Lackawanna County Safe Schools Coalition
The Lackawanna County Safe Schools Coalition was formed by District Attorney Mark Powell in 2018 to:
Make sure every public and private school building in the county has a trained, armed police, resource or security officer inside the building at all times in the event of an active shooter situation.
Develop and implement countywide threat assessment policies and protocols for all regarding school safety.
Open the lines of communication between school administrators, law enforcement and the DA’s Office to quickly identify and immediately respond to any potential threats.
The group, which meets at least quarterly, includes members of the DA’s Office, school superintendents and administrators, school security officers, municipal police chiefs, the Pennsylvania State Police and the FBI. Every school in Lackawanna County has an Assistant DA assigned to it as a point of contact.
The Coalition has grown into a countywide clearinghouse for threat assessments, a training academy for law enforcement and school officials, and a forum to discuss emerging issues, legislation and other developments that might affect school safety.
