Nevada attorney general issues recommendations for boosting school security
Nevada schools should bolster the security of their buildings and grounds and work more closely with law enforcement to make campuses safer, a report from the state's attorney general says.
The report, "School Safety: A Community Responsibility," is the outgrowth of a safety summit convened in March by Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt in reaction to the fatal shooting of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
Among the report's recommendations:
•Noting that assigning a police resource officer to every school campus is not financially feasible, the report urges law enforcement agencies to use their resources "in a way that decreases the law enforcement response time to a potential attack on any given school."
*Every school should try to establish a single point of entry that leads to secure areas where staff members can inspect items that students and others are bringing into school.
•Schools should erect perimeter fencing equipped with panic hardware.
•Install multiple cameras to establish comprehensive surveillance systems that are ready accessible to law enforcement.
•Adopt low-cost measures such as reducing shrubbery to improve visibility, installing locks on classroom doors, and providing law enforcement with key-card access to school buildings
•The legislature should seek to develop a way to provide funds to schools for capital improvements to boost security.
•Law enforcement agencies should obtain copies of floor plans of the schools within their jurisdiction.
•Every school and law enforcement agency should determine in advance who will have incident command during a school shooting.
•School officials should encourage students to download and use the SafeVoice Nevada mobile app, which enables students too send anonymous tips to law enforcement about issues such as bullying and school threats.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Gov. Brian Sandoval, who also convened a school safety task force in the wake of the Parkland shooting, declined to comment on the report. Laxalt plans to send his report to the governor’s task force for consideration.
Christy McGill, who works in the Nevada Department of Education and oversees anti-bullying efforts, said in a statement the recommendations would be helpful as conversations around school safety continue.
The report does not include the potential cost of any of the measures, or how they would be funded.
