It's voluntary for schools, but police will send a role-player into schools to try to breach their security and enter the building. They'll use what they learn to improve schools' defenses.
After the Newtown shootings and yesterday's incident in which a student brought a rifle into a California school and shot another student, parents are jittery about school security. The Niles Police Department is responding with a school safety audit, which Chief Dean Strzelecki said can include a type of drill in which the department sends an actor to schools to see if he can find a way to breach their security measures and enter the building. The actor is not armed. Earlier: Niles police plan safety audit of schools "We'll offer our assistance (to schools) to look over the plans--it's their plan, but we might offer some suggestions," he said. It's up to schools whether or not they want to take part. Regarding the exercise of sending …
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With two high schools, District 64 and private elementary schools, police train, communicate and stay prepared, Commander Lou Jogmen said.
Part of a series of articles on what local schools and towns are doing after the Newtown shootings. As parents are thinking about school safety in the wake of the Newtown shootings, Park Ridge Police Department Commander Lou Jogmen said police train and communicate on a continuous basis to maintain safety. Officers maintain a presence at schools at arrival and departure times, partly for traffic control and partly as a visible safety reminder, he said. And the department encourages officers to stop by at schools throughout the day and maintain relationships with school personnel. Earlier: Niles police plan safety audit of schools The department has full-time officers stationed at both Maine South and Maine East high schools, part of …
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The Sandy Hook school shootings had a profound effect on columnist Elizabeth Fish. The New Year offers the opportunity for change.
The Newtown shootings have affected me even more so than Columbine, the movie theatre shootings in Colorado or any of the dozens of other shootings that have been in the news this year. Newtown really hit me very hard. The fact that a person went to a local elementary school, shot his way in and killed every adult and child in his way, for little, if any, apparent reason is devastating. Maybe it is because I have a first grade child at a local elementary school. And there was little that could have been done at Sandy Hook or any other elementary school to prevent such a tragedy. I still get teary thinking about the shooting and cannot fathom how President Barack Obama named each victim in his speech at Newtown days after the shooting. It …
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After the Newtown shootings, police will revisit plans for safety at schools.
The Niles Police Department has released the following statement, indicating they intend to perform a safety audit of schools in the wake of the Newtown, Conn. school shootings Dec. 14. The Niles Police Department's primary mission is the protection of the public wherever they may be in the Village of Niles. It is with this primary mission in mind that after the incident in Newtown Connecticut that the Niles Police Department stepped up visible patrols around schools that were still in session prior to the holiday break. Additionally, the Niles Police Department will conduct an audit of security procedures currently in place in all Niles schools. The audits will look at current security procedures, physical security enhancements and …
As kids return to school today after winter break, Morton Grove Police Chief Mark Erickson stresses the police are working with schools on safety, and more security measures may be coming down the road.
The Dec. 14 Newtown, Conn. shootings are still on parents' minds today, as children return to school after winter break. Morton Grove Police Chief Mark Erickson, who taught D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) classes in schools before he became police chief, said his department works closely with schools on safety issues, and maintains a daily presence around schools. "We put such a high priority on this," he said. The department has a close relationship with school administrators, he added, and has done safety training with them as well as with neighboring police departments. Deputy Chief Brian Fenneley works specifically with school safety. Like Niles-Morton Grove Patch on Facebook for news, conversation Erickson expects more …
8:57 am on Monday, January 7, 2013
How many school children have been killed by fire in the past 50 years? Answer, none. Ask yourself why that is. Are firemen so much better at protecting kids lives than policemen? Look around a school. You will see sprinklers, and fire resistant building materials, and fire extinguishers and fire hoses. All kinds of prevention and fire avoidance devices. The fire department works closely with … more ›
Local therapist says what people say when a shooting, such as the Sandy Hook School shooting, is going on can help victims process the event and recover better afterwards.
The nation is debating gun control laws in the wake of the Sandy Hook School shooting in Newtown, Conn. last week. But Seth Knobel, director of Niles Family Services, which provides counseling therapy and support, says that the human factor must also be taken into account when crisis plans are being formulated. Earlier: Can Future Adam Lanzas Be Prevented? Obviously, people near a shooting situation must run or, if escape is impossible, hide or fight. But if they are hiding, it's good leadership to know what to say. "Some of the teachers afterward remarked, 'we didn't know what to say to the kids to help them feel safe,'" Knobel said. "What can we do in the instant of the crisis?" One teacher hid her kids in a closet and tried to quiet…
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Many websites, including Patch, will darken Friday morning during a national moment of silence. And while Morton Grove is officially lighting (flameless) candles for victims Friday 5 to 10 p.m., anyone can join in.
In the week since the nation was shaken by the fatal shootings of more than two dozen students and staff at a Connecticut elementary school, efforts have been made locally to remember those affected. All Patch sites will go dark during the national moment of silence Friday morning. Locally, it will begin at 8:30 a.m. During the week, many towns, including Barrington, Lake Zurich and Grayslake, organized candlelight vigils in memory of the victims. Morton Grove is holding a Light the Night candlelight vigil tonight (Friday, Dec. 21) from 5 to 10 pm. Residents are encouraged to put lighted candles, preferably flameless, on the porch or in a window. Schools have discussed their safety plans with Patch in the last week. On Wednesday, Patch …
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A local psychotherapist comments on a plea from a mom who says her son exhibits violent behavior, and she fears he might be the next Adam Lanza--who police have identified as the gunman in the Newtown slayings of 27 people.
While Adam Lanza may have been a troubled, mentally ill youth, there are such people everywhere, including Niles, Park Ridge, Skokie and Chicago's north suburbs, said Seth Knobel, director of Niles Family Services. He has worked with families here who have kids going through erratic, bizarre behavior and mental illness--similar to what Adam Lanza, who police say killed 27 in the Newtown, Conn. shooting-- may have experienced. "It doesn't necessarily mean they'll grow up to be mass murderers," he said. However, it IS important for parents to take children with extremely disruptive behavioral issues to see a mental health professional, Knobel emphasized. That's especially critical for parents like the writer of the essay "I Am Adam Lanza'…
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12:49 pm on Friday, December 21, 2012
Agree totally, Casey. Some of these posts are crazier than the purported madman! Lobotomies, turning schools into fortresses, high powered firearms in the schools... certainly nothing could ever go wrong with any of those scenarios! Think of what you are saying, people!! "Violent loonies, before they go postal..." just who decides someone is violent, before they commit a crime? Frightening! … more ›
Westboro Baptist Church came to Skokie in September 2010 to protest on the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah. Now, the group says they will protest outside of Sandy Hook Elementary, claiming, "God Sent the Shooter."
In September of 2010, Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) came to Skokie so they could protest outside the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center on Rosh Hashanah. WBC members, known for demonstrating at military funerals and burning American flags, made their rounds in Skokie, Evanston and the Israeli Consulate in September 2010. Their message that day: "Obey God or Destruction." Fast forward to today, and the WBC is once again trying to practice their 1st Amendment rights. A day after Friday's shooting in Newtown, CT, where police said 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother and then 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary, Westboro Baptist member Shirley Phelps-Roper posted a message on Twitter that the group would "sing …
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11:28 pm on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Obviously enough people across America see Margie Phelps and her demented fellow WBC members as hate-mongers: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/legally-recognize-westboro-baptist-church-hate-group/DYf3pH2d. Hiding behind the First Amendment is despicable when spewing so much hatred; they should be drummed out of every town they protest in. more ›
Marsha Lanza of Crystal Lake told media outlets Friday her family was in shock and "shaken to the core" over the news. Her nephew, Adam Lanza, is the suspected shooter in a mass murder at a Conn. Elementary School.
As the country reels over the tragic shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut, one local family is especially trying to make sense of what happened Friday. Marsha Lanza, the aunt of the gunman Adam Lanza, lives in Crystal Lake and told the Associated Press Friday she was close with her sister-in-law and Adam's mother, Nancy Lanza. She described Nancy Lanza as "a good mother and kind-hearted" and said she sent her a Facebook message Friday morning but never heard back. Nancy Lanza is believed to be the first victim in Friday's shooting. After shooting Nancy Lanza in her home, Adam Lanza is believed to have driven his mother's car to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. and opening fire on the school, according to the New …
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PAuul
11:25 am on Monday, January 14, 2013
An armed Police officer is the best Idea. We have armed guards at banks, the courts , City and Government officials have armed security people ! Certainly our Children should have the same protection! If not then its time to lead by example and remove the guns a from our leaders and the Police to demonstrate its safe for everyone to be without protection. One more note if we do indeed place an … more ›