Lansing, MI Police Department’s Post

Hello! I'm Joanna, a certified firearms instructor and the founder of Stellr Defense. We provide extensive education on safety preparedness, remove intimidation from personal safety training, and teach defensive skills everyone can master, including: ◾ Situational awareness + violence avoidance ◾ Personal + home defense ◾ Mass shooter prevention + response ◾ Traumatic emergency first aid ◾ Self-defense laws + legal aftermath ◾ Child exploitation prevention For nearly a decade, I've been actively educating people on the importance of self-defense training, a skillset not sought until I endured a seven hour attack completely helpless and experienced the terror of begging for my life without an idea of how to survive. This was the dawn of my self-empowerment and lifelong dedication to educating others. After undergoing intensive private training from multiple defense contractors and special forces operators during the two year court case, I went on to become a firearms instructor certified by the USCCA, NRA, and MSP as well as an Avert instructor authorized by the Health and Safety Institute. I also traveled the U.S. educating students on the legal aftermath of self-defense acts. During that time, I discovered two things: 💡 My prior corporate work experience enabled me to connect better with individuals whom had previously felt too intimidated to seek training; 💡 My real world experience provided a distinctive perspective only someone who has endured such an event can have, like insights into the rapid onset of an attack, how quickly you will have to make the decision to defend yourself, the fear of legal aftermath, and the defensive skills required. The reality is many times you are your first responder. And that's where Stellr Defense comes in: A civilian training organization that provides extensive education, promotes active student participation, and pushes the boundaries to protect our workplaces, schools, homes, and children. I'm here to empower you, provide the knowledge and skills to safeguard yourself and those you are responsible for, and add a touch of fun in the process! Follow along for safety tips. Share this post with those you care about. Joanna Find me on IG @stellrdefense

A #student got a loaded gun into an Oklahoma high school that has #metaldetectors and people want to know how! #Schoolleaders were alerted by another student about the gun. The number one way we find out about weapons, plots, and students planning harm to themselves or others is from kids who come forward and tell an adult they trust. This may be the #principal, #sro, #teachers, or #parents. The #schoolpr director said: "Our high schools are like beehives. There's things going on everywhere and at entrances. In the mornings, though, we do have designated entrances for the students coming off the bus and then our car rider students and those are really the only entrances that are set to be open," and that #schoolleaders and #schoolsecurity officials are looking into how the gun got into the school. The communications director's comment is exactly why we caution school administrators not to create #securitytheater and overpromise (directly or implied) their community with security hardware, products, and technology. The best security equipment is only as good as the weakest human link behind it. Anyone who understands school security and high schools knows that many issues exist around metal detectors and #AI #weaponsdetection system limitations, fidelity of implementation issues, and #humanfactors. They also know that many high schools are open in operation often until 10pm and on weekends --- far beyond the instructional school day when school administrators tend to run these types of systems if they have them. #Superintendents and #schoolboards need to be strategic #schoolsafety leaders and safety communicators. Learn more from the story here https://lnkd.in/gy8_yKhg

STREET SCENE SYSTEM OF TRAINING (SSST) LEVEL 4 - PISTOL CQB Question - How do we create space, when there is no room to create it? Answer - We don't even try to. 👉 Think elevators, restrooms, stairwells, corridors, confined public spaces, and/or, a multiple threat/crowd situation. 👉 For those that opine "...if you find yourself in this situation, then you've done something wrong..."...well, I can't help you with that, nor do I have the crayons to explain why you might find yourself in a situation like this, and, even if you have messed up, you still need to get yourself out of it. 👉 We've taught this to undercover law enforcement units, armed executive protection officers, government agencies and concealed carriers. 👉 It's an aggressive procedure, requiring a certain mindset, but it is a procedure that allows you to take back control of a situation, that you haven't instigated, and that will very quickly become untenable. 👉 3-4 seconds of maximum "proactive" violence prevents 1-2 minutes of "reactive" response, where the longer you take to deal with this, the less chance there is of surviving it. Full details at: https://lnkd.in/eSVD9-rd

