U.S. Alerts Schools About Terror Threat

[Daemon688]

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20041007_830.html

The Associated Press

Education Department Alerts School Leaders to Keep Eye Out for Heightened Terror Threat

WASHINGTON Oct. 7, 2004 — The Education Department has advised school leaders nationwide to watch for people spying on their buildings or buses to help detect any possibility of terrorism like the deadly school siege in Russia.
The warning follows an analysis by the FBI and the Homeland Security Department of the siege that killed nearly 340 people, many of them students, in the city of Beslan last month.

"The horror of this attack may have created significant anxiety in our own country among parents, students, faculty staff and other community members," Deputy Education Secretary Eugene Hickok said in a letter to schools and education groups.

The safety advice is based on lessons learned from the Russia incident. But there is "no specific information indicating that there is a terrorist threat to any schools or universities in the United States," Hickok said.

Federal law enforcement officials also have encouraged local police to stay in contact with school officials and have encouraged reporting of suspicious activities, the letter says.

In particular, schools were told to watch for activities that may be legitimate on their own but may suggest a heightened terrorist threat if many of them occur.

Among those activities:

Interest in obtaining site plans for schools, bus routes and attendance lists;

Prolonged "static surveillance" by people disguised as panhandlers, shoe shiners, newspaper or flower vendors or street sweepers not previously seen in the area;

Observations of security drills;

People staring at or quickly looking away from employees or vehicles as they enter or leave parking areas;

Foot surveillance of campuses involving individuals working together.

The effort is the latest by the Education Department and other federal agencies to encourage school officials to maintain and practice a plan for responding to emergencies.

After the terrorist takeover of the Russian school, President Bush asked his top advisers to review their strategies for dealing with hostage situations, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has said.

The federal government is advising schools to take many steps to improve the security of their buildings. Those include installing locks for all doors and windows, having a single entry point into buildings and ensuring they can reach school bus drivers in an emergency.

The Education Department sent its letter by e-mail Wednesday to school police, state school officers, school boards, groups representing principals and many other organizations.

The Homeland Security Department also sent a bulletin Wednesday to federal, state and local emergency officials to provide fresh guidance based on the review of the school siege in Russia.

I guess it is time to start arming teachers.

 

[Pilgrim]

The federal government is advising schools to take many steps to improve the security of their buildings. Those include installing locks for all doors and windows, having a single entry point into buildings and ensuring they can reach school bus drivers in an emergency.

What about schools that don't have single points of entry?

What is so effective about locked doors?

Why is reaching school bus drivers in an emergency so important?

Pilgrim

 

[Ben Shepherd]

The school district were I live allows CCW for teachers. I know of a few the use it.

If they think the twin towers upset us---

JUST MESS WITH OUR CHILDREN!!!!

 

[Standing Wolf]

The school district were I live allows CCW for teachers.

You're in one of the few parts of the country where children's lives are valued as highly as adults'.

 

[JL2152]

I read this thread after I had just picked up my niece from school. I then thought if a group of individuals wanted to take hostages in the school they would face no resistance until the sheriff’s department arrived. By then the hostage takers could fortify their positions and arrange for things to be costly for any rescue team. Armed teachers could convince any attacker to choose another target.

What about schools that don't have single points of entry?

The school would have to create one entry point. Then again a fence is one long entry point unless an armed indivudual is on the other side ready to stop anyone from hopping over.

What is so effective about locked doors?

Mostly its to make people seem safe. A locked door is an open door unless an armed indivdual is on the other side ready to stop anyone that kicks it down.

Why is reaching school bus drivers in an emergency so important?

The school would want to notify drivers if there is an incident before the children arrive this will help prevent the delivery of more hostages. It is also important to maintain contact between the school bus and dispatch incase something happens in route. Maybe its time we get really short people to be school bus marshalls.

 

[Waitone]

The rest of the story.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/20040930-9999-7m30disk.html


S.D. school crisis plan is found on disk in Iraq

No threat seen to district; children are safe, police say
By Kelly Thornton
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 30, 2004

A man arrested by U.S. authorities in Iraq had a computer disk in his possession containing a public report downloaded from a U.S. Department of Education Web site on crisis planning in school districts, including San Diego Unified.

The man was described as an Iraqi national with connections to terrorism and the insurgency that is fighting U.S. forces in Iraq. Officials in San Diego said the man's intentions were unknown.

San Diego law enforcement officials said there was no indication of any terrorist plot against schools in San Diego or elsewhere in the country. They did not publicly release the information because there appeared to be no threat. The information was relayed to the San Diego FBI office last week and then to the school district Friday.

"The children are absolutely safe," said San Diego Police Chief Bill Lansdowne. "If there was a threat, we, the San Diego Police Department, would be first to notify (parents). This is not a threat."

The disk contained a document entitled "Practical Information on Crisis Planning, A Guide for Schools and Communities." The 50-plus page document, published in May 2003 by the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, is available to the public on the U.S. Department of Education's Web site, said San Diego District spokeswoman Peri Lynn Turnbull.

FBI officials visited the office of district Superintendent Alan Bersin Friday to inform him, Turnbull said. Because there was no indication that terrorists were targeting any schools, in San Diego or elsewhere, the district informed the school police department, but decided not to notify schools and parents.

