The recent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump put the U.S. Secret Service’s security practices under the microscope and today led to the resignation of the Director of the Secret Service.
The now-former director of the Secret Service admitted to Congress that there were “significant” and “colossal” problems with security at former President Trump’s rally. Unlike the many security consultants who have jumped in with detailed opinions on what should and should not have been done tactically or in planning done by the Secret Service, I will pass and stay in my lane.
What I will say more broadly is that there is no indication that Secret Service security hardware, equipment or technology were the primary causes of the “significant” and “colossal” security problems acknowledged by the former Secret Service director. Odds are that the deficiencies eventually identified will focus on various aspects of human factors.
As an expert witness on school security civil litigation cases, I know the facts and merits vary case to case. Yet the common thread is most cases involve allegations of failures of human factors — people, training, communications, etc. – not allegations of failures of security hardware, products and technology.
The value of shared mental models – being on the same page – is very important to school security and emergency preparedness. We reduce the risks of cognitive biases, different interpretations of written plans and protocols, gaps in training, and more by spending time planning, communicating and training together.
Strategic school safety leaders allocate the time to help bring school and district safety teams together with common understandings. Doing so helps reduce the risks of “significant” and “colossal” security failures.
Dr. Kenneth S. Trump is President of National School Safety and Security Services
National School Safety and Security Services
Experts You Can Trust!
Connect with Dr. Ken on Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/kentrump/
Follow Dr. Ken on Twitter @safeschools
Visit and “Like” Our Facebook School Safety News Channel at: www.facebook.com/schoolsafety