It’s a community’s worst nightmare: an armed person entering a school.
And, while he is hopeful the need should never arise, Vernon School District superintendent Joe Rogers said the district has plans and procedures in place to protect against gun and weapon violence in schools.
The district had a chance to test their procedures in January 2016, when a replica gun caused a weapons scare and lockdown at Vernon Secondary School.
Related: Vernon high school lockdown lifted
“We’ve actually ran through that protocol,” Rogers said. “Within five minutes, 12 RCMP were surrounding the building. As a superintendent and board, it was great to know how fast procedures were put in place.”
After the replica gun scare was called in by a concerned neighbour, Rogers said, the school was under full lock down in less than 45 seconds with doors closed, blinds rolled down over many of the windows, lights turned off and students hiding as per protocol.
RCMP quickly identified the weapon as a toy gun.
Schools in the Vernon School District (including elementary schools) do regular safety training with lockdown and hold and secure drills. RCMP attend these drills, Rogers said, to ensure that safety is maintained.
According to B.C. Education Minister Rob Fleming, communication, reporting and awareness are keys to the ministry’s Expect Respect and A Safe Education (ERASE) system established in 2012.
“When you look at events south of the border, I think school districts are looking for ways they can evaluate whether what we have in B.C. schools is significant enough,” Fleming told Black Press. “A lot of it is acting on tips. Information comes from students talking in the school, that gets to a teacher, maybe a parent, and it’s passed to a principal or a school administrator.”
Included in the ERASE Bullying website is a reporting tool where students can anonymously warn administration of potential threats or harassment. The ERASE strategy also provides school districts with training in violence and threat risk assessment to help prevent, respond and recover from violent incidents.
Other safety technology has been implemented in Vernon schools. In crisis situations, Rogers said technology is available to pinpoint student locations via GPS.
With threat assessment protocols combined with what he referred to as a great relationship with local RCMP, Rogers said there is little cause for concern.
“Safety is obviously very important. We have a very good team that’s trained at a local and provincial level,” Rogers said. “I think we’re in a good place.”
B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said that’s the case province-wide.
“In my entire time as an MLA, which is 23 years, I don’t think I’ve ever had a person contact me about what goes on down in the U.S. all too often,” Farnworth told Black Press. “I do think there are some fundamental differences in this province, in this country. There have been situations where there have been lockdowns, and the police are on them very well, and the school districts have protocols in place.”
Security decisions are made by each district individually, with guidelines and common protocols put forward by the province.
Education ministry officials said many districts have mandatory identification badges for school entry. Some have used the authority available under the School Act to install video surveillance, upon approval of the individual school planning council.
B.C. schools are generally designed so almost all doors, internal and external, can be locked, ministry officials said.
“We have set up the procedures if it ever has to happen,” Rogers said.
With files from Tom Fletcher, Black Press.