We Are Prepared

Ashley Hunter, ECB Publishing, Inc.

As the world changes and security needs evolve, the realization that schools are not always the safest places is dawning all over the United States.
In February, that knowledge hit close to home when students and staff at a Florida school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, FL., were the victims of an active shooter on Valentine’s Day.
For the better or worse, law makers fumble over what laws to tighten, or whether to loosen them, and while some may sit still and wait, Jefferson County law enforcement decided against inaction.
In the name of proactivity, and to ensure that their officers and deputies had an airtight plan with perfected training and routine, the Jefferson and routine, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Monticello Police Department and Florida Highway Patrol sent th eir law officers out to Jefferson Somerset Academy and Aucilla Christian Academy to use the schools' spring break emptiness for training exercises.
The Madison County Sheriff's Office's Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) came to Jefferson County to oversee training.
Starting at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, March 14, officers and deputies were instructed and drilled on how to engage in a proper search and clearing of a school under lockdown in the scenario of an active shooter. Staying throughout the majority of day, training in and out of different classrooms, committing the actions into habit, Jefferson County's law enforcement proved their dedication to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the students, teachers and staff of the local schools, as well as the officers who respond to calls.