The Shootings at Columbine High School Essay

Issue Statement: The response to the shootings in Columbine could have been handled better if there were a solid organize effort via law enforcement and emergency models in the region. The plan of action to avoid the episode from playing out even more was hastily put together and later cost more lives at risk. All conceivable lines of communication whether it is from law enforcement officials, emergency employees or even the mass media for that matter, had been contradicting the other person and erroneous in their details.

Information coming from witnesses, patients and Columbine school officials also turned out to be unreliable in this terrorist take action. Their accounts of what happened including details were generally useless in SWAT’s initiatives to secure and contain the terrorist act at hand. Overall, while using outcome of the Columbine shootings, there really should have been an even more joint and concise work on the part of law enforcement and medical units to reduce the situation at hand supported by comprehensive communication between your agencies. Information on the account by witnesses, victims, and law officials could have been compiled and investigated to confirm their precision to perform more efficient course of action.

History: In April, twenty, 1999, the deadliest taking pictures in United States history occurred in Jefferson Region, Colorado, in Columbine High school graduation. The the airwaves message by 11: twenty-three a. m. that Wednesday morning was your first established word alerting area law enforcement officials to the fact that a thing had gone very wrong at the large suburban school about eight a long way southwest of Denver(Stillman). Quickly there after a deputy got called for the help of all engaging units to halt what were a bloody siege by an undetermined number of gunmen.

From the start, the response has not been coordinated while several models whether it be law enforcement officials or emergency medical clubs converged in the area. In handling the problem, the specialists relied seriously on several reports in the witnesses in whose stories from the account had been conflicting. There is no established account showing how many gunmen were inside the school, the number of wounded/killed or how a large number of students were still inside the building. The Jefferson State Sheriff’s Office along with Special Guns and Methods teams would not respond efficiently to the condition as the shooting ongoing.

Evacuated pupils were checked for pains and possibly weaponry on them (if they were part of the plot) as it was later discovered that the gunmen had computerized weapons to them. Escaped college students huddling at the rear of patrol vehicles told deputies that an unfamiliar number of gunmen in the college were shooting people-maybe with Uzis or shotguns-and throwing hand grenades (Stillman). Since the SWAT teams started their entry in to the college there was no clear communication between the response teams because they were looking to subdue the gunmen. The school by design and style was a complex web of corridors and rooms of different sizes which usually had been refurbished to accommodate the rising pupil population and school members.

The SWAT team did not offer an updated map illustrating the modern additions to the college. What the SWAT groups would confront was a massive 250, 000-square foot building on two levels, containing 75 sessions, many smaller sized rooms and closets, and so on large gathering areas as the gymnasium, cafeteria, and auditorium. The school had been significantly updated and expanded in 1995, such as addition of the new cafe and library (Stillman).

They relied in drawings/sketches from students escaping from the school. This also damaged the unexpected emergency response personnel, who did not coordinate correctly with police to provide expulsion and maintain the injured and murdered. Both departments never proved helpful together cooperatively in matters such as this.

And so in the case of a terrorist plot, setting up a specific command was complex in the execution. Key William Pessemier, of the Littleton Fire Section recalls the ordeal. We worked very difficult to integrate that operation and but portion of the problem is that I had never attained Dave Walcher [Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department] before around me. We would not have a real strong relationship with many of the law enforcement companies in the local area. explains the baffled official (Stillman).

As unexpected emergency response tried to perform their very own services, we were holding met by simply gunfire by the two gunmen. From a consequence of this, the media sent out inaccurate reviews to the open public in looking to depict what was going at Columbine Senior high school. The outcome, was a dreadful one, with doze students and a educator either murdered or injured while some twenty-four others were injured in less than a 1 / 2 hour.

Community Administration/Solution: The shootings in Columbine High school graduation could have been taken care of properly in the event there was more of a joint hard work between the law enforcement officials and emergency medical companies in this kind of matters. The gunmen, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold could have been prevented from undertaking more damage if the organizations had already had some sort of emergency response system set in place for such an event. Presently there should have been more communications between the two and circumstance based alternatives on how to handle terrorist acts.

With that being said the agencies would have familiarized themselves with other agencies in the location and establish more of a sturdy line of marketing and sales communications. The outcome of the Columbine shootings may have been different. A guideline maintained scenarios illustrating different levels of terrorist serves could have been set in place to handle the Columbine shootings. A joint command could have been installed pertaining to such a tragedy through which both agencies can reply properly. In regards to providing basic safety to the schools, a constant secureness measure needs to have been applied to protect students and faculty associates.

This could include manifested in to providing even more security guards based on student population or installing a camera system pertaining to the huge campus. Most importantly, a great updated map needed to be available at all times as well to be used in resolving this kind of incident. Coming from what open public agencies can easily gain from studying the Columbine shootings is that interaction is vital in handling events as well as joint dialogue/cooperation between relevant groups involved is important. Reference: Stillman, R. M. (2010). General public administration: Ideas and cases: 2010 personalized edition. (9th ed. ). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Cengage Learning.

Susan Rosegrant The Shootings at Columbine High School: The Law Enforcement Response pp. 259-282

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