Governor’s Public Safety Summit focuses on stopping a school shooting

LAYTON — Hundreds of police, highway patrol officers, sheriff’s deputies, and other law enforcement officers from across Utah crowded the Davis Conference Center in Layton to learn how to prevent a school shooting.

Utah Commissioner of Public Safety Jess Anderson encouraged attendees to talk with departments outside their own.

“We’ve learned over the years if we do that up front, and we overcome those [communication] challenges, in the moment of those incidents, things go so much better,” Anderson said.

Officers were also asked to be proactive.

“Work together with those who are in the school districts to identify potential problems or children that may be a threat or otherwise be harmed,” Anderson said.

Utah lawmakers passed House Bill 120 this year, requiring schools to form a “threat assessment and student support team”, including administrators, mental health professionals, and teachers. It also pays for millions of dollars in safety upgrades to campuses.

Attendees were also updated about and encouraged to use the state’s new Cold Case database, which provides information about cases across Utah. Database advocates say sharing information could link incarcerated people to previously unsolved crimes.

Dave Cawley, host of KSL’s popular “Cold” podcast, also spoke at the event, which wraps up tomorrow.