Buzzed, Briefs, And Badges

1
Buzzed, Briefs, And Badges

• Before you buzz that stranger into the building,
  before they brief you on who they are or why they
  are there, and before you get their visitor badge
  ready, consider these tips and strategies on
  successful visitor controlled access to your
  building.

2
Gatekeeper

• It's ok to say
• no
• hold on
• standby
• Why allow them any further into the school
  building even if they are already in the office?

3
Door Office Issues

• divorced parents
• non-custodial in-laws
• pedophiles
• Beyond a reasonable doubt that they have a
  legitimate, legal reason to be there

4
Buzzed?

• If they are intoxicated (buzzed), impaired or
  otherwise undesirable, then simply refuse them
  service and send them on their way (call the
  police if necessary).

5
Briefs.(quick answers)

• Why are they at the door?
• Who do they want to see?
• Are you expecting them?
• Are they a vendor?
• Parent? Guardian?
• Sales person?

6
Already in the office?

• Irate parents
• Upset teachers
• Injured students

7
De-Escalation Techniques

• Have them brief you on what is upsetting them
• All we want are the facts, maam, - Sgt. Joe
  Friday
• Look for the clues, listen for the indicators of
  what is behind their irritation.
• Speak softly

8
Active Listening Skills

• We have two ears and one mouth
• Just the mere attention to a persons troubles
  can help them deal with the stress, annoyance or
  minor injury (whether physical or emotional).

9
Active Listening Skills

• eye contact
• paraphrasing or clarifying what they just said
• showing empathy (not sympathy) to their
  struggle.
• nodding your head and an occasional yes or I
  understand

10
How to win friends

• Dale Carnegie
• become genuinely interested in other people
• smile
• a persons name is the most beautiful sound to
  them in any language

11
How to win friends(cont)

• talk in terms of the other persons interests
• see things from the other persons point of view
• make the other person feel importantand do it
  sincerely

12
Badges

• If they have passed your in-depth interrogation,
  hand them a visitors badge and send them on
  their way.
• If they refuse to heed your disarming persona,
  then it may be time to call in the Badge.

13
Badges

• Even if your school does not have a SRO, police
  officers working the street do not mind making
  contact with you in the school office if there is
  a situation.

14
Badge issues

• divorced parents who were screaming over their
  child
• referral to children services
• a suspicious package left by an unknown adult
  for a student
• teacher whose soon-to-be ex was threatening to
  disrupt the school day.

15
Missing Students

• If the administrator cannot locate the child in
  a relatively short amount of time, do not delay
  in contacting law enforcement. For every hour
  that child is missing, the chance of getting them
  reunited with their custodial parent dramatically
  declines.

16
What can you share?

• Directory Information
• Some policies allow dates of attendance and
  photo as found in a yearbook
• Will not include discipline records, IEP or
  other diagnoses made strictly for educational
  purposes.

17
What can Police share?

• Previous juvenile arrests
• Known associates of the student outside of
  school
• Information on relatives, phone numbers,
  addresses, etc

18
What can Police do?

• At the end of the day, if we have to get the
  handcuffs out, I rely on what Rookie Jim Reed
  once said on Adam-12, You just have to know how
  to arrest them and still make them like you. We
  call it technique.