Norwich Police Chief Jennifer Frank is hosting in April a school safety program and some residents are concerned. Why? The National Rifle Association (NRA) sponsors the four-day program. Though I’m no fan of the NRA’s lobbying efforts, I do trust that Chief Frank would only host worthwhile programs that are not political.
Three residents raise the issue in an email that is part of Selectboard correspondence. See the packet for the February 12 Selectboard meeting, beginning at page 7. The email does not object to the substance of the program per se. Rather, being Vermont-nice, it first line asks: “How are decisions made for use of the meeting room in our Public Safety Building?”
While we all share total commitment to the safety of our schools and children, we asked Chief Frank if she had discussed her choice of trainers with town leadership. We are concerned that the NRA – well known as a major lobbyist on behalf of the US gun industry – will be controversial in Norwich. She declined to reply about whether she shared her plans.
We learned that the Select Board and the School Board members did not know of this training. We learned that principal Sean Gonyaw was aware of it, but we wonder whether permission has been granted for the participants to enter our schools, particularly during school hours.
If there were a series of steps in getting permission to use the room, we believe someone would have cautioned Chief Frank and perhaps re-directed her to better programming on this topic.
email dated February 05, 2020.
It strikes me that the issue is not about “getting permission to use the room”. I don’t think the Selectboard wants to add room scheduling to its agenda.
It is troubling that the Police Chief “declined to reply.” Also troubling is that the Marion Cross School principal didn’t know MCS was going to be used for the program.
However, the main objection seems to be that the NRA is involved. The content is not specifically criticized, although the email lists some examples of what it says is “better programming.”
The Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council website [scroll to NRA School Shield Security Assessor Training] contains a course description of the Norwich program. It says, in part:
The training will be conducted by certified NRA instructors who are current/former Law Enforcement Officers. The training is conducted in both a classroom and in the field at a local school campus and will focus on learning to detect threat potential and security weaknesses both day and night on and around a school campus.
…
Training topics include: • THE ROLE OF THE ASSESSOR • TYPES OF ASSESSMENTS • DEFINING POTENTIAL THREATS • THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS • CONDUCTING THE ASSESSMENT • PHYSICAL SECURITY COMPONENTS • SECURITY PERSONNEL AND SROS • EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROTOCOLS • INCIDENT MANAGEMENT • EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES • PRE/POST SCHOOL ASSESSMENT DIALOGUE/REVIEW
Everyone has to be concerned about school safety these days. Under “Training Topics Include” it lists things that everyone should agree are important things to be aware of. It seems that the real issue is that the NRA is providing the training. The NRA has it’s roots in teaching gun safety going way back to the mid-1900’s. While they are now know for their lobbying efforts they do offer gun safety training courses in many areas. Chief Frank should be commended for bringing more safety training to Norwich regardless of who teaches it.
“The training will be conducted by certified NRA instructors who are current/former Law Enforcement Officers”. Who else could be better instructors?
The NRA offering “free” school security events is part the extremist right wing Master Plan to infiltrate and mute liberalism. The NRA was the lead organization in the political and immoral vulgarity that attacked and ridiculed the parents of Sandy Hook Elementary School victims – as well parents and victims caught up in shooting events around our country! The NRA offering security training to American public schools would be similar to Vladimir Putin offer national security advice to the United States. The goal of both is authoritarianism! If you don’t believe this, just pay attention to Republican political actions now taking place in Washington DC!