• With over 25 years of public safety experience and nearly 45 yrs old this January I am saddened and shocked more than ever by the pattern of assaults on law enforcement in America. Law enforcement has always been dangerous but now it is a whole new dynamic.
• I believe that most people are kind and good. Some people protest for their opinion to be heard and to work for change. This is their right to peacefully do so. 
• There is a minority of suspects that assault law enforcement officers. However, their actions are very large. It appears to be a trend to harm and kill now. I wonder why there is an escalation of assaults this year? Is it the new culture to defy authority no matter what because everyone has a right to be heard or right to be right? Is it the thought that everyone is exempt from rules and regulations or complying with basic and reasonable commands of an investigating law enforcement officer? I'm not suggesting that all assaults and deaths have come from protesters because they have not. However, a disruptive community certainly adds fuel to the overall mindset, in my opinion. I do not have answers to these questions. I do know that we have a job to do.
• In spite of national trends and the dangers of this occupation our members still come to work. We still have applicants waiting to be hired. We still do our job.
• As an administrator I have implemented some basic provisions for our officers while we experience this dangerous trend of officer assaults (injury & death). Our most important task is to stay as safe as possible so that we can protect lives and property of others and return to our own families.
• Again, I know that a majority of the people are good, decent and law enforcement supporters. While we do our job we keep this positive thought in the back of our minds while our priority is to protect ourselves. Nothing says we are suppose to sacrifice ourselves to danger, injury and death just because we wear a badge.
• Our officers are courageous, faithful, dedicated, heroic and noble. Lets back our men and women who wear the badge no matter what type of law enforcement they do. Actually, everyone just might begin to mentally prepare for backing up your community law enforcement not only as a form of mental support but physically helping your fellow men and women if you ever find them in need during their enforcement efforts. It is the least anyone can do in my opinion. That officer would help you. Would you help that officer?

• Thank you to Sgt. Marvin Mason and all of his hard work recently. He worked closely with the KCMO Police Department's Fugitive Apprehension Unit and using the video surveillance equipment at a client's location was able to identify and track a suspect wanted for distributing child pornography, leading to the suspect's arrest.
• Sgt. Mason's previous law enforcement experience and extreme attention to detail helped get this criminal off the streets and made Kansas City a safer place for its citizens and children.
• So thank you Sgt. Mason for all that you do and for being a great leader and role model for others to follow.

• As a parent, I fear for my children's safety constantly. Not just "does he/she have their inhaler," but can their elementary school stop an intruder? Can they stop an attack like Sandy Hook? Or Columbine? Do they have appropriate safety measures in place? Maybe I'm overly vigilant when it comes to thinking about my son and daughter's safety, but working for a private security company in Kansas City means that I constantly hear about potential threats throughout the districts we provide security service for. It's enough to make anyone a little nervous.
• And with that in mind, we've done the research and compiled a list of the 6 most modern approaches (and their pros / cons) that public schools are successfully taking to increase the safety of our children from predators.

1.) To Code or Not Code the Doors

• I can see the appeal of a coded door. The lock looks modern. It looks safe. It looks impenetrable and imposing. But according to Campus Safety Magazine's recent study, coded doors have the potential to do more harm than good. The stress of the situation can cause people to forget simple codes as the adrenaline from their fight-or-flight mechanism kicks in (more about that in #5). Or, as documented in the Magazine's response test, because of the pressure of the stress involved during their testing, a school official accidentally keyed an active shooter lockdown for a tornado drill, instead of the required "sheltering procedures," which could have resulted in massive injuries or deaths. 

2.) Controlled Access to the Building at All Hours

• According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the #1 strategy being utilized by schools across America is the Controlled Access Strategy using ID Badges and key cards.
• In this strategy, both students and teachers / school officials are required to wear ID badges, making each person easily identifiable as someone that has the correct permissions to be present at the school. 
• Key cards also help control access to certain parts of the building like the front door, side doors, and storage areas, restricting an intruder's ability to hide.
• Hiawatha Elementary Key Card DoorHiawatha Elementary Key Card Door
•  But a potential con to this would be if someone needed immediate access to a certain area like in the event of an emergency. 

3.) Metal Detectors and Security Cameras

• With modern technology, metal detectors and security cameras are more powerful than ever before. But there are pros and cons to both. 
• Let's start with metal detectors:  
• They come in two main forms, the large walk-through style, or the short hand-held version. They can be great at preventing weapons such as bombs, knives, and guns into the school. But..
• Metal detectors are also a huge cost of both time and money. Both styles of metal detectors require training of staff or security personnel as well as time in the morning to screen every student before entering the building(s). And, while the stationary metal detector is the most powerful version, it is only effective if all other entrances to the school are shut down creating a bottle-neck entrance, meaning that it takes even more time to get everyone through so that school can start on time. 
• Security cameras are also extremely efficient and now more cost-effective than ever. Much like computers, they are also becoming smaller and smaller and more discreet than ever. Because of this, the RUVNA blog poses the question "whether the security advantages that this provides are significant enough to justify the violation of privacy its opponents claim they impose?" Is a student or teacher's privacy worth the safety risk?

