Concerns with security are nothing new for educationalinstitutions, say security experts, but the tragedy in Newtown,Conn., underscores both how important and difficult it is to keeppeople safe from a madman.

“It can happen anytime and anyplace, and it is an issue ofnational concern,” says Kevin Wilkes, vice president and securitypractice leader for Willis Security Risk consulting for WillisNorth America.

He says educators have done a good job of working to protectstudents, exercising “due diligence and good securitypractices.”

At the Sandy Hook Elementary School, where an armed man shot hisway into the building and took the lives of 20 children and sixschool administrators, security measures were in place. Doors werelocked and no one was allowed in unless they were recognized andbuzzed in, news reports say.

Without commenting on the Sandy Hook incident itself, Wilkessays there is security best practices that educational institutionsneed to implement no matter what their size. More importantly, hesays, some of these practices should be expanded to other venuessuch as malls, movie theaters and places of worship “that arethought to be places of safety and comfort, not places of death andcarnage.”

“When it comes to acts of violence, they really don'tdiscriminate,” says Wilkes, a former detective with the Pittsburghpolice who worked with the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service. “Loss oflife is just tragic and should not be tolerated.”

Wilkes says there are signs of trouble that should be noted,adding that people who commit these crimes “don't snap.” He saysthey suffer a slow burn. What people need to begin to do is“recognize the red flags and intervene to deescalate” theiranger.

“Nothing ever occurs in a vacuum,” he notes.

Wilkes says that one way to combat violence in a business orinstitution is to put a workplace-violence program in place. Thisprogram will train managers, supervisors and employees on how torespond to acts of violence. The program will include not justresponse but also how to assess a threat.

In developing a plan, Jim Smith, director, and Mark Waring,assistant director, of risk control services for Arthur J.Gallagher in Florida say many educational institutions have plansin place. What makes them effective is how quickly they can beimplemented.

“The simpler the plan is, the better,” says Smith.

The question then is how often do they walk through the plan,and is it engrained in their culture?

The tragedy at Sandy Hook School has heightened the concernabout security for clients, says Smith, and these institutions arenow assessing if more needs to be done.

One major focus, says Waring, is standardizing security while atthe same time being mindful of a school's budgetary restraints.This is of particular concern for private education institutionswith limited resources.

Among some of the security standards Waring says need to beimplemented are a single entry point into the school for visitors,proper credentialing of individuals in the school, communicationand response training to a crisis.

“You need a well written plan, but keeping it simple is a loteasier than a hefty binder,” observes Smith. “People need to makedecisions quickly in a crisis, and that's why it is important notto make the plan complicated.”

Waring says AJG and its clients have taken the initiativeand reduced those two to three inch binders from years ago to a twoor three page, color coded action plan.

Another element to good security, say all three consultants, isworking with the local police department to assess threats andsharing the crisis plan with them.

Summing security concerns, Wilkes says, “It is unfortunate thatwe have to have this conversation, but unless those in therisk-management community, and those in leadership positions forour schools, businesses and organizations really begin toproactively take steps to minimize this risk, that is coming fartoo frequently in our places of business, worship and campuses oflearning, then we will continue to see these types of [violent]issues evolve.”