BEAUMONT, Texas — Security scares around the country are becoming too common and unfortunately, the Beaumont Independent School District has had plenty of them.
We're looking at how the district police respond to school threats.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this store contained some inaccuracies which have been corrected.)
Beaumont ISD Police Chief Joseph Malbrough told 12News about the increase in incidents and how the district's police work to keep students and staff safe in the face of danger.
One of these threats came last week with a report of a weapon at Marshall Middle School.
Malbrough said these types of threats are happening across the country and shouldn't be taken lightly. Malbrough said time is of the essence when it comes to active shooter situations or other threats on Beaumont ISD campuses.
He said Beaumont ISD partners with Beaumont Police and depending on the level of the threat, both agencies may respond to certain situations.
When a school threat comes in, Malbrough said his officers know exactly what to do.
"We do have protocols in place to where our officers immediately respond to those locations," Malbrough said.
Once Beaumont ISD officers arrive on campus and locate the area of the threat, Malbrough said the following is the protocol.
"We secure that area, right, because we definitely don't want that situation to spread,” Malbrough said. “So once we secure that particular area, we can eventually begin to search out and try to identify exactly where that particular threat is coming from."
One of these instances took place back in October when Beaumont Police received a call about a weapon at Marshall Middle School.
Malbrough said normally Beaumont ISD police respond immediately when it's in their jurisdiction, but during the Marshall Middle School situation, they let Beaumont Police take the lead.
"If they received that initial call, they immediately respond. We can no longer wait. We can no longer pass the buck and say 'Hey, we're gonna allow BPD, BISD to handle that,'" Malbrough said.
Malbrough said he understands these situations can be stressful for parents and he wants them to know that while these threats and the police response that follows can be disturbing, agencies like Beaumont ISD and Beaumont Police are trained to protect students and staff.
"Oftentimes what we do is not pretty right but it's necessary,” Malbrough said. “It's necessary because it's designed to protect and to serve and to prevent serious bodily injury or a potential casualty."
Beaumont ISD has also increased security on certain campuses following these incidents and brought in volunteers to help mentor students in hopes of cutting down on these situations.
Malbrough points out Beaumont Police was contacted following the report of a weapon at Marshall Middle School last week, which is why they were the responding agency that day.
He said he understands these lockdown situations can cause parents stress and anxiety.
"It might not be cute, you know,” Malbrough said. “Oftentimes what we do is not pretty right but it's necessary. It's necessary because it's designed to protect and to serve and to prevent serious bodily injury or a potential casualty."
In the event of an active shooter situation on a district campus, Beaumont ISD Police will try to locate the threat and secure that area as part of their protocol, Malbrough said. They use a K-9 officer as well for any bomb threats that are called in.
