From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
TRUSSVILLE — Trussville City Schools Superintendent Patricia Neill, along with city and law enforcement officials, have released a message on school safety in response to recent tragedies that have taken place on campuses. The message includes tips on what to do to prevent potential violence in the future.
“While we are one of the safest cities with one of the best school districts in the state, it is important to our community that we are vigilant in maintaining a secure environment,” the message said. “This takes everyone working together every day, and we want you to know we are constantly updating and revising school safety measures.”
With assistance from the Trussville Police Department, the superintendent’s message included a list of steps that the schools are taking on campuses:
- SRO’s in all schools
- Random visits from Police K-9 unit
- Intruder Drills
- Switch Drills
- Active Shooter Training
- Code of Conduct procedures
- Bullying prevention strategies and Character Education
- Threat assessment protocol
- Double entry lock system at each front door
- No students or classes in portable buildings
- Increased Police Patrols on the Perimeter
- Security Camera systems
Neil and Trussville Police Chief Jeff Bridges request that parents report on those with mental health concerns and, if they’re gun owners, to be responsible. They also requested that parents review the use of threats in the Student Code of Conduct, as well as to monitor TV programs, digital devices and home computers.
In the message, Neil and Bridges elaborated on the above-mentioned requests:
- If you know someone in the community that may have a mental health issue, please report this to proper authorities. Student issues may be reported to their school counselor. Adequate mental health services are believed to be lacking in our society because warning signs have been discovered after a tragic event occurred. For more information: https://www.nami.org/Find-Support/NAMI-HelpLine
- If you are a gun owner, please lock/secure your gun in a safe place, not accessible to anyone other than an authorized user. Gun locks are available at Trussville PD, free of charge.
- Please remind your students not to use threatening words such as “gun, shoot, bomb, kill, etc. TCS and TPD take all threats seriously and follow the Student Code of Conduct and criminal code for these discipline reports. Threats will be enforced as a Class III or Class IV discipline infraction with law enforcement following the Code of Alabama.
- Please monitor your student’s cellphones and devices and ask questions about their online identity, their online activity, and monitor their messages for inappropriate content. Also, please be mindful of TV program choices with violent subject matter. TV choices should be age appropriate for your child.