School buses seen as potential terrorist targets

From the BCCT.

Finally...something Morrisville doesn't have that's a good thing.

School buses seen as potential terrorist targets
By AMANDA CREGAN
Bucks County Courier Times

Terrorism experts say homeland security begins at the school bus stop.

It's a school security gap that most parents, police and school officials don't always see, but terrorists do.

School buses can be vulnerable to a potential attacker, but are often overlooked in a school district's security plan.

That's why 75 police officers, detectives, emergency workers and school administrators from across Montgomery, Bucks and the rest of the Philadelphia region spent Monday learning how to shore up the gap in a course on "School Bus Safety in a Post 9/11 Era" held at the North Montco Technical Career Center in Towamencin and hosted by the Southeast Region Terrorism Taskforce.

Bus safety is an issue that presenter Curtis Lavarello says needs be to taken seriously.

"Based on the assumption by the FBI, there will be further terrorist attacks and school buses are soft targets," said the 23-year law enforcement veteran from Florida. "It's been found that children could be the next target for terrorists."

Because school districts are so fragmented in Pennsylvania, districts each decide if they will contract out for transportation or operate their own bus system, which makes it harder to streamline bus security across the state, he said.

Police and school administrators need to better monitor their school bus yards and need to know if the buses are in a secure compound, who has access to the buses, are they monitored by guards and are the lots properly lit.

Recently, a police officer happened to drive by a dark, unsecured school bus lot in Florida and spotted someone cutting the buses' brake lines, said Lavarello.

"It's a very real threat to our children across the country in terms of homeland security," he said.

But the first line of defense in school security can start with parents at the bus stop and the school bus drivers.

Parents need to be observant of individuals they've never seen before or strange vehicles in close proximity to their child's bus stop.

A potential attacker would also notice if parents habitually chat at length with bus drivers, prolonging the bus' stop and opening the site up to attack.

Bus drivers also need to be more aware of the emotional state of students on the bus, if they are crying or seem upset or depressed. Reporting disturbed students to school officials could be a way to stop them if they plan to carry out a violent school act.

"You have to realize that what happens in school, happens on the school bus. Everyone is focusing on the protection of schools, but the bus safety is really lacking," said Sean Burke, president of School Safety Advocacy Council. "I think we're sadly misinformed to think that people who plan to do our children harm don't know this."