PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -
The Sandy Hook tragedy has schools across the nation tightening security measures and reviewing policies.
But every year around this time SUNY Plattsburgh re-trains its officers and prepares for the "what-ifs."
From severe weather, to an epidemic of a contagious disease, or an active shooter, SUNY Plattsburgh says it's prepared.
With school safety fresh on the minds of all, it's simply standard for the SUNY Plattsburgh police force. For 20 years the school has had an emergency response plan in place, and every year, officers are re-trained.
"You need to either get out, get away from the active shooter situation, secure yourself, by either locking doors or getting some barrier between you and the aggressor," University Assistant Police Chief Jerry Lottie said.
They use plastic training guns that have a laser, so it gives officers a good idea of how far away they can be from a room and still hit their target.
If an active shooter was on school grounds, there's no automatic lockdown system, but every student and faculty member is automatically put on a list to receive a text, email or phone call in the event of an emergency.
"You can move furniture in front of the doors, blocking the doors, wrapping belts around the door handles," Asst. Chief Lottie said.
I asked, "is it challenging on a college campus because they're adults and they come and go and it's much larger?" The Director of Public Relations and Publications for SUNY Plattsburgh, Michelle Ouellette said, "yes you said that well."
So while there are challenges at any school, part of SUNY's preparedness plan includes prevention. Identify a potential school shooter before it gets to that point.
"We have people on campus who are actively seeking out students who need whatever resources, it might be psychological, it might be academic, it might be social and trying to meet those needs really early on," Ouellette said.
I also checked in with a few Vermont schools. Security remains a top priority and there's limited access to each building. For South Burlington specifically, they have one school resource officer on campus, and are training in two more that will split their time between each school in that district.
