BOE Security Measures
By Joe LaRosa | Correspondent at December 20, 2023 | 4:52 pm | Print
In the aftermath of the Newtown tragedy, the New Britain Board of Education received a detailed briefing on the District’s security measures at last Monday’s meeting.
Paul Salina, the District’s Chief Operations Officer began with a review of the District’s current security policies and procedures. His presentation was followed by comments from Sgt. Ben Murphy of the New Britain Police Department SWAT Team and John Gonzalez, the School resource Officer at New Britain High School.
According to Salina, measures already in place Include:
- Updated emergency information given to principals at the start of each school year which they pass along to staff members;
- 10 drills at each school per year; include fire and lockdown simulations some of which include NBPD participation;
- Protocols implemented as a result of information provided by the federal Department of Homeland Security;
- An emergency incident plan for each school containing contact information for pertinent staff members and other emergency resources;
- 24-hour access to New Britain schools for the NBPD and NBFD for training and security audits;
- A centralized buzz-in entry system activated at all schools once students have entered the school and doors have been locked;
- Cameras and monitors at all schools;
- Contingency transportation plans with the District’s bus companies to transport students in the event of unscheduled early dismissals;
- The CONNECTED automated phone call system to parents;
- Regular Staff training.
“We feel what we have is as sufficient as it can be,” said Salina, “but we will continue to do audits to assess what we can do to improve,” he added.
There seems to be no shortage of surveillance as there are no less than 109 security cameras at NBHS alone.
Salina explained that a CONNECT-ED call was made to parents of New Britain students last Friday afternoon to inform parents that Newtown incident was some 50 miles away from New Britain and that city students were not in any danger.
Salina said he has been in contact with an international security firm and offered to have a representative of the firm address the Board in the future. Additionally, Salina told the Board that each school has a designated location where students would be evacuated to in the event of an emergency.
Although New Britain has a SWAT Team, Sgt. Ben Murphy said that regular patrol officers and SROs would most likely be the first to respond to an emergency at a New Britain School. “Everyone would be called including the SWAT team but realistically they are the closest to the schools,” said Sgt. Murphy.
When asked by Board President Sharon Beloin Saavedra what the response to a Newtown type incident would look like Murphy said “you go in with what you have … to stop the threat wherever it is.”
“It depends on the nature of the incident, but in the case of an active shooter we know what our obligation is, to go in. That’s why training is so important,” he added.
Gonzalez reinforced the point. “We have to work hand and hand with the school security staff. The drills are critical. We take these drills seriously. We train like its real,” he said.
As for future plans, Murphy said he plans to have the SWAT Team revisit city schools in the months ahead to review aspects of the various buildings. Board members also discussed including lockdowns and an actual school evacuation within upcoming school drills.
