At the February 28 Parent Safety Forum, Hudson City School administrators, along with Hudson Police Chief Perry Tabak, discussed the top three safety concerns of parents: mental health support for students, emergency situation coordinated response and communication, and lockdown drill procedures.
Chief Tabak shared valuable information about how the Hudson Police Department (HPD) works to keep our schools safe. Tabak emphasized that HPD’s school resource officers, thorough and strategic police training, and the department’s local partnerships are critical components in protecting Hudson’s students.
HPD Officers Giacomazza and Price are School Resource Officers (SROs) on site at the Hudson Schools everyday throughout the school year. Unlike some agencies, HPD assigns the same officers each school year, allowing them to form strong relationships with school staff and students. Hudson’s SROs are highly trained and certified according to the Ohio School Resource Officer Association guidelines and serve many roles, such as law enforcement officer, informal counselor, and educator.
A top concern of parents is how HPD will respond in an emergency. While we hope never to experience an active shooter or mass casualty incident, all Hudson officers are trained in various scenarios and techniques to respond to these situations and to end the incident as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence in responding to these situations, and HPD employs non-traditional and highly effective response techniques, such as Single Officer Response, Critical Injury First Aid, and the use of Individual First Aid Kits. HPD also subscribes to Rescue Task Force, which rapidly provides stabilizing medical care in areas that are clear but not secure, rather than waiting until the threat is neutralized. This brings medical treatment to victims sooner than traditional deployment methods.
According to Chief Tabak, while statistically most threats are hoaxes, HPD takes each threat seriously and spends time and effort in a response before verifying the call or threat is a hoax.
HPD works proactively with the schools and the community and has established partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies to facilitate open communication, training opportunities, and access to valuable resources, all of which are essential in keeping Hudson and its students safe.
What can parents do to help during critical incidents? Chief Tabak urges parents to avoid showing up at the schools during active incidents. Doing so could hamper safety efforts by preventing safety forces from bringing in resources or taking officers away from their primary responsibilities. Our total focus must be on ending the threat and keeping your children safe, so please trust that Hudson’s safety forces are highly trained and are doing everything in their power to keep students and educators free from harm. Parents also are encouraged to rely on communications from Hudson City Schools and Hudson Police Department in these situations. The rumor mill runs rampant and much misinformation is posted by sources that are not involved in the situation. While we can’t always get information out as quickly as would be preferred, the information will be accurate.
Learn more by watching the Hudson City Schools Parent Safety Forum in its entirety below.
