EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN SCHOOLS

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1 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN SCHOOLS Michelle Roberts and Mark Stephens Emergency and Security Management Branch Department of Education and Training Victoria Paper presented at the The Role of Schools in Crime Prevention Conference convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology in conjunction with the Department of Education, Employment and Training, Victoria, and Crime Prevention Victoria and held in Melbourne, 30 September 1 October 2002

2 Abstract The Emergency and Security Management Branch of the Department of Education and Training is a unique entity that provides expert advice to school communities in the areas of security, crime prevention, mitigation and emergency management preparedness, response and recovery. Staffed by DE&T employees with expertise in security, crime prevention, emergency management and psychological recovery, this branch operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to receive notification of incidents as they occur in the school community and to monitor alarm activations in schools. Over the past 5 years increased reporting has provided an insight into the nature of crime and emergencies as they impact on schools. This data allows trends and vulnerabilities to inform best practice advice as well as the provision of professional development to school based managers. No other state education department encompasses emergency management and security in the same branch. It is evident with events such as Columbine and other school shootings that the fields of threat assessment, security, crime prevention and psychological recovery programs for children and adolescents are part and parcel of maintaining safe and secure environment for the education of our children. The principles of safety and security begin with providing daily safety, emotional well being and monitoring. The Emergency and Security Management Branch provides the opportunity to reduce the potential for disruption of educational programs through the minimisation of the impact of crime and emergencies within schools settings. Role of Emergency and Security Management Branch The Emergency and Security Management Branch is the unit within the Department of Education, and Training responsible for the development of statewide emergency and security management policy, for the provision of emergency advice and assistance, and security management services to schools including operational response services. The branch is also responsible for property and asset risk management and property insurance administration. The Emergency and Security Management Branch operates a 24-hour communications centre, which monitors schools intruder detection systems and coordinates the provision of support and advice to schools during emergencies and criminal activity. Emergency Management Legislation The Victorian Emergency Management Council is responsible under the Emergency Management Act for the development of planned and coordinated management arrangements for emergencies in Victoria. The State Emergency Response Plan has been developed to ensure the coordination of all agencies, which have a role in responding to emergencies. The State Emergency Recovery Plan has been developed to ensure the effective coordination of agencies involved in providing recovery services arising from emergencies. The Emergency Management Act (1986) provides the legislative framework for the coordination of emergency management activity in Victoria. Under the Act an emergency is the actual or imminent occurrence of an event which in any way endangers or threatens to endanger the safety or health of any person in Victoria or which destroys or damages, or threatens to destroy or damage, any property in Victoria or endangers or threatens to endanger the environment or an element of the environment in Victoria.

3 Roles and Responsibilities of Emergency Management Personnel The unit has a staff of thirty-two, which includes an operational staff comprising twenty-one emergency management officers. Operational staff are required to work rotating shifts, primarily when schools are closed. Thus, the majority of shift activity occurs at night from Monday to Friday and during both day and night during weekends. Operational staff perform communications centre duties from a central communications centre at Beaumaris. The nature and emphasis of duties is changing from a traditional security focus where the primary goal is detection and apprehension to a focus on risk management where the primary goal is the prevention of criminal activity. Operational responsibilities are coordinated by emergency management officers from the Emergency and Security Management Branch Communications Centre, which operates 24 hours a day throughout the year. Emergency management officers monitor intruder alarm systems installed in the majority of metropolitan and country schools, police stations and TAFE colleges, and coordinate the Department's response services to schools where alarms have activated. Schools are required to report instances of criminal activity to the communications centre. Emergency management officers monitor intruder detection systems installed in over 1400 government schools and over 400 other government facilities. Over 1000 offenders are apprehended in schools for burglary and like offences each year. This represents approximately 60% of all actual break - ins. All government schools are required to report instances of criminal activity to the Emergency and Security Management Branch. Another key area of responsibility involves the provision of support to schools during and following emergencies when staff or students may be at risk. The communications centre is the central location within the Department to which all schools are required to report emergencies. The unit is actively involved in coordinating the provision of specialist psychological services to students and teachers following exposure to traumatic events and in the training of school and regional support staff in the area of trauma response and recovery. In addition to reporting emergencies, schools are required to notify the communications centre prior to student groups attending camps and excursions. This information is used to advise the police and emergency services as to the location of school groups that may be in areas affected by emergencies such as bush fires or floods. The unit receives over 5000 notifications of activities annually. Emergency management at the school level refers to a comprehensive process, which is put in place to ensure the safety of staff and students prior to, during and following emergencies. The emergency management process comprises four key elements - preparedness, prevention, response and recovery. The process is normally brought together in a school emergency management plan (preparedness). The focus of a school plan is directed towards the prevention of emergencies (prevention). Not all emergencies are preventable and, therefore, planning is also directed towards minimising the effects of those emergencies which do occur (response) and supporting those who may be distressed as a result of their exposure to the emergency (recovery). School Emergencies In the school context, an emergency includes incidents, which occur during school hours, during camps, excursions or outdoor adventure activities. It encompasses incidents which occur during travel to or from school, which involve the media or which involve issues of negligence or legal liability including:

