Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Consequences in School - Case Study Example

 New Town High School The school is located in Baltimore County, MD, and offers grades 9-12. The school has a relatively equal number of boys and girls, with the ratio of boys to girls at 52:48, and with a total of 951 students and 71 teachers. Students are evenly distributed in the four grades, ranging from 210-250 students in each grade. The school has the highest number of black students in the state with 93% of the students being black, followed by 4% white, then smaller percentages of Hispanic and Asian respectively. Parents’ income in the school is high compared to that of most people in the county, ranging between $50-125,000 per annum. I chose New Town High School because this is the school that my daughter attends. She is involved in a number of the school activities, both curricular and co-curricular. Besides, this school is in my community and my neighbors’ children attend the same school. For these reasons, any security threat to the school is also a threat to our community; hence it is our responsibility to oversee the security of the school. The Interviews I interviewed the school principal, a teacher, a parent from the parent teachers’ committee, my daughter, and a junior student. The school principal has thorough knowledge of security issues that the school faces and takes part in the formulation of policies that are instituted to address the issues. The teacher has been on staff for four years now, and his interaction with both the students and administration enables him to access information from both sides. The parent has served on the parent teachers’ committee for three years now. She interacts with students through her daughter, who is a student in the school, and with teachers and faculty in the board. Being a parent in the school, she is concerned about the security issue of the school and lives in the same community the school is in and will give valuable information. My daughter is currently a senior in the school, having attended it for the past four years. She actively participates in the school functions such as drills, enabling her to interact with other students in an informal capacity, thus being able to pick up any useful information. Finally, I interviewed one junior student who, just like my daughter, participates in a number of activities in the school. The names of the interviewees are withheld for obvious security reasons. Upon interviewing the five, we identified the following threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences listed below as the ones most likely to affect the school’s operations, strategy and mission, information systems, financial stability, reputation and legal position. Please see the appendix for an actual transcript of the interviews. Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Consequences Table1. Disasters/Catastrophes Threats Vulnerabilities Consequences Hurricane Lack of emergency supplies for students and teachers. Lack of formal training on how to handle the disaster. Destruction of school facilities. Destruction of students’ homes. Injury or death to students, teachers, and students’ parents Severe Storms with Flooding Lack of or ineffective lighting rod grounding. Lack of back up plans for students and teachers. Geographical vulnerability to rising water. Can cause fire. Death or severe injury to students and teachers. Destruction of premises during natural disasters such as flooding and storms. Contamination in the events of damages to pipelines and flooding rivers. Industrial Accidents Proximity to transport hubs, nuclear plants and chemical plants. Injury or death during accidents. Fires Use of highly inflammable material in construction of school buildings. Students not formally trained on how to use the fire extinguishers available (teachers receive training) Lack of sufficient first aid skills. Lack of gas masks and alternative ventilation to prevent harm from smoke. Destruction of school premises and facilities. Injury and/or death to students and staff. Terrorist threat Lack of sufficient intelligence on possible attacks. Loose restrictions on entry to chemical laboratories. Lack of awareness and preparedness among students of how to handle such disasters. Destruction of school property and loss of life. Widespread fear within the community. Loss of trust with school administration concerning security matters. Pandemics Lack of massive screening facilities for initial identification. Lack of an adequate disease surveillance system. Lack of awareness among students of initial symptoms, preventive measures and containment for those infected. Lack of decontamination procedure for the school. Loss of life and illnesses in varying degrees of severity. Absenteeism from school for treatment of quarantine. Widespread fear within the community. Structural collapse Weak structural materials in construction of the school’s facilities. Lack of awareness among students and staff regarding the initial signs of collapse such as lines of weaknesses or shaky structures. Destruction of school premises and facilities. Loss of use to that area of the facility causing an ineffective learning environment. Loss of life and injury to students and staff. Transportation accidents in school buses and in personal vehicles Careless and reckless driving by bus drivers and parents/students commuting to school. Insufficient staffing to monitor student conduct on buses. Legal suits. Loss of lives and/or injury to students. Additional expenditure in repairs and treatment. Poor reputation of the institution. On-campus crime Insufficient attention paid to campus culture. Insufficient staffing to monitor halls Insufficient police officer staffing from city Poor performance. Incarceration and punishments. Poor reputation. Legal suits. Hazardous material Poor storage. Close proximity to facility. Lack of awareness and improper handling of laboratory material. Loss of lives and or death. Damage to facility. Can cause fires and contamination to major areas