Attack prevention in schools and universities in the Czech Republic

The article discuses the issue of security management and subsequent application in the field of education. The article focuses on the issue of armed attacks at schools. On the basis of my own research probe among teachers, focusing on perception of security risks, I have selected areas requiring a response by Integrated Rescue System units. The text also gives foreign models for dealing with the issue. Measures for improving security at schools are given in the conclusion.

The phenomenon of attacks at schools in the Czech Republic is not an expounded topic, because no fatal attacks have occurred to date. The changes in the security situation worldwide, the issue of the Islamic State and the increasing risk of terrorist attacks, are all reasons to prepare security and crisis plans for schools and school facilities. The aforementioned issue will require assistance in cooperation between the departments of the interior, education and the integrated rescue system.

Insufficient execution of security and crisis plans for cases of attack is related to the ambiguous and broad concept of security management. Security management is defined as an area of knowledge concerning activities by managers for the purpose of achieving optimum security within the managed organisation. According to the aforementioned definition, security is a relative property of real systems, the organisation’s resistance to threats. Security management has a number of objectives, such as safety, security, emergency, protection, civil protection and crisis management. Security plans are documents on the topic of a selected risk phenomenon and its prevention. Crisis plans describe specific tasks to be executed in cases when the security plan fails and the described risk takes place.

This text also gives a brief description of how European Union countries, specifically the Kingdom of Spain, deal with the issue. Experience in dealing with security situations in schools in Latin American countries is also mentioned.

The research probe focused on perception of the risk of armed attacks at schools. Subjective awareness of technical and organisational measures contained in the organisation’s security plans was also established. The degree of attention devoted to the issue by school management was also established.