The First National Student Safety and Security Conference will be held November 29-30, 2007 in Las Vegas, and will feature real-world simulations of community response to school shootings and related tragedies.

It is the first national event to invite leaders representing every sector of society to model a community process to help stamp out all forms of school violence, including shootings, bullying, dating violence, vandalism, gang activity, and catastrophic events such as school massacres.

In addition, special workshops will examine latest community resources to fight teenage suicide, alcohol and drug abuse, and aggressive driving among high school and college students.

Compelling case studies will be presented over the 2 days of the conference, offering new important findings on headline-grabbing incidents of school violence, their cost to society, and how they have impacted local prevention, preparedness, response and recovery processes.

The tabletop exercises, skillfully moderated by risk communicators, will encourage extended audience participation and explore effective methods of communication, coordination and collaboration at the local level.

Role-playing topics include:

Response: activating the emergency response infrastructure, warning signals, student complaints, first response, protecting targets and hostages, types of violence, survival techniques, news by cell phone, regaining control, chain of command, emergency response routes, evacuation procedures, school closings, notifying parents, anticipating escalation, law enforcement information sharing, medical procedures, dealing with the media, reaction on the Internet.

Recovery: overcoming fear of returning to class, debriefings, victim needs, survivor needs, families of offenders, call-in lines, grief counseling, health services and resources, statements to students and parents, academic support, investigation procedures, removing names, funerals and anniversaries, signals for closure, how to orient new students and their families.

Prevention: School Crime Watch, drug-free zones, gun-free zones, Zero-tolerance messages, gang apparel and student dress codes, mentoring, parent cooperation, law enforcement resources and presentations, information kits and advisories, engaging the business sector, restrictions in hallways, locker areas, bathrooms, parking lots, cafeteria and other high-risk areas.

Preparedness: what you can do right now, assessing threat and potential victims, designating crisis planning and crisis management teams, exercising the student safety plan, reviewing civil and criminal options, patrols and security systems, video monitoring, crime maps, creating a school safety who's who, photo ID database, including private sector resources, dealing with outside threats, media relations, legislative actions, town hall meetings, releasing information, crisis kits, preparing the lines of communication, sharing best practices, taking preemptive action.

Topics to be covered in this timely 2-day event include:
School Safety: A National Perspective
Overview of Campus Violence: Stats, Reports & Studies
Assessing the Threats: Security & Safety Risk Assessment In Campuses

• Reviewing Campus Security Infrastructure
• Preventing Violence By Making Your University A Place of Safety & Nurturing
• Preventing Violence By Bringing Help to Troubled Students
• Creating Solid Yet Flexible Emergency Response Plans
• Emergency Management Team
• Testing Your Emergency Response Plans
• Responding To An Actual Violent Crisis
• Crisis Communication
• Calling In Emergency Management Experts
• Lockdowns
• Legal Issues
• Case Studies: Learning From the Tough Times to Draw Up Solid Plans
• Recovering From A Crisis
• Dealing With The Constraints

Invitation:

In response to the nationwide alarm over youth violence in our schools, the National Student Safety and Security Conference invites high school and university administrators, campus security officers, mental health professionals, emergency management experts, first responders and law enforcers, as well other experts to meet November 29-30, 2007, in Las Vegas. Our purpose is to create an ad hoc multi-sector crisis management consortium during the event, to be studied as a model by communities around the country.

Speakers will help attendees develop effective action plans that are unique to their own communities and engage the widest range of local stakeholders to make our high schools and college campuses safe and secure -- the way learning environments really should be.

The First National Student Safety and Security Conference is organized by New Fields Exhibitions, Washington, DC, international specialists in emergency planning events and disaster recovery conferences. For registration information, contact 202-536-5000.