Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Essay Example

Studies of the shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado found that emergency response training prior to the incident was flawed, contributing to the intensity of the disaster (Nicholson). Specifically, police officers waited for the arrival of the SWAT team to protect the students instead of intervening to defend lives. Overall, the police effort was not well-organized. While an Incident Management System (IMS) was used, it was utilized primarily by the SWAT staff. As such, members of the SWAT team could be considered first responders because SWAT members were the first individuals to interact with the site in a manner that would be able to contribute to creating a safe environment.

It would have been beneficial for the local police team to not have waited for the SWAT team. In doing so, many innocent lives were lost. As such, it could be said that the police handled this situation incorrectly. Since the police opened fire with the shooters, they should have followed through. It is likely that they would have been able to, at minimum, keep the shooters occupied while waiting for the SWAT team to arrive. It is therefore necessary to organize a coordinated police response that would effectively respond to and prevent the intensity of such disasters. In addition, developing a further understanding of the criminals in these instances is beneficial.

Analyses of the Columbine shooting have indicated that there is not a well understood school shooter profile. Professionals therefore called for the need to understand who shooters tend to be in terms of their demographic profile. 98% of school shooters were found to be male and have experienced a troubling event in their lives. Therefore, prevention efforts can be put forth on this basis. Screening children and teens for depression and related symptoms and providing them with counselling is a reasonable way to address this problem.

In addition, it is necessary for the local police force to intervene in an organized manner. Each member of the force should be provided with a clear understanding of their responsibility in the situation and carry it out according to plan. It is still essential to call the SWAT team in such situations due to their specialized training, but local police should focus on defending the civilians while they are waiting for the call to be answered. Police could intervene most effectively by helping all students find a place to remain safe during the duration of the shooting. In addition, they should become aware of the location of the shooters so this information could be provided to the SWAT team upon arrival.

Another important police action that could reasonably prevent a large incidence of deaths in such situations is coordinating with schools to create effective emergency drills. Lockdown procedures should be practiced and performed in a manner that allows each student to understand what they should do to remain safe. If students remain out of sight and behind locked doors, they will be able to avoid contact with the shooter. Practice is an important component of such initiative so that the school can ensure that students are all aware of proper protocol. Similar techniques could be used for students regardless of their grade level; elementary, middle school, high school, and college students should all be made aware of relevant safety plans.

Works Cited

Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Managing the Incident. N.D. 8 September 2015.

Nicholson, K. Training before massacre ‘flawed’. 23 September 2000. 8 September 2015.