The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) will work with the state Department of Education and Virginia State Police to develop a crisis management program focusing on school safety.
The project will be funded by $631,262 in competitive federal funding awarded to the DCJS by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) School Violence Prevention Program.
The crisis management enhancement project will aim to increase communication and coordination and improve information sharing between law enforcement and school officials in order increase school safety and sustainability planning efforts.
“Preparation is the key to ensuring the safety and security of Virginia’s schools,” said Virginia Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Robert Mosier. “The importance of investing in resources and developing partnerships and communication between law enforcement officers and school personnel cannot be understated.”
Planned initiatives for the project include:
- Development and implementation of a uniformed, statewide crisis management plan training curriculum
- Development of a Virginia-specific mobile crisis planning application
- Automation of the Virginia School Safety Inspection Checklist
- Development of age-appropriate and role-specific training videos on evidence-based response techniques to crisis events.
