MSD Public Safety Commission
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission was formed after the school shooting tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School earlier this year. The panel is tasked to investigate system failures, analyze information and evidence from the school shooting incident and provide a comprehensive report to address issues and develop recommendations for system improvements. The commission is composed of 16 members and includes a few parents of slain students, law enforcement and school officials, a mental health expert and a state legislator.
This November, the commission met for four days to evaluate the law enforcement and medical response to the school shooting. The commission found failures in leadership, policy, procedures and execution which contributed to the 17 deaths.
Among the findings of the investigation:
Performance Failures:
- The school resource officer assigned by the sheriff’s office hid in a stairway for 50 minutes during the incident.
- The police captain in charge focused on setting up a perimeter rather then urging officers to enter the building.
- The first to arrive, Broward County Police Department waited on the edge of campus during the attack while the neighboring Coral Springs officers rushed into the building upon arrival.
Equipment & Communication Failures:
- Precious time was wasted due to delayed surveillance footage. Police believed the gunman was still in the building because of a 26 minute delay in footage, when in fact the gunman had already fled the scene. This delayed first responders from reaching victims and allowed the gunman time to escape. The Broward County School Board has been criticized for this but cites legal concerns over student privacy in regards to allowing police access to live surveillance footage.
- The police captain in charge was unable to communicate with officers due to a faulty radio.
- There was also no central communication system in place between the two police departments at the scene and they had no way of talking to each other.
- The gunman’s shots triggered the fire alarms sending students and staff into the halls during the attack.
Details of law enforcement activity were revealed in an animation created by the commission. Nearly every second of police activity after the first shots were fired is depicted. The reenactment also includes campus security footage, audio recordings of 911 calls and radio communication during the incident.
The commission is currently crafting a detailed report of their findings and recommendations for the newly elected governor and legislature. A 99 page draft of their report is now available online.
Among their recommendations:
- Safe School Assessment Tool: used to assess physical site security with input from law enforcement and security industry experts. Assessment findings should be submitted annually with sanctions for noncompliance.
- Target Hardening: Recommend that school districts implement a tiered approach to campus hardening. Beginning with easy to implement, low cost basic improvements and over time adding more advanced improvements such as technology and/or law changes. Classroom doors are also encouraged to be solid core and include a lock that is built into the body of the door providing an additional layer of security to a classroom door.
- Improved Code Red alerts and policies: Install an audible code red alert system that can be heard throughout the campus. Enable school employees to call a code red and lock down the school remotely.
- Surveillance Cameras: Ensure there are no blind spots in area coverage. Allow real-time monitoring of footage and live access of footage to law enforcement if law allows it.
To discuss your school or district’s unique security concerns, contact our team. We’ll do an assessment of your campuses and put together a plan to fit your needs. Call us to learn more about how your school can implement some of these suggestions for school safety. Free consultation: 866-676-7176.
Sources include: NPR and The Miami Herald.