of the facility. Civil unrest/riots Lack of clear policies. Lack of security forces to deter such actions. Unresponsive school administration to the needs of the students and teachers. Disrupt learning activities. Can turn violent leading to injury, loss of lives, and destruction of school premises. Create poor reputation for institution. Legal suits. Earthquake Lack of preparedness and awareness of safety precautions. Use of weak materials in construction/lack of structural hardening. Furniture and movables not properly placed. Destruction of school premises and facilities and loss of lives or injury. Table 2. Disruptive Business/Management Crises Threat Vulnerabilities Consequences Power outage/ disruptions Poor structural material Irregular use or overuse that leads to power surge. Inefficiency of distributing company. Lack of generators to back up power supply. Loss of computer data Incapacitates learning activities. Ageing work force HR department not open to progressive reform. Rigid and unresponsive policies. Outdated recruiting tactics Loss of institutional knowledge. Loss of staff due to retirement. Loss of talent from retirement and bad recruiting practices/tactics. Teacher/subordinate staff strike Unresponsiveness by school administration and poor channels of communication. Lack of funding for school supplies and improvements. Bad reputation. Legal action. Disrupts learning activities and atmosphere. Additional cost of hiring outside services. Financial cutbacks in support and spending Insufficient planning for financial contingencies within the school system. Poor and inadequate services for students. Students and staff protest. Poor academic performance. Possible school closures. Lack of supplies, equipment, and materials to train students. Poor hygiene/sanitation Insufficient training of teachers, students, and cleaning staff. Lack of proper cleaning supplies. Outbreak of diseases. Poor reputation. Loss of training days Loss of contaminated area of the facility. Possible legal suits. Fraud Lack of control procedures. Atmosphere of complacency. Culture of corruption. Not speaking up about problems with areas of concern. Legal issues. Poor reputation. Misappropriation of funds/financial loss. Network insecurity Insufficient protection in terms of password strength and frequency of password changes. Access by untrustworthy persons to network facilities. Hacking and loss of valuable data. Distortion of information. Poor reputation. Management/power wrangles Unclear lines of leadership, responsibility specifications, and succession procedures. Possible legal suits. Inadequate services for students and staff Analysis There is a clear pattern in the vulnerabilities and consequences incurred. Each consequence results from a vulnerability that makes a particular threat dangerous to the school. Consequences from natural disasters are a direct result of natural vulnerabilities and manmade vulnerabilities such as ignorance and irresponsibility on the side of experts to identify and mitigate potential threats. Manmade disasters bear consequences that are direct results of manmade vulnerabilities. Knowing the weaknesses that make a particular threat possible can enable one to know the kind of consequences to expect. An all-hazards management approach is the recommended approach to tackling the issue of security and combating threats. This approach takes into account all information related to the threat. All potential sources, both physical and intangible, should be taken into account in managing threats. This ensures that all vulnerabilities are sealed off, providing no loophole for a threat to take place. This approach also requires that for hazards to be effectively managed, they should be assessed holistically so that resources can be allocated relative to the magnitude of the risk. Such is the approach the Department of Homeland Security has taken in its efforts to curb the terrorism threat so that the facilities that are most vulnerable, such as airports, receive the largest portion of resources to fight terrorism. Recognizing and Mitigating Disasters and Crises Despite the vast technology that enables experts to identify initial disasters and crises even before they occur, it is still not easy for authorities and organizations to recognize potential disasters and crises and take actions in order to mitigate them before they happen. Many people fail to recognize potential disasters and crises out of ignorance or inability to critically assess a situation to realize the magnitude of vulnerability. Some assess a situation within a narrow scope without including all factors involved, thus making an ill informed judgment that does not visualize the potential threat and its consequences. Most organizations simply choose to overlook potential disasters for the fear of spending in order to avert the pending disaster. Some are to blame for the vulnerabilities that could be leading to potential threats and just ignore them for fear of reprimand. Some think that they will just go away or that they may not happen like hurricane predictions. Insights From this assignment, I have learned that a threat is facilitated by vulnerabilities, factors that offer an opportunity for the threat to occur. While tackling a threat, we should assess all of the vulnerabilities and the various consequences that come out of each for effective mitigation. These insights can be applied in practical disaster awareness and mitigation in various institutions. With this knowledge, one will be able to assess a situation wholly to seal off any vulnerability that will give opportunity for the disaster and predict outcomes as precisely as possible. Appendix: Transcript of Interviews Interviewer: Mr. Principal, could you please tell us the greatest challenges to security and safety for students and your staff? Principal: The greatest security challenges are the manmade threats such as terrorist threats, arson, computer malware, and unprofessional conduct. This is because while we are able to predict and prepare for most natural disasters, we are not able to predict and prepare for most manmade threats because of their malicious intents. The school’s intelligence services are not so sophisticated to get hold of malicious plans beforehand, thus prevention is difficult. Interviewer: What measures has the administration put in place to keep the school safe from natural disasters? Principal: We are in constant touch with the meteorological department for any updates on looming storms, tornados, or hurricanes. Also, teachers are told to make contingency plan for students to make-up any work that might be missed during period of inclement weather. Finally, during times of server weather all staff member are instructed to monitor local weather conditions closely and be prepared to follow school closure procedures. Interviewer: How are you able to ascertain that some of your students are not a security threat, especially with respect to drug and gang activities? Principal: We are always trying to improve our intelligence gathering ability. We do this mainly by establishing relationships with our students. We also work very closely with the Baltimore City and County Police Department to improve our security measures and provide training to our faculty and students on gang related issues. Finally, we just look out for any strange activity among the students and investigate accordingly. Interviewer: What has the teaching staff done to aid the efforts of the faculty in ensuring security in the school? Teacher: We implement the school’s awareness program by briefing students on school lockdown procedures, fire drills assembly areas, and creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and responsibility. We also, spend the majority of time with these young men and women, so our working and ongoing relationships gives us important insight into the climate of our school. Interviewer: What obstacles do you encounter in these efforts? Teacher: There are not sufficient funds to support a more deliberate and focus effort to educated and prepare for these issues. Time allocated to prepare our students for these issues and updates is little and sparse; most of this training is held once or twice a quarter. Interviewer: What do you think should be done to increase the security level in the school? Teacher: The state should allocate more funds and time to research, awareness and safety programs. Increased networking security to prevent and restricted unauthorized access to crucial students and staff information. We also need more parents to partner up with the school in our efforts to prevent many of these issues. Parents just coming to the school to see what their children are being taught is a big step in prevention. These relationships matter! Interviewer: What are parents doing in an effort to ensure the safety of the school and their children? Parent: We encourage one another to pay keen attention to our children and their friends so as to detect any strange behavior or plans. We also encourage our parents to become more involved with school activities. Programs are identified that may need volunteers to assist and this information is distributed during our meetings. Interviewer: What are some of the common complaints by your children about their safety in the school? Parent: We get complaints about fights, some bullying and minor theft problems. We have had a few complaints about the condition of the school laboratory with claims that access is not restricted. Interviewer: Do you think your children are safe in this school? Parent: We think they are safe from natural harm as the school has taken all measures possible to prepare in the event that they happen, it has mechanisms in place to reduce harm. We are particularly concerned with the increased number of fights and drug use among the students. You can’t watch your kids 24/7, so we’ll remain on the lookout. Interviewer: Who do you think is to blame for insecurity and the presence of drugs in your school? Daughter: The students are to blame, we know the rules and yet some students still chose to break it. As far as safety, the students are ones getting into fights, not the teachers. I think the faculty is doing the best they can under the current circumstances. Interviewer: What are some of the miscreant activities students take part in? Daughter: We have had cases of planned arson; there are those who use drugs and abuse other substances; we’ve had one reported rape case, and numerous theft reports. There are rumors of planned terrorist activities and this intelligence has been passed to the administration for investigation. Interviewer: Do you think that the community has a positive or negative influence on the school security? Daughter: There are many vices in the community that have been passed on to the school, such as gang activities, drugs, thefts, and bomb threats however; for the most part I would have to say our community has a positive influence on our school. The people and businesses surrounding our school are nice and care about our community. Interviewer: Is the senior students influence upon the junior students’ a positive or a negative? Student: This school is built on traditions and a culture that is passed on. When we join, we observe and learn what goes on and we pick up the traits. A number of my classmates have been introduced to drugs by the senior students and some into more serious activities. However, I think the majority of the seniors have a positive influence on the junior students. Interviewer: Does the school administration pay sufficient attention to the security issue? Student: Yes! I think they go above and beyond to keep this school safe. It’s not always perfect, but our school is safe. The school administration tries in every way possible to discourage interactions that might go beyond class work and normal school activities. Interviewer: On whom do you feel lays the greatest challenge in ensuring the security of the school? Student: The greatest challenge lies with the students. It’s our responsibility to do what’s right and to not engage in malicious activities. Read More