4.) Fighting Back

• One of the most interesting, and effective forms of modern school security is the new protocol of fighting back against the intruder. Pre-Sandy Hook, almost every school safety procedure was to lock the door, turn the lights out, and get the kids in a corner of the room. This procedure, unbeknownst to school officials, actually helped the intruder / shooter as it maximized the amount of damage done with the least amount of ammunition since all the students were huddled together with their heads down.
• The Blaze did a great study of the fighting back method where teachers and students fight back by throwing whatever objects they have around them at the attacker in the hopes of injuring them. In their study, the fighting back method reduced the injury/death percentage from an 88%, down to just a 5%, simply by attacking the attacker.

5.) Practice, Practice, Practice!!!!

• All of the aforementioned safety protocols are great, modern, and have enhanced school security exponentially. But if they are not practiced on a regular basis than they will not be effective. During a threat, whether it be mother nature or an active shooter, everyone involved will go through what is termed a "fight or flight" response. 
• Harvard Health explains the response as an "evolution of a survival mechanism, enabling people and other mammals to react quickly to life-threatening situations. The carefully orchestrated, yet near-instantaneous sequence of hormonal changes and physiological responses helps someone to fight the threat off or flee to safety."
• To put it in layman's terms, your body is flooded in "adrenaline," while making you stronger and faster, it also makes it hard to concentrate on complex tasks. 
• Our advice is to:

a.) Have your directions written down somewhere. DO NOT RELY ON MEMORY! When someone is frightened and their fight or flight is active, remembering small details is near-impossible (after a deployment in Spec Ops to Iraq, I can vouch for this).

b.) Practice often. These drills must be muscle memory for both staff and students. Do not let an actual dangerous situation be the first time you test out your evacuation route or how to lock your door!

6.) Keep Improving

• Keeping a school district safe and secure is not an easy task. It requires constant research, testing and practice. There are constantly new and evolving threats and the schools must evolve with them. Our children's futures are worth the money and effort.
• Here's a link to a local school district, Raytown Quality Schools, who recently decided to go above and beyond and purchase modern door locks that once activated from the inside will keep intruders out no matter what. 
• http://fox4kc.com/2016/09/14/raytown-school-district-adds-extra-layer-of-security-to-classrooms/
• We'll end this post with the hopes that you learned something about safety precautions in general. We're not just dealing with attacks at schools anymore. In today's world, we're also combating terrorism and violence in workplaces as well as public venues such as malls and concerts.
• Stay vigilant.
• Know how to get yourself and others to safety.

• Our hearts break that yesterday a detective from the Kansas City, KS police department, Brad Lancaster, passed away in the line of duty. He was shot while investigating a carjacking.
• “Our detective fought a good fight, but unfortunately he died from his injuries at approximately 3:30 p.m.,” Kansas City, Kan., Police Chief Terry Zeigler said in a tweet. “Thanks for the support & prayers.”
• It was the first line of duty death of a Kansas City, KS police officer since 1998: 18 years. And the significance of that amount of time is that this death was an eye-opener. Sometimes we become complacent. We think that there's no way someone could die, especially someone we know. We trust in the safety measures in place to prevent that. That years of training and experience will prevent that. That having a good heart and building positive karma will prevent that. 
• And then this happens. And this man was loved. He had a family. He had two kids. He was known in the community. He was known in this company.
• So this is our wake up call. Life is fleeting and short and can be gone at any minute and for any reason. So lead a good one. Love yourself and your family and friends and your community. Make time to give back to others. We can't control how we die. But we can control what we do from now until then. So make a positive impact on your community like Brad Lancaster did. Be loved and remembered. His death meant something to so many. His life changed those he met for the better.
• Let him be a positive example and do the same. Love until your heart gives out. Motivate others to do the same. This is how you combat evil. This is why we do what we do. Not for glory. But because we love our community more than we fear death.
• Our hats are off to Brad Lancaster and everything he stood for. Gone, but not forgotten.
• --The Men and Women of HSPS

• I recently had the opportunity to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a brand new apartment complex, Prairie View at Village West Apartments, in Kansas. The new complex was absolutely beautiful and the staff was incredibly friendly. It was such a great experience and we are very proud to have been chosen to provide their private security.
• It's refreshing to work with customers that place the same attention to detail and emphasis on customer service that we do on our end. We work tirelessly to ensure that every interaction with us represents our brand and mission and positively affects the safety of those we protect.

• We here at Homeland Security Protective Service, a private security guard company in Kansas City, would like to give a shout out to one of our private security officers, Kye Geyer, for his great work at apprehending three criminals that were in possession of drugs at a local elementary school during a recent night patrol. Officer Geyer positively reflects the high standards of all Homeland Security Protective Service employees and consistently puts the demands of the Kansas City community above his own safety. Thank you, Office Geyer, for being such a great example for others to follow.