4 fatality including suicide serious injury, assault or sexual assault siege, hostage, disappearance or removal of a student firearms, weapons, or bomb threat collapse, major damage to buildings or equipment motor vehicle collision impact by machinery, equipment, aircraft fire in school building, bush or grass fire fumes, spill, leak or contamination by hazardous material outbreak of disease flood or windstorm earthquake or other natural event Planning for Emergencies All Department of Education, and Training schools are required to develop and maintain an emergency management plan which describes actions to be taken before, during and following an emergency to ensure the ongoing safety of staff, students and others. Schools should ensure that staff and students know what the plan contains, and through the provision of appropriate training, what they are required to do during an emergency. The responsibility of schools to plan for the safety of staff and students involved in school activities extends beyond planning for events occurring under normal circumstances. All school activities, regardless of where they are to be conducted, must be planned in such a way as to ensure that the safety of staff and students is maintained, and that students are adequately supervised, even during an emergency. Information about planning is contained in the Department's publication Managing School Emergencies. Planning for Fire Related Emergencies Principals should ensure that staff and students are familiar with the contents of the school emergency management plan including emergency procedures, the location and operation of fire fighting equipment, alternative exits from buildings and grounds, and evacuation assembly areas. Exercises should be conducted regularly to test the arrangements in the plan. During the fire danger period, which may extend in various parts of Victoria from November to April each year, the risk to schools and to school groups of exposure to wildfire may be high. Schools should ensure that planning for school activities including camps and excursions takes into consideration the potential risk to personnel safety from fire. Schools should be prepared to cancel or postpone activities on days of total fire ban or other days when the risk of fire is high. Planning for Evacuation An emergency may occur without warning and require evacuation of the school for a protracted period. In the case of a hazardous materials incident, for example, students may have to be evacuated up to a kilometre from the school and be supervised there for several hours.

5 Evacuation assembly areas that provide shelter, water and toilet facilities should be identified in the school's emergency management plan to cater for long duration evacuation and should include sites that are well beyond the school grounds. Students should be supervised for the duration of the emergency and until the normal dismissal time. Details should be recorded concerning any student who is released into the care of a parent or guardian during an emergency. School Requirement to Report Emergencies Another key area of responsibility involves the provision of support to schools during and following emergencies during which staff or students may be at risk. The communications centre is the central location within the Department to which schools are required to report emergencies. In addition to reporting emergencies, schools are required to notify the communications centre prior to sending student groups on camps and excursions. This information is available for emergency purposes and is used when school groups may be in areas affected by emergencies. Information about the location of school groups is available to police and emergency services on request. During emergencies, the unit provides a response service to assist schools, consistent with Victoria's state emergency response and state recovery plans. Emergency management staff work directly with schools and the emergency services to maintain staff and student safety until the emergency is resolved. The unit is actively involved in coordinating the provision of specialist psychological services to teachers and students, which are required following exposure to traumatic events. Prompt notification enables emergency management officers at the communications centre to provide support and advice to schools. This helps to resolve emergencies quickly while minimising the risk to personal safety. The communications centre provides a single point of contact within the Department for schools and is responsible for ensuring that regional and corporate personnel are notified. Security Management Schools are increasingly becoming the targets for criminal and nuisance activity, the cost of which can be high both in educational and dollar terms. Australian schools sustain losses amounting to many millions of dollars each year as a result of arson burglary and vandalism. School administrators have an important role to play in minimising property losses. This can be achieved through the implementation of effective security practices. One of the most successful measures has proven to be the use of intruder detection systems, commonly referred to as alarm systems. Basic school security begins with the type and quality of locks fitted to buildings. Advice should be sought from a qualified locksmith concerning the best system that suits the schools needs. Locks should be sturdy and not easily manipulated. A locksmith can supply a restricted key system that should be utilised in all cases. Restricted keys require written authority from senior school staff before the locksmith will cut additional keys. This provides the maximum control over loss or theft of keys. Internal doors should be locked after - hours to limit intruder access and restrict damage in case of fire.

