According to a recent news story from WCSH 6, an incident in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Wednesday morning gave parents and school officials a scare after a man was able to gain entry into the town’s elementary, middle and high schools. While he was not armed, and did not make any threats, the fact that a stranger was able to gain access to all three schools in the district has caused concern. Though undoubtedly frightening for students, parents, teachers, and administrators, this event should be used as a call to action!

Local law enforcement says it is in the process of learning where the schools’ previously undetected system vulnerabilities are and will remedy them. Such corrective measures are paramount to their ability to reduce the risk of future catastrophic events.

Working to prevent security threats and crisis situations, especially in schools, is a job that we at Norris Inc. take extremely seriously, and we want to point out a few key takeaways from this event that are applicable everywhere.

  1. A breach in security can, in fact, happen anywhere. According to The SafeWise Report, an independent study that compiles crime statistics from the FBI and local sources, Cape Elizabeth is one of the top 10 safest cities in Maine, which is rated as the second safest sate in the country. While statistically, this reduces the likelihood that a violent crime would take place in a school, it does not mean that it cannot happen. Ensuring that security measures in every school are in place and functioning properly is crucial.
  1. Parents need to be security advocates. A father walking his daughter to school on Wednesday morning, was approached by the man in question and called the police to report suspicious activity. We cannot stress enough the importance of parental involvement when it comes to ensuring their children’s safety. Parents should be aware of the schools’ safety and security policies, and speak up if they do not feel that they are sufficient. Even when municipal budgets are tight, the civic cost of a transpired but preventable tragedy will always be far greater than the monetary cost of prevention.
  1. Physical security devices need to be routinely tested. After having physical security measures—intrusion detection, access control, surveillance, door entry–installed, it is easy to assume that they will always work when needed, but especially in high traffic areas, such as schools, routine inspection and testing needs to be done. Security investments need to be protected, and the best way to do that is through routine inspection and maintenance. An improperly functioning lock on the door is as good as leaving the door wide open.
  1. Administrators need to be able to quickly trigger counter measures. One of the successes of this incident was that the elementary school was able to effectively trigger a school-wide lockdown when the man in question entered the school and asked a teacher for money. The correct policies were in place and utilized to contain the incident. It was unknown at the time whether or not this man was a serious threat, and we commend the school administration for taking the appropriate action.
  1. Emergency Notification Systems save lives. The Cape Elizabeth superintendent said that the administration would be considering ways to improve communication in similar situations. We cannot stress enough how important it is for schools and municipalities to have Emergency Notification Systems in place. Being able to quickly and effectively notify teachers, administrators, and first responders, of a threat, as it unfolds, is paramount in mitigating the damage done in incidents where lives are at stake. The most effective Emergency Notification Systems are able to be integrated with in-place security, access control, surveillance, and communications systems, so that multiple emergency responses and notifications can be triggered, and implemented across an entire school system, or municipality. We recently highlighted the town of Gray’s implementation of such a system, in a previous blog post.

The incident ended after the man was taken into custody for trespassing when he returned to the schools after being told not to. Thankfully, this incident was a scare and did not unfold as tragically as it could have. We are glad, however, that this has started a larger conversation of concerns over school security, even in one of the safest places to live. The greatest tragedies can occur as a result of not taking appropriate preventative action when we assume that something will never happen to us. If nothing else, please remember that when it comes to safety and security, the cost of prevention will never outweigh the cost of a preventable tragedy.

The full report of the incident from WCSH 6 can be read here.

 

 

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