture where students feel responsible for keeping their school secure by keeping doors closed and locked can also make a huge difference, Hambrick added.
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