Numerous incidents of questionable interactions between School Resource Officers (SROs) or local police officers and children with special needs have shocked the public conscience in recent years. These unsuccessful events, often recorded by students and posted on social media, have understandably drawn the attention of the national news media and education leaders. We are often […]
Securing a Hospital Emergency Department in the Aftermath of a School Shooting
(Editor’s Note: This article is a collaboration with Michael S. D’Angelo, CPP, CSC, CHPA, a Board Certified Security Consultant specializing in the security of healthcare facilities. He can be reached at michael@securedirection.net, www.securedirection.net or 786-444-1109. See his biographical information at the end of the article.) As America continues to endure mass shootings at school, security and […]
Mass shootings: Should schools be held responsible for threat assessments when former students go on a killing spree?
Following the recent mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, reporters asked me if Sugarcreek-Bellbrook school officials and police handled the situation properly when addressing the shooter’s alleged threats made in high school approximately seven years prior. Did they do anything wrong? What did they do right? Did they do enough? Hindsight is 20/20, but how to […]
Cautious? Cowardice? Criminal? The MSD Parkland community wants justice for the inaction of Broward County SRO Scot Peterson, but they may be let down twice
Many in the Parkland, Florida, school-community believe that “justice” is being served with the arrest and charges against former Broward County School Resource Officer (SRO) Scot Peterson for not entering a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School building as shots were being fired in February, 2018. Peterson has been called a coward by many. He may […]
Parkland one year later: School security and emergency preparedness after the MSD school shooting
During the past half-dozen or so years, I have done an increasing about of expert witness and litigation consulting on pK-12 school security-related lawsuits. These types of cases have included high-profile active shooter cases, such as my retention by the defense for the Sandy Hook Elementary School litigation, as well as rape and other sexual […]
Federal Commission on School Safety report rehashes decades-old best practices, adds a few political twists
Statement by school security expert Kenneth S. Trump, President of National School Safety and Security Services, on the Federal Commission on School Safety’s final report: The Federal Commission on School Safety’s final report largely rehashes school safety, security, and emergency preparedness best practices that have been recognized since the Columbine era nearly 20 years ago. […]
School safety considerations for mail handling, suspicious packages, and bomb threats
The good news in related to 12 bomb-like packages sent to current and former elected officials, along with CNN, is that one person is in federal custody as of the time of this writing. Thank you to our law enforcement professionals and other first responders across the nation for their hard work. This incident raises […]
Federal Commission on School Safety receives testimony from school security expert Ken Trump
The following testimony was submitted to the Federal Commission on School Safety by Kenneth Trump, President of National School Safety and Security Services on August 28, 2018. The Commission acknowledged receipt the following afternoon. To the Federal Commission on School Safety: Commissioners, my name is Kenneth Trump and I am the President of National School […]
Advocates, activists, experts, and opportunists: Do you know the differences among those giving school safety advice?
“I don’t know what to believe and who to listen to,” one principal told us several months ago. As school safety issues remain in the forefront of school-community conversations following recent school shootings, the number of voices, viewpoints, and vendors continue to grow. School safety has been politically-hijacked by both gun control and gun rights […]
FBI failed to investigate Florida school shooter tip; “See something, say something —AND DO SOMETHING” should be new fed mantra
The FBI is the very best at what they do. The problem is that school safety is not something they do as a part of their core mission. FBI agents are not school safety experts. In fact, federal agents don’t regularly work with juveniles. They deal with adult criminals. They typically defer those few juveniles […]