COURT HOUSE – Following the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, there was an immediate increase in police presence at schools across New Jersey. Acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin directed the uptick in police presence, which was echoed by the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, saying that the heightened presence was “not to alarm anyone, but to provide a sense of security.”
Over a week after the Texas shooting, local police departments are evaluating the information out of Texas and reacting to it in terms of local circumstance.
In Middle Township, with four local district schools and a county school campus housing the Special Services and Technical school districts, Chief Christopher Leusner said he has recommended that each of the municipal schools have an armed presence going forward.
“I’m OK with that person being an active-duty police officer or a retired police officer hired by the school district,” Leusner said.
He added that school officials are currently evaluating that recommendation.
In some of the beachfront communities with smaller year-round police departments, the response of a permanent presence at a local school is less feasible. Avalon Police Chief Jeffrey Christopher said his officers have been directed to patrol the borough elementary school more frequently.
Christopher said school districts must rely, as well, on “hardening” of schools, preventing entry by outsiders.
With the controversy over the police response in Texas, a natural concern is police active shooter response at a school or other venue. Both Leusner and Christopher emphasized that county police departments are trained to move directly to the threat, entering the school or any other similar structure to confront a shooter.
The Cape May County Police Academy has a course on active shooter response as part of its basic curriculum for police officer training. The course includes both classroom and tactical hands-on instruction “on proper approaches and containment procedures to ensure safety of all the persons involved in an active shooter call,” per Cape May County‘s website.
Leusner noted that his department trains annually on active shooter response.
He said that immediately following the Texas shooting, he and his command staff reviewed relevant department policies and procedures with all department supervisors.
“We wanted to make sure everyone understood the expectations” in any active shooter situation, Leusner added.
Christopher said active shooter response at a school has been part of department training “since Columbine,” referencing the April 20, 1999, shooting at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado.
School shootings remain rare when considering the large number of schools that convene daily, but the incidents are increasing, placing more responsibility on police response.
One analysis of all reported school incidents in which a shooting occurred while classes were in session showed 42 nationally in 2021, more than any previous year dating back to the Columbine shooting in 1999.
Whether talking about a single student who took his own life in a shooting that locked down Lowellville, Ohio, schools in May 2021, or the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 that took 26 young lives, the threat is one local police must be constantly prepared to handle. The national experience in large cities and small towns shows no geographic area is free from the potential threat.
In the wake of the Texas incident, the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office assured the public that “law enforcement and all first responders are always in the ready to respond to any tragedy.”
The Stone Harbor Police Department stated what all departments across the county would echo: “The safety of our children is our highest priority.”
Hardening schools, increasing police officer presence, continuous training and evaluation of tactics and policies, and assuring that all law enforcement personnel understand the expectations in the event of a tragic threat are all part of the preparation of police across the county.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.