"We certainly did not want to create any unnecessary panic in our community," Turnbull said. The FBI said because there was no specific threat, that was the appropriate response.

"The superintendent was alerted by the FBI that there were no direct threats to the district or any San Diego school and that by our maintaining our same level of care and concern that our schools would be safe," Turnbull said.

Dan Dzwilewski, head of the FBI office in San Diego, said there is no reason for alarm.

"We don't know the intention of the person that had this material," Dzwilewski said. "But the disk contained absolutely no threat information. It's only out of an abundance of caution – because it was discovered in Iraq – that we shared this with another public agency."

Some counterterrorism officials said they were concerned that the information would be misinterpreted and would alarm people unnecessarily. They said the information was withheld from the public because there was no specific threat, and the public may become inured to repeated general warnings of vague possibilities of attacks.

"There is no threat here," said a San Diego police lieutenant who spoke on condition of confidentiality because of the sensitive nature of such investigations. "When you've put out information month after month after month, the public thinks we're crying wolf.

"The context here is, a public source document put out by the U.S. Department of Education was found on a computer. Period. My concern would be if a particular school district, or a particular school, or a particular institution was targeted, which it has not been."

Lansdowne said the situation shows that the federal government is sharing information with local agencies in an efficient manner.

"I think it's a good indication of how quickly we're notified and the thoroughness of the information we receive," the chief said. "They give us all the information now and allow local jurisdictions to do with it what they think they should."

Lansdowne said the report on the disk lauds the district as an example of good planning.

The document mentions other school districts and gives information about evacuations, lockdowns and other emergency procedures in the event of a disaster, such as an earthquake or terrorist attack.

"If somebody read the article, they would say we're not going to pick San Diego because they have a very good plan in place," Lansdowne said. "It's probably more good news than bad news."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kelly Thornton: (619) 542-4571; [email protected]

 

[Aguila Blanca]

FBI officials visited the office of district Superintendent Alan Bersin Friday to inform him, Turnbull said. Because there was no indication that terrorists were targeting any schools, in San Diego or elsewhere, the district informed the school police department, but decided not to notify schools and parents.

Of course. Arab terrorists in Iraq routinely carry around American school security plans to ensure that their own kids will be safe when they illegally come to the United States and establish their deep cover identities. How silly of anyone to think that they might be thinking of attacking a school.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Sorry for the double post. Dunno what happened.

 

[carebear]

"If somebody read the article, they would say we're not going to pick San Diego because they have a very good plan in place," Lansdowne said. "It's probably more good news than bad news."

This is SO true! All throughout history, commanders who manage to get copies of their opponent's plans use that information to AVOID a fight.

Think of Meade at Antietam or Halsey at Midway. Both so impressed by their enemy's plans they chose not to try anything at all.......

 

[Cosmoline]

Well schools and airplanes are our two most heavily disarmed places. They've already hit airplanes.

Frankly a force of ten or fifteen terrorists could invade any US school at will and have a field day. Procedures dictate that everyone cower and hide in locked classrooms. They also ensure that there are very few escape routes. So basically the teachers will not only refuse to resist the terrorists, they'll help keep the students locked down.

With enough explosives we'd be powerless to do squat about it, and it would be a massacre.

I don't even want to think about the public reaction. Suffice it to say it would make Russia's reaction look very tame indeed. Blood would run like a river in the middle east.

 

[Edward429451]

Forgive my skeptisisim but wherein should we see the heightened threat? There's info on the net about most things and finding particular info about anything doesn't neccessarily mean anything.

I'm not saying there will never be another real credible threat. I'm not saying don't be cautious. I'm just wondering who is the real terrorists here. We've been in orange for what? Couple three years now? Every once in awhile they come on and spout stuff like this and it makes me wonder if they aren't just feeding the public fear for their agenda of lessened rights.

This country has been in a state of declared national emergency since 1933? The emergency has never gone away.

The WOT will never be won. As long as they can instill fear into our hearts, they have us right where they want us, fearful & dependant. I think if it was a credible threat that it would not have been released, it would be classified. Sounds like they're just using it as a way to keep Americans in a state of fear.

If enough of us homeschool our children, pretty soon homeschooling will be illegal. Just thoughts. Flame suit on.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Officials in San Diego said the man's intentions were unknown.

Yeah. Right.

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to go outdoors and watch pigs flying around the neighborhood.

 

[reagansquad]

You guys notice that this came out just after the latest AP poll saying that Kerry was up by 3 or 4%? The day after the Bush administration admitted that it's using terror warning to boost support?

Or, and last night on CNN they were saying that this was based off of two disks found in Iraq in posession of a man who has no terrorist links but is in fact involved in building public schools.

 

[Waitone]

Or, and last night on CNN they were saying that this was based off of two disks found in Iraq in posession of a man who has no terrorist links but is in fact involved in building public schools.

Not according to the article I posted earlier.


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/20040930-9999-7m30disk.html

<snip>

A man arrested by U.S. authorities in Iraq had a computer disk in his possession containing a public report downloaded from a U.S. Department of Education Web site on crisis planning in school districts, including San Diego Unified.

The man was described as an Iraqi national with connections to terrorism and the insurgency that is fighting U.S. forces in Iraq. Officials in San Diego said the man's intentions were unknown

<snip>