Chronic school bomb threats have challenged school and police officials from K-12 schools and college level education facilities.
In late 2011, Orange Public Schools in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, faced a series of bomb threats in which a number of those were delivered electronically through an internationally located proxy server. Eventually federal and local law enforcement tracked down a teen suspect, but the threats extended over multiple days during which time officials closed school for three days and anxiety struck throughout the school community.
On Tuesday, retired FBI agent Bill Daley and I talked on Fox News Channel about the challenges of managing school bomb threats in light of a series of ongoing bomb threats at the University of Pittsburgh. The questions are similar to those school and police officials might get under these circumstances in any community:
- Should you evacuate on each threat?
- Are heightened security measures too much?
- How do you deal with the increased anxiety among students, faculty and the school community?
Take a minute to watch the interview to see what type of questions you might face in your district:
The challenge today, especially when threats are sent through proxy servers, is that it takes time for law enforcement to track the offenders. The good news is that they are usually apprehended.
As the investigations unfold, school and safety officials need to be prepared to heighten security measures and to also activate crisis communications plans to help manage the anxiety and fear in the school community.
For more information, see our web page on managing school bomb threats.
Are your school and law enforcement officials prepared for school bomb threats?
Ken Trump
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