Delco re:View Summer 2019 - 20

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SAFE SCHOOLS INITIATIVE
CLE Seminar Presented by the United
States Secret Service
The Mirenda Center at Neumann University
June 20. Philadelphia Secret
Service Special Agent in
Charge James Henry speaks
to the media about the Safe
School Initiative seminar
that teaches educators and
emergency personnel about
keeping schools safe.
The floor of the Mirenda
Center at Neumann
University was packed for the
full-day safe schools seminar
by the U.S. Secret Service.
Hundreds of educators
and emergency personnel
from around the region were
schooled by the U.S. Secret Service Wednesday on some of the
best practices to promote safe schools in their communities.
Neumann University hosted the federal law enforcement
agency's first East Coast presentation of its Safe School Initiative
training program in the all-day seminar that covered prevention,
school climate and cybersecurity. The Secret Service's National
Threat Assessment Center, National Computer Forensics
Institute and Forensics Services Division contributed to the day's
presentations.
After the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting (February,
2018), efforts have been doubled in the study of violence in
schools with an objective of the ability to provide best practices
and recommendations to prevent such haeous crimes.
The Columbine High School shooting in 1999 was the
catalyst to partner the agency with the U.S. Department of
Education to create a study of school treat assessments. In 2002,
the Safe School Initiative report was released as a result of the
work between the two federal bodies. An updated version is
expected to be released later this year.

20 | Summer 2019

The topic of school safety
has been an ever-increasing
focus around the nation as yearover-year another attack results
in students and staff injured or
killed.
Local school districts have
been ramping up their efforts to
promote safe environments with
trauma-informed care, hiring of
school resource officers (armed
security) and initiatives to
promote better school climates.
Delaware County officials
installed a silent alarm system
called DelPASS (Delaware
County Police Alert for School Security) in every county school
building in 2013.
"Twenty years ago we had the first safe schools summit here
in Delaware County after Columbine. The fact that we continue
to take initiatives to stay ahead of the curve and make sure that
we are in a position that our school administrators and teachers
and children are safe speaks volumes," said Delaware County
District Attorney Katayoun Copeland.
Neumann University President Chris Domes said safe school
summits have been hosted at the university in years past, but this
was a first with the involvement of the Secret Service.
"The Secret Service, with the national threat assessment
research that's being done, provides some context around
the national level about what can be done, and what we're
learning across the country that can help us here in this region,
in Delaware County," said Domes. "It gives us a chance to
showcase their research and their understanding about the
behaviors of students and how we can make sure that best
practices are being followed in our communities."
More information about the Secret Service's resources and
research can be found at www.secretservice.gov/protection/ntac. *
http://www.DelcoBar.org http://www.secretservice.gov/protection/ntac
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