Review of Violence Prevention at the Pierre Indian Learning Center

We conducted an inspection of the Pierre Indian Learning Center, located in Pierre, SD, to determine the quality of safety measures in place to prevent violence against students and staff from internal and external threats. We found Pierre Indian Learning Center’s safety measures to be inadequate.

 

Specifically, Pierre Indian Learning Center’s comprehensive emergency plan did not contain sections on fights, hostage situations, or off-campus emergencies. In addition, while training in violence prevention and emergency preparedness was provided, we noted problems with the evacuation and lock-down drills run during our visit.  

 

Finally, of the 18 safety measures we checked for, Pierre Indian Learning Center did not have 13 in place. While no single safety measure is so critical that its absence at an educational facility is cause for immediate concern, we found that the more safety measures not in place, the less prepared the facility is to respond to an incident.

 

We provide four recommendations to help Pierre Indian Learning Center improve its safety measures and its violence prevention and emergency preparedness.