Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office

25 Kirkpatrick Street, 3^rd Floor, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901 (732) 745-3300

*News Release* Date: May 18, 2009

Educators, law enforcement, meet for school safety seminar

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan and Freeholder Mildred S. Scott today announced that more than 200 educators and members of law enforcement will gather tomorrow to discuss ways to prevent violent attacks in schools by disgruntled students.

The Threat Assessment/School Violence Program will help educators learn to recognize signs of a troubled student who may be planning havoc at their school, and will offer ways to quickly respond to prevent tragedies.

‘’As elected officials, my Freeholder colleagues and I are committed to doing what we can to ensure the safety and well-being of all our residents,” Middlesex County Freeholder Mildred S. Scott said.

‘’But it is as a mother and grandmother that I say we must find ways to protect our children. Elected officials, law enforcement personnel and educators all have the responsibility to keep our schools safe. By working together, we have a much stronger chance of doing so,’’ said Freeholder Scott, who is chair of the Freeholders’ Law and Public Safety Committee.

The program, which will be held at Middlesex County College in Edison, will offer valuable information from a variety of professionals, including members of the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center, which created the program after developing and analyzing information about the behavior and thinking of students who commit acts of targeted violence in our nation’s schools.

Other guests include Steven Healy, director of public safety at Princeton University, who will discuss violence on college campuses.

Members of law enforcement from throughout the state, as well as educators and administrators from public schools and colleges in New Jersey, are expected to attend.

‘’I am very pleased that Middlesex County has taken the initiative to host this important program to help support our school districts in this important area,’’ said Dr. Patrick Piegari, executive superintendent of schools in Middlesex County. ‘’Safety and security is a high priority in Middlesex County.’’

The program is being brought to Middlesex County through the efforts of Prosecutor Kaplan’s MORE (Middlesex Out-Reach and Education) Unit, which offers hundreds of safety presentations to schools and community groups in the county every year.

In addition to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and the U.S. Secret Service, the program is being sponsored by the Middlesex County Superintendent of Schools, Middlesex County College and MAGLOCLEN, a federally-funded regional information sharing system that provides support and resources for law enforcement agencies nationwide.