As a parent, have you ever thought about this scenario?  In the middle of the day, a traumatic event occurs in Palos Verdes, and your child is in school.   Your first thought is to rush to the school to rescue your child. 

 

If this is how you would react, you may be doing your child, our emergency personnel, and the community a great disservice for two reasons.  First, by driving to the school, you will be obstructing the road for emergency responders who are needed at the site.  And second, your child will most likely be safer at the school because of its emergency plans that have been developed to cover every contingency. 

 

Until recent years, the role of law enforcement at schools in emergency situations was mainly reactive.  But after probing the anatomy of numerous school disasters ranging from  earthquakes to Columbine-type incidents, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. (LASD) in 2001 initiated an impressive emergency plan that covers every school in its jurisdiction.

Our own Lomita Station CORE team, Sgt. David Rozas, Deputies John Despot, Brandon Epp, and Corey Johnston, have created a comprehensive safety plan encompassing all types of potential incidents for every one of the 50 schools on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.  These plans are laid out so that any LASD personnel on duty during any shift, at any time of the day or week, can swiftly assemble a specific tactical response to any disturbance or emergency which may occur at a school. 

 

Each school’s safety plan contains several pages of in-depth critical information to ensure that a rapid response can effectively be made.  Deputies have essentially blueprinted the lay of the land of each campus.  Every inch has been probed and noted - from the number of students and their ages to how to contact critical personnel.  The site of each school has been described - its size and terrain, number and size of buildings, adjacent business or residential areas, parking areas, vehicle entrances and exits, helicopter landing sites - even the direction of the prevailing wind.  Emergency gas, electrical, and water shutoff valves, fire alarm control panels and communications systems are located and diagramed.  Any onsite hazards such as paint and cleaning supply closets are noted. 

 

The Deputies have also done their homework on all other aspects of an emergency or disaster.   They have selected the best locations for medical triage, decontamination and evacuation areas as well as the nearest trauma hospitals and medical resources.  They have studied what effect the emergency could have on the surrounding area and how and where they would close off or detour traffic if necessary.   How and where transportation of students and other school personnel during an evacuation has been noted.   They work with the schools to assure that they hold emergency drills and have adequate food and water supplies during an emergency.  These plans are updated annually to reflect any structural or other changes.

 

The Sheriff’s Dept. urges that all parents familiarize themselves with their childrens’ school safety plans and respect the protocols of each school.  In the case of an emergency such as an earthquake, recognize that a school campus is one of the safest places a child can be.  Don’t call the school and contribute to over-loading of phone lines.  Don’t drive to the school and contribute to traffic congestion which inhibits passage for first responder vehicles.  Listen to the radio and TV for information regarding the incident.  Know beforehand what your child’s student release policy is.  Driving to the school and snatching up your child will cause severe problems during subsequent mandatory roll calls especially during critical time constraints.  As in any emergency, not adhering to the rules will cause parents to be part of the problem instead of the solution.