Emergency Management (Essay Sample)

Emergency Management
Name
Institution
Abstract
It is quite astonishing to find out the alarming increase in the number of school shootings. In 2012-2013 school year there were 24 recorded school shootings that were recorded, his includes the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre that saw 27 children and adults losing their lives due to one, Adam Lanza. This is a rise from the eight that were recorded in the 2011-2012 school year, and from the 12 that occurred in the 2010-11 academic year ADDIN CSL_CITATION { "citationItems" : [ { "id" : "ITEM-1", "itemData" : { "DOI" : "10.1177/1750635212440914", "ISBN" : "1750635217506360", "ISSN" : "1750-6352", "abstract" : "Journalists\u2019 psychological distress after working with the Jokela school shooting incident was examined with a mixed methods research design using a sample of 196 journalists (27 on the scene, 169 working indirectly with the crisis). Quantitative results were compared to those of a control group of 297 journalists. Results from the quantitative data showed that in all journalists investigated, a minority indicated a level of PTSD, depression, secondary traumatic stress and burnout sufficient for being labeled as belonging to an \u2018at risk\u2019 subgroup. However, no significant group differences were found. In regard to journalists working with the shooting, previous personal traumatic exposure significantly predicted more distress due to the assignment, while work-related exposure did not. An analysis of qualitative data showed that the incident provoked work-related ethical difficulties, as well as a range of personal post-trauma reactions in journalists. The criticism of journalists after the incident provoked additional personal stress in a group of journalists.", "author" : [ { "dropping-particle" : "", "family" : "Backholm", "given" : "K.", "non-dropping-particle" : "", "parse-names" : false, "suffix" : "" }, { "dropping-particle" : "", "family" : "Bjorkqvist", "given" : "K.", "non-dropping-particle" : "", "parse-names" : false, "suffix" : "" } ], "container-title" : "Media, War & Conflict", "id" : "ITEM-1", "issue" : "2", "issued" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "2012" ] ] }, "page" : "175-190", "title" : "Journalists' emotional reactions after working with the Jokela school shooting incident", "type" : "article-journal", "volume" : "5" }, "uris" : [ "/documents/?uuid=ffe8e610-d9f9-4367-a4b3-6de64c882cb4", "/documents/?uuid=2c0ee45b-108e-4b64-bca1-030193665ad8" ] } ], "mendeley" : { "formattedCitation" : "(Backholm & Bjorkqvist, 2012)", "plainTextFormattedCitation" : "(Backholm & Bjorkqvist, 2012)", "previouslyFormattedCitation" : "(Backholm & Bjorkqvist, 2012)" }, "properties" : { "noteIndex" : 0 }, "schema" : "https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json" }(Backholm & Bjorkqvist, 2012). The main purpose of this paper is to come up with a plan that will prepare the schools for such an emergency. It goes further to integrate the four steps of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. It goes further to explore the impact of crime on the society.
Keywords: crime, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery, school shooting, federal protocol
Introduction
In each school day of the calendar, the schools are entrusted with the duty to provide a healthy and safe learning environment for about 60 million elementary, secondary, and college students in both public and private schools. It is the society’s expectation that schools should keep their children and youth safe from imminent or emergency threats (human-based emergencies such as violence and crime) and hazards (disease outbreaks, accidents, and natural disasters). In collaboration with federal protocols such as National Incident and Management System, NIMS and Incident Command System, ICS and the community partner’s schools can take the necessary steps to plan for the emergencies through designing school Emergency Operations Plan ADDIN CSL_CITATION { "citationItems" : [ { "id" : "ITEM-1", "itemData" : { "DOI" : "36/4/544 [pii]", "ISBN" : "1093-6793 (Print)\\r1093-6793 (Linking)", "ISSN" : "1093-6793", "PMID" : "19092074", "abstract" : "Suicide with hostile intent encompasses a wide range of behaviors, from self-killing by methods that can harm others, to the suicide that generally follows a spree-killing raid. Reports on school shooting, a highly dangerous and lethal behavior that is spreading from North America to European countries, are analyzed within the paradigm of suicide with hostile intent, with the purpose of discovering some elements that might prevent and limit the dissemination of this behavior by imitation. In school shooting, the perpetrators often register a message before their killing raid, as in an ancient form of suicidal assault, the devotio, that was widespread across ancient Mediterranean Roman, Greek, and Hebrew cultures. The development of a code of rules to report on these episodes, likely to attract the interest of the population for their bloody implications, could prevent the dissemination of cultural norms that encourage this behavior", "author" : [ { "dropping-particle" : "", "family" : "Preti", "given" : "Antonio", "non-dropping-particle" : "", "parse-names" : false, "suffix" : "" } ], "container-title" : "The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law", "id" : "ITEM-1", "issued" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "2008" ] ] }, "page" : "544-550", "title" : "School Shooting as a Culturally Enforced Way of Expressing Suicidal Hostile Intentions", "type" : "article-journal", "volume" : "36" }, "uris" : [ "/documents/?uuid=49e39890-90a1-4205-a2fb-e655823702dc", "/documents/?uuid=ada9ff01-b71c-4708-9329-de301aa403b4" ] } ], "mendeley" : { "formattedCitation" : "(Preti, 2008)", "plainTextFormattedCitation" : "(Preti, 2008)", "previouslyFormattedCitation" : "(Preti, 2008)" }, "properties" : { "noteIndex" : 0 }, "schema" : "https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json" }(Preti, 2008).
