Media Advisory: Safe Schools seminar today includes tabletop exercise

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The 14th annual Safe Schools Initiative Seminar is occurring today at the University at Buffalo.

The seminar, “Advanced School Threat Assessment Training,” is open to school personnel, law enforcement officers, elected officials and others from Western New York. The goal is to help participants enhance their organization’s threat assessment program and gain experience using best-practice school threat assessment procedures.

Where: Center for the Arts on the UB North Campus. Map: http://www.buffalo.edu/home/visiting-ub/CampusMaps/maps.html#CFA.

When: Today (March 23), until 3:15 p.m.

On-site contact: Bill Regan, UB director of special events, at 716-861-8001.

Why: “The Safe Schools Initiative Seminar has proven invaluable in developing the necessary partnerships to address the issue of targeted violence in our schools,” said Lewis Robinson, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Buffalo Field Office. “This seminar brings together all stakeholders in a collaborative effort to plan for the prevention of and response to an incident of targeted violence in our schools. The annual Safe School Seminar further strengthens the vital bond between all participants in the effort to keep Western New York schools, colleges and university campuses safe for everyone.”

“Ensuring school safety is critical in order for learning to take place,” said Amanda Nickerson, director of UB’s Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention. “The topics of this year’s event are timely and build on the past success of the program.”

In addition to the Secret Service, other seminar sponsors include the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of New York. UB and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are presenting the seminar.