6 Schools are increasingly taking advantage of closed circuit television (CCTV) systems. They can be useful in viewing after hours activity around buildings, as a means of minimising graffiti or vandalism. CCTV systems can also aid in monitoring student safety particularly in primary schools. The cost of these systems has reduced dramatically over the last few years and can provide an effective solution to many problems. The local community can make a valuable contribution to a school's security program. Schools should encourage their neighbours to become involved in the security of the school and request that they report any suspicious behaviour to the police. Most people will be only too happy to help and will readily note suspicious behaviour or record vehicle registration numbers if asked. The prevention and detection of crime at schools and other Department workplaces is a key responsibility. Emergency management officers conduct regular patrols of schools in the metropolitan area during those times when schools are closed. In addition to conducting patrols, emergency management officers also respond to intruder alarm activations received in the communications centre. Officers wear plain clothes and drive unmarked vehicles when responding to alarms. Targeted operations are conducted at schools where intelligence indicates the emergence of a particular security problem, such as vandal damage, graffiti, burglary or arson. Operational strategies can include placement of an officer inside the school when it is closed, the installation of closed circuit television cameras at various locations around the school, and increasing the number of security patrols. Schools have been made aware of alarm system management issues and crime reporting requirements through memorandums and other publications, which discuss the following: Intruder Detection Systems Schools which have an intruder detection system installed for asset protection have a responsibility to ensure that staff are trained in its use and are aware of the implications of unintentional alarm activation. Alarm systems should be turned off whenever staff enter an alarmed building. School intruder detection systems do not differentiate between illegal activity and unwanted alarms generated by school personnel. Failure to turn the alarm system off immediately on entering the building causes an unwanted alarm to be generated at the Department's communications centre. In most instances, the Victoria Police respond to alarm activations in conjunction with the Department's emergency management staff. Police support can typically include several marked police vehicles, the dog squad and the police helicopter. Reporting Criminal Damage Criminal activity including vandalism, threats of assault, arson and burglary are to be reported without delay to the police and to the Department's communications centre. Schools are similarly requested to advise the Emergency and Security Management Branch about nuisance activity which may not have led to damage, but which could be anticipated to lead to crime at some future time. This information is used to implement security initiatives including the provision of school patrols, installation of temporary surveillance and intruder detection systems, and the maintenance of a physical security presence at schools. Early notification ensures that these initiatives will be of maximum benefit to schools in preventing further criminal activity. It also increases the likelihood of apprehending those responsible.

7 Security Risk Management The Department of Education and Training, Emergency and Security Management Branch promote and practices 'situational crime prevention'. 'Situational crime prevention' can be defined as: " measures directed at specific forms of crime, which involve the management, design or manipulation of the immediate environment in which the crimes occur, in as systematic and permanent a way as possible, so as to reduce the opportunities for these crimes". (Clarke and Mayhew 1980, p. 1) The basis therefore of 'Situational crime prevention' is opportunity reduction. Opportunity, along with desire or motivated offender(s) and the skills and tools to commit the crime are the necessary ingredients, which must be present in order for a crime to occur. Opportunity reduction aims at making a potential target of attack inaccessible or unattractive and by making the attack itself dangerous or unprofitable for the offender. To fully understand opportunity reduction one must have a working knowledge of criminal attack methods and the precautions to take against them. The underlying strategies of 'situational crime prevention' employed by the Emergency and Security Management Branch are; Target hardening - locks, window film, grills, and computer-locking mechanisms Environmental design(cpted) - trimmed foliage, lighting, natural surveillance, fences, signs Electronic - alarms ( detection devices, communication methods), CCTV Policies - Asset marking, equipment storage, equipment location Procedures such as window and door locking, checking procedures and regular equipment audits. The key element of 'situational crime prevention' is the reduction in the perceived opportunity to offend thus leading to crime reduction. Determining relevant situational crime prevention strategies relies upon the practice of crime risk management. Crime risk management involves the development of systematic approaches to crime risk reduction that are cost effective and that promote both the security and socio-economic well being of the potential victim. Managing crime risk fundamentally requires: Removing some risks entirely. Reducing some risks by decreasing the extent to which injury or loss can occur. Spreading some risks through physical, electronic and procedural security measures that deny, deter, delay or detect criminal attack. Transferring some risks. Accepting some risks. The Emergency and Security Management Branch within the Department of Education and Training provides advice and support to schools in the realms of physical and psychological safety. The unique environment of school communities necessitates an approach that is both sensitive to and cognisant of the members of that community and aims to provide advice and support that mitigates physical and psychological risk. School communities provide a key opportunity to model safety and security to the next generation of citizens. The Emergency and Security Management Branch, through the integration of physical and psychological safety, reflects such a holistic view.

8 References Valuable information relating to planning and recovery from emergencies is available to schools through the Department of Education, Employment and Training s web site Sofweb. Additional resources available to schools include: Managing School Emergencies (2002) Department of Education, Employment and Training Schools of the Future Reference Guide- Department of Education Emergency Planning for Principals - Emergency Management Australia Canberra Hazard Wise -Emergency Management Australia, Canberra Dangerous Goods Implementation Kit (1990) Guidelines for the Storage of Science Chemicals (1994)