Standard mobile shoot house from the vendor selected in Ohio to be used for armed teacher training provides 700 sq. ft. of modular space. The largest available is 2,000 sq. ft. The narrow maze hallways approximates a residential home and is marketed for a SWAT team practicing drug raids. Unlike the mobile shoot house layout, an average school classroom is about 1,000 sq. ft. and the hallway along just one classroom wall is about 360 sq. ft. A semi-realistic school training environment with two classrooms and a hallway would need a minimum of 2,720 sq ft. Some facts about shootings on campus: -70% are outside the school building. -When there is a shooting inside, it's most likely to be a fight that escalates into a shooting in a common area like a hallway, entryway, or cafeteria. -During this spontaneous gun violence, the shooter almost always flees meaning there is no risk to anyone else on campus. -In the case of a deliberate, preplanned attacks at schools, half begin and end inside the same room. -During these planned school shootings, the shooter is most often a student committing a surprise attack that starts inside the school. To practice for real-world school shooting scenarios, a teacher at the front of the room needs to spot a student taking a gun out of a backpack, pull their own concealed weapon, and fire a precise shot across the crowded classroom. I think it’s very unlikely that Ohio's state sponsored training has teachers practicing taking shots at students. With limited time and space in the shoot house, the teachers are probably practicing firing at an assailant who is alone in a room without any bystander students to accidentally strike. A couple of missed shots in an empty room won’t seem like a big deal during a training session. In a real classroom, every miss can be deadly. If a mobile shoot house isn't large enough to replicate a school layout and doesn’t provide a realistic scenario for a staff member, what's the purpose of this purchase?

Students and staff are returning to school after the summer break and many parents are concerned about their children's safety. This is an interesting article discussing whether armed guards prevent school shootings. We don't think all the data is available to make this exact determination but the article does provide some useful information. Recently we have been working with more School Districts that are exploring the use of armed security guards on their campuses. This is a very serious consideration being discussed by many School Boards. While the armed security guard issue is being contemplated we urge all school districts and colleges to review their safety plans and increase training. In the majority of our assessments, we find planning, preparedness, and training severely lacking. These low-to-no-cost security initiatives will lead to the greatest short-term security enhancements. #schoolsafety #ivyplusassociates #training #education

Here is an interesting article discussing whether armed guards make schools safer. #schoolsafety #ivyplusassociates #training

Addressing #schoolsecurity concerns about guns in schools and overall #schoolviolence, I discuss in today's District Administration article that #schoolleaders must understand that #schoolsafety is what is known in research as a #wickedproblem. #Superintendents, #schoolboards, #principals, #sros, and others must work to reduce risks, but recognize we cannot eliminate all risks. School violence is a complex, wicked problem. Transparent and authentic communication about safety with #parents, #students, #teachers, and the school community is essential. Learn more in the article here: https://lnkd.in/g5MjrynT From the story: “Many educators are being sold a false sense of security by vendors who often make hyped-up marketing claims about the capabilities and expectations their products or technology will have on making schools safer,” says Trump. “This in turn leads to well-intentioned educators putting forth direct or implied unrealistic expectations to their students, staff and parents about these target-hardening physical security measures. While superintendents, school boards and principals think they are reassuring their school community with shiny objects and security theater, they risk raising the bar of expectations that will likely result in their school community having even less trust and confidence in their leadership if and when the next gun incident occurs despite all the bells and whistles they installed with the hopes of reducing anxiety around school safety.” Plain and simple, these “wicked problems”—gun violence and school-related threats—are people problems...

Wilmer-Hutchins High School has metal detectors, a clear-backpack policy, and security cameras. Still, a student managed to get a handgun into the school, where he shot one classmate in the leg. Over-reliance on technology is common. However, that tech pillow can be a big problem in school safety preparedness. There is no such thing as "one and done" in keeping children and staff safe. Human vigilance is the key. It is important to develop security protocols in layers. The grounds need to be secure, access controls need to be in place, and the facility must be hardened. The PEOPLE in the building are the most important component in school safety. Students need a way to report trouble - anonymously if possible - and a school climate built on trust. Teachers need training on how to recognize students who may be leaning toward violence, in addition to a multi-layered active shooter response protocol for their classrooms. Admin needs to take seriously the concerns of students, teachers, and parents - something the Oxford, MI event showed us. Over-reliance on technology shortens the range of active threat response on campus. People are both the greatest strength and the greatest weakness in keeping schools safe. We can't fail to prepare them all for a worst-case events. #schoolsafety #activeshooter