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County Officials Looking to Unify District Security Plans
Sangamon County law enforcement officials are hoping to make school lockdown procedures more uniform throughout the county. This move comes after a bullet was found near Glenwood High School's parking lot, which prompted two Chatham schools to lock down Thursday morning.
Ball-Chatham school district officials said they followed protocol, according to the district's plan. School districts are required by law to have safety plans for emergencies, but when those plans vary from district to district, it could be confusing for law enforcement officers.
Sangamon County Undersheriff Jack Campbell is looking to consolidate one single security plan throughout all of the schools in Sangamon County so officers responding to school emergencies will know exactly how to handle the crisis at each school in each district.
"For instance, if code red in one school district means something, but in another district it means something different, we want to know what that code red means," Campbell said. "We don't want to have to stop and try to figure it out on the way."
Although some districts use codes, others use certain words and terms, much like the Ball-Chatham School District. They enacted what's called a "soft lockdown," which means students were not allowed to leave their classrooms.
Randy Allen, Director of Safety and Security of the Ball-Chatham School District, said he is not too sure a uniform plan would work for all schools.
"I don't think we can cookie-cutter everybody in the same way because all of the schools are different--different class schedules, different demographics," Allen said. "Although, there are some standards we can apply. And for law enforcement, as far as their response, that may be where the common ground is found more so than what the schools are doing."
The Sangamon County Sheriff's Office is hoping to get all the districts on the same page--or close to it.
"The simpler we can keep it within the school district, the simpler it is for us," Campbell said. "We're all going to be on the same page and that's what our goal is here to keep our kids safe and make sure if a tragic incident does happen that we're able to respond respond quickly and appropriately."
Ball-Chatam School District officials said they chose to use terms rather than color codes because it is more commonly known and makes it easier in case substitute teachers are filling in..
The Sangamon County Sheriff's Office will be meeting with district superintendents on January 18 to go over what current security plans are in place and discuss how they can make those plans more uniform.
County Officials Looking to Unify District Security Plans
Sangamon County law enforcement officials are hoping to make school lockdown procedures more uniform throughout the county. This move comes after a bullet was found near Glenwood High School's parking lot, which prompted two Chatham schools to lock down Thursday morning.
Ball-Chatham school district officials said they followed protocol, according to the district's plan. School districts are required by law to have safety plans for emergencies, but when those plans vary from district to district, it could be confusing for law enforcement officers.
Sangamon County Undersheriff Jack Campbell is looking to consolidate one single security plan throughout all of the schools in Sangamon County so officers responding to school emergencies will know exactly how to handle the crisis at each school in each district.
"For instance, if code red in one school district means something, but in another district it means something different, we want to know what that code red means," Campbell said. "We don't want to have to stop and try to figure it out on the way."
Although some districts use codes, others use certain words and terms, much like the Ball-Chatham School District. They enacted what's called a "soft lockdown," which means students were not allowed to leave their classrooms.
Randy Allen, Director of Safety and Security of the Ball-Chatham School District, said he is not too sure a uniform plan would work for all schools.
"I don't think we can cookie-cutter everybody in the same way because all of the schools are different--different class schedules, different demographics," Allen said. "Although, there are some standards we can apply. And for law enforcement, as far as their response, that may be where the common ground is found more so than what the schools are doing."
The Sangamon County Sheriff's Office is hoping to get all the districts on the same page--or close to it.
"The simpler we can keep it within the school district, the simpler it is for us," Campbell said. "We're all going to be on the same page and that's what our goal is here to keep our kids safe and make sure if a tragic incident does happen that we're able to respond respond quickly and appropriately."
Ball-Chatam School District officials said they chose to use terms rather than color codes because it is more commonly known and makes it easier in case substitute teachers are filling in..
The Sangamon County Sheriff's Office will be meeting with district superintendents on January 18 to go over what current security plans are in place and discuss how they can make those plans more uniform.
