When Chicago Public Schools open next month, some of the schools identified as troubled spots will see improved emergency procedures and more surveillance cameras and security personnel, school officials said Monday.
The new measures come after 26 students were killed during the last school year — mostly by gunfire — and 10 more were killed during a summer of violence, according to Chicago Public Schools.
Getting rid of firearms from schools is a top priority said Andres Durbak, director of the city schools’ Office of Safety and Security.
“At schools we can deal with fights,” Durbak said. “But we cannot have fights including weapons.”
Neighborhood violence, particularly gang violence, also impacts school security, said Durbak, who oversees a budget of more than $50 million for the security of 409,000 students at 600 schools.
“Severe gang violence in the area affects our schools,” he said. “When something happens in the evening, it comes and visits us in the morning.”
Durbak stressed, however, that fights and killings near schools or close to dismissal times are rare. He also said that crime in schools is declining.
He has identified 10 areas and schools that are targeted for additional help. While overall funding for safety at schools was not increased, more resources will be channeled to schools in areas with a high crime rate, including Harper High School, Douglass Academy High School and Crane Technical Preparatory Common School, a block from where 18-year-old Ruben Ivy was shot dead in March (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text).
Although Durbak declined to give details about the new measures, he did say there would be more security personnel and surveillance cameras.
The school system employs 1,740 full-time security personnel. In addition, 153 Chicago police officers are deployed at 75 schools.
The system now has surveillance cameras in 210 schools after spending $2 million on cameras last fiscal year. An additional $1 million will be spent on cameras this year.
“Cameras deter because they eliminate the element of anonymity,” Durbak said. “Beat downs and false fire alarms immediately dropped once cameras were installed.”
Durbak said emergency procedures were simplified by emphasizing plain language. So, “If a teacher comes from Indiana, he will know everything he has to know in Chicago,” Durbak said.
In addition, safety measures will be the same for all incidents large or small, from fires to shootings, he said. Teachers were trained on the new procedures over the summer.
Durbak said parents should get involved. He encouraged them to take turns walking their children to school. He also said local businesses should serve as safe havens for students on the way to school.
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pmuller@tribune.com