It is worth noting that one of those emergencies to be prevented are school shooting as they have been on the rise in the recent past. An example is the shooting that occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School found in Connecticut. This shocked the entire nations and resulted in changes in the entire school security system, right from public safety initiates and the law enforcement team. Before it happens again, there is need to come up with steps that will prevent its occurrence or even prevent much harm as a result of the preparedness of the entire school.
Discussion
We cannot brush out the fact that we live in a crime-infested society. There are many criminal activities going on a daily basis including shootouts, damage of property, theft, even witnessing or having someone close get hurt or killed. Some of the immediate impacts of crime include death, physical and psychological trauma and even emotional breakdowns. Dealing with these impacts is even more confusing and exhausting. Crime not only affects one person but the whole society since the victim may be someone’s, mother, brother, sister, auntie or even further. With that being said, there is need to come up with plans that will ensure our safety against these criminal acts.
The risk of an active shooting situation in a school as reported by the mayor from the parents should instigate the development of a necessary measure. It is clear that there is no identifiable policy that can decrease the risk of the school shooting to zero. Preventing it is the responsibility of the parents, the community, the schools themselves and even the media. When it comes to mitigation the following should be done by the school; 1) Taking a keen look at the school's climate and perception of the students on emotional safety 2) Sharing of behavioral and disciplinary records across grade levels 3) Need for a school resource officer who will build a trusted and friendly face for weapon searches and intercepting of weapons 4) Students should be thought and encouraged to report threats 5) There should be zero tolerance policies for weapons especially firearms 6) Assure the parents and students that any hint of real violence will be taken seriously and promptly acted upon, 7) Providing more opportunities for student not indulging in sports, particularly those in middle and high school levels ADDIN CSL_CITATION { "citationItems" : [ { "id" : "ITEM-1", "itemData" : { "DOI" : "10.1016/j.soscij.2008.12.014", "ISBN" : "0362-3319", "ISSN" : "03623319", "abstract" : "This essay explores the media frame-changing process in the news coverage of the 1999 Columbine shootings, clarifying the news discourse focus on Columbine's national importance. The study applies the van Dijk/Bell scheme of media analysis to 683 news articles from print and broadcast media published within 30 days following the incident. Insight is offered into the thematic content of the Columbine coverage, including the school shooting event itself, reactions, and commentaries. Analysis indicates that the initial focus of the coverage was what happened at Columbine, but over time the news increasingly highlighted Columbine's national salience.", "author" : [ { "dropping-particle" : "", "family" : "Muschert", "given" : "Glenn W.", "non-dropping-particle" : "", "parse-names" : false, "suffix" : "" } ], "container-title" : "The Social Science Journal", "id" : "ITEM-1", "issue" : "1", "issued" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "2009" ] ] }, "page" : "164-170", "title" : "Frame-changing in the media coverage of a school shooting: The rise of Columbine as a national concern", "type" : "article-journal", "volume" : "46" }, "uris" : [ "/documents/?uuid=51f45813-570d-46f3-925b-7dad65f68874", "/documents/?uuid=23866b25-c3ce-44a6-8321-c8ad31df8f33" ] } ], "mendeley" : { "formattedCitation" : "(Muschert, 2009)", "plainTextFormattedCita...