Plymouth-Canton security director faces test overseeing 6,000-student, 3-building campus privateofficer.org

Canton Township, Michigan March 1 2020

Home to just over 6,100 students, the three-high school, 304-acre Plymouth-Canton Educational Park is, if not the mother of all pre-college campuses in the United States, at least one of the aunts.

When the end-of-class bell hums toward the end of each hour on school days, students flood onto the walkways that connect Canton, Plymouth and Salem high schools, trekking diligently toward their next class, weather be damned.

First-time observers would probably mistake the sight as that of a medium-sized college campus.

From the skies above, the class-changing ritual resembles an example of uncommon synergy, like thousands of ants carrying out their daily orders in efficient fashion.

For grounded PCEP security leaders, however, the five-times-a-day routine is a challenge like none other.

"First and foremost, from a security standpoint, it presents a unique challenge because of the park's sheer size," said Shawn Rowley, who started in the position of director of school & student safety earlier this year. "Most schools have one building, so it's fairly easy to contain the people coming in and going out.

"One of the biggest challenges here, with the students moving among the three schools every hour, it can be very hard to keep track and contain everybody."

Rowley said law enforcement officials who oversee high schools like himself research tragic school shootings that have unfolded across the United States over the past two decades in an effort to glean potential life-saving information.

"Unfortunately, every incident that happens gives us an opportunity to learn how to do things differently or better," said Rowley. "For instance, we can learn how to react if there is an active assailant on campus. We are currently putting our administrators, teachers and staff through ALICE training, which teaches them how to react if there is an assailant on campus. And our goal is to roll it out to the students soon, too."

ALICE is an acronym for:

Alert – Alert is your first notification of danger. Maintain good situational awareness to overcome normalcy bias and ensure the best response to a critical incident or violent intruder.

Lockdown – Barricade the room.

Inform – Communicate the violent intruder’s location and direction in real-time. To do this, pass on real-time information using any means necessary. Examples are video surveillance, 911 calls and PA announcements.

Counter – Not to be confused with fighting, this step involves creating noise, movement, distance and distraction. Its intent is to reduce the shooter’s ability to shoot accurately.

Evacuate – Safe and strategic evacuation techniques get people out of harm’s way. Understand how your current environment impacts your ability to evacuate and discover the safest ways to do so.

Owner of a security-centered resume that spans close to 40 years, Rowley is up to the challenge of maintaining the school district's exemplary safety record.

Rowley spent 26 years with the Southfield Public Safety Department, the last few as its deputy chief, before recently ending a close-to-decade run as the security chief for Baker College, which has campuses in Allen Park and Auburn Hills.

"Baker's Allen Park campus actually has approximately 4,000 students, which is considerably less than the number we have at the park," Rowley noted, comparing his previous job site with his current one. "And with Baker, all 4,000 aren't on the campus at the same time like at the three high schools here.

"The important thing is to educate our staff and the students about what things to look for and signs of potential danger so that we can hopefully prevent things before they get bigger," Rowley said.

Each of the three high schools is staffed by at least one security guard who reports to Rowley.

"The elementary and middle schools don't have dedicated security staff, but I am in constant communication with those schools' administration," he said.

Rowley said custody issues between divorced parents can be problematic at times at the pre-high school levels, but "hopefully, these are few and far between."

A longtime resident of Canton, Rowley said he is excited about his new position, especially since his three children all thrived in the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools system.

"I look at it as a wonderful opportunity to continue the great work that has been done before me," Rowley said.