Protecting Your Family – 001’s Risk Assessment of Children’s Schools
1. The School
Tragically, over the last twenty years, school shootings have populated headlines in the daily news. Schools across the country have made their best efforts to update security systems and initiate a standard protocol for teachers in the devastating event of a life- threatening emergency.
Unfortunately, many private & public schools do not take the time to enact a thorough, preventative practice in preparation for an attack like a bomb threat or a school shooting. Most public schools lack the funding to instate the proper security measures necessary to realistically protect your children, should a tragedy occur.
In one instance, President and Founder of 001 Kent Moyer visited a school in the affluent beach town of Venice, California, to meet with the principal of the school in order to provide him with some information regarding risk /vulnerability assessment.
What he discovered was astonishing.
“It starts with the Principal. If the Principal of a school is lax with safety standards and security precautions, then his employees and the ladies at the front desk are going to be relaxed as well,” Kent Moyer shared.
When asked where the children would go in the event of a school shooting or a bomb threat, the Principal responded: “to the middle of the grounds.”
Several issues arise with this thinking modality:
- The “middle of the grounds” is located centrally, in close proximity to where a bomb would explode, should it be placed on the grounds of the school.
- Gathering the children together in one, highly visible location increases the likelihood of a shooter injuring more people in a shorter amount of time.
- The distance from the point of danger is not substantial enough to ensure the safety of the child.
- They do not even practice to evacuate the school grounds on a regular basis.
Alarmingly, many standard safety precautions are overlooked on a daily basis.
The practice of signing in at the front desk of a school before picking up your child has become commonplace in the life of the full-time parent. When a nanny, relative or friend of a parent arrives to pick up your child, additional safety measures are expected to take place such as checking identification, assigning a badge that allows access to a particular area and additional references at the front desk; however, these practices are not always carried out as planned.
Many times, a receptionist at the front desk has several occupying tasks and does not thoroughly check I.D., scan I.D. for records or call the parent for verification, leaving that child in danger of being kidnapped or providing access to a complete stranger.
Imagine how difficult it is to get inside a typical apartment. There are several layers of security in place: a buzzer, a key, a doorman, additional electronic coded keys used in elevators and security cameras installed throughout the building. Picture the levels of security at an office building: video surveillance, monitors, front desk concierge, sign-in sheets, elevator access, personal references etc. Now imagine a school: a buzzer and a clipboard? “Most schools are not security-minded,” Kent Moyer went on to share.
What’s more important than your child’s safety?
Beyond encouraging the measures of safety taken within the infrastructure of the school, 001 ensures personal safety for children at every level of education. By developing a relationship with the Head of Safety or Command at a School or private University, our Command Center and 001 personnel maintain direct, reliable communication that monitors and screens any potential threats to your children.
Whether it’s the daughter of the President of the United States or a High Net Worth CEO, our mind is on your child’s security from start to finish.
2. The Internet
Facebook, Instagram & Twitter…Oh my!
In today’s digital age, social media has become a gateway for predators and cyber stalkers to communicate with children, who can mistakenly share vulnerable information on networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
For years, celebrities have managed suspicious fan mail and inappropriate correspondence with potential stalkers. Today, that type of communication has gone digital. Many times, an inappropriate message can be directed to a spam folder and go overlooked by the recipient. 001 offers “watch-dog” type protection in monitoring those unseen messages, notifying the parent should anything suspicious arise.
A veiled threat can appear weeks or months before an actual event is likely to occur. Team members at 001 are trained in Intelligence, which offers additional safety measures taken to prevent an assault or a kidnapping. Picking up on “pre-indicators”, our experienced team can assess what appears to be a potential threat long before anything ever has to occur. Additional Intelligence of texts, letters and emails can also be provided at the Client’s discretion.
3. The Vacation
When traveling abroad, additional safety measures must be taken by the family to ensure the protection of all children traveling with accompanying adults. 001 takes extra precautions to ensure safety in foreign countries like Mexico where “Express” kidnappings have become commonplace.
In order to manage threats and hazards, 001 will help visualize patterns and trends, utilizing a system called “Open Source Intelligence Gathering”, in which collecting, analyzing and disseminating information is practiced to aid our intelligence agents in understanding the rapid identification of emerging threat-related events in a given area. Using state-of-the-art technology like gThira, 001 protects your family at home and abroad, identifying the threat level of a given area, sourcing possible locations to be used as safe havens, in times of emergency.
Studying Abroad
If your child is traveling abroad for a semester or volunteering in a Third World Country, our 001 Level 1 Agents, provided by The World Protection Group, will take extra precautions to ensure that your child will be able to receive an education in an environment of safety and protection. Knowing where the nearest Embassy is, determining safe locations in the event of an evacuation, communicating with those in authority and providing additional health coverage by Penn Passport, 001 leaves no stone unturned in protecting your child from any potential threats abroad.
The security of your children is our ultimate concern in protecting your lifestyle at home and abroad. Our expertly trained Executive Level Protection Agents will go to any length to ensure their safety and your peace of mind.