Michael Dorn is the executive director of Safe Havens
International, a non-profit organization with 62 ana- lysts in 24 countries and at K-12 schools throughout all 50 states providing training and safety assessments. His team has worked more than 300 major school crisis events, including 22 active shooters targeting schools and acts of terrorism with some overseas clients. Dorn said that while his organization had been getting
reports of a decline in the number of incidents, large- ly attributable to improved student supervision and reduced in-person instruction during the pandemic, they’re receiving significant feedback regarding com- munity violence. “We are seeing increases in concerning behaviors
affecting our buses and routes as well as the school buildings,” he added. Safe Haven’s comprehensive assessments include a section on transportation safety. While technology such
33%
as phones and emergency-reporting apps are used, that technology depends on system reliability as well as the ability to think quickly without hitting the wrong prompt. “While there may be position cameras on the bus, the
bus driver can’t call for help,” said Dorn. “The district can’t warn the drivers there’s a police chase involving a guy with a gun, which could affect the active routes.” As long as they are reliable, radios can be the fastest
way for a driver to request help in an emergency and for transportation officials to warn bus drivers of an issue, he added. “You grab it, push the button and talk,” noted Dorn, adding that GPS systems can be helpful, but if some- thing happens on the bus, it takes an investigation to figure out what happened. “If you’ve got the ability to remotely view the cameras
live, it can help for something like a hostage situation on the bus, which is much more prevalent today than
of transportation directors/supervisors stated they’ve had a weapon-related incident occur at a school campus
or on the school bus within the past year. (Out of 113 responses to a recent magazine reader survey.)
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