17/09/2026
School Security: The Warning Signs Were There — The MTS Branch Board Raised Them
The recent report, “EPA: School security gaps reported before breach,” published in the Sunday Express on September 13, 2026, highlights a serious issue that must not be overlooked: school security vulnerabilities were identified and reported before an intruder breached San Juan North Secondary School.
This is not simply about what happened on the day of the incident. It is about whether the security concerns that existed beforehand were properly addressed.
The MTS Branch Board Had Already Been Raising the Alarm
The MTS Branch Board has been conducting security assessments and raising concerns about the conditions under which our security officers are expected to protect schools.
These assessments identified a number of recurring problems, including:
🔴 Deplorable and inadequate security booths
🔴 Poor or non-existent lighting around school compounds
🔴 Broken, damaged and breached perimeter fencing
🔴 Overgrown vegetation and areas creating security blind spots
🔴 Inadequate security staffing for the size and population of schools
🔴 Large school compounds with multiple buildings and vulnerable access points
🔴 Insufficient communication facilities for security officers
🔴 Infrastructure deficiencies that cannot reasonably be overcome by security officers alone.
The Branch Board did not merely identify these problems. Recommendations were made for corrective action.
Security Officers Cannot Be Expected to Compensate for Failing Infrastructure
One of the most important points arising from this situation is that security is a system, not simply a person standing at a gate.
A security officer cannot physically replace a broken fence.
An officer cannot illuminate a dark compound without adequate lighting.
An officer cannot properly monitor a large school campus when staffing levels are insufficient.
And an officer cannot be expected to compensate indefinitely for inadequate security infrastructure.
Effective school security requires a combination of:
Secure perimeter + adequate lighting + controlled access + appropriate staffing + communication + functioning security facilities + proper supervision.
Where one or more of these elements are seriously deficient, the risk increases for students, teachers, ancillary staff and the security officers themselves.
The Question Is: What Happens After a Vulnerability Is Reported?
This is where we must move beyond blame.
When a security audit identifies a broken fence, inadequate lighting, an unsafe booth or insufficