Law enforcement and education officials gathered at Liberty Station on April 27 to discuss how schools can best prevent and address threats in San Diego County in the wake of 17 shooting deaths in Parkland, Fla. in February.
District Attorney Summer Stephan and the San Diego County Office of Education met with 200 leaders gathered to talk about ways to address threats, including violent ones such as threats of school shooting, and offer input into how officials can further improve the regional response in such cases.
“The physical, emotional and mental well-being of students and staff in San Diego County schools are of paramount importance,” Stephan said. “As tragedies continue to unfold across our nation, in which students of all ages, teachers and administrators lose their lives to acts of targeted violence on school grounds, we want to renew our commitment to making schools a safe place for students to learn and grow.”
Since the start of 2018, law enforcement officials have forwarded 40 incidents of school threats to Stephan’s office for review. Their action has resulted in 21 juvenile prosecutions, according to her office. Other threats were resolved at the school level.
A team established by the district attorney’s office planned to present an updated school safety protocol that will be used countywide. Other presentations were to include one by clinical and forensic psychologist Manny Tau. County student services leader Bob Mueller was to offer practical tools that schools can implement immediately.
Police, city and district officials were also to discuss a practice said to rely heavily on community involvement – threat assessment, which measures the likelihood of something occurring on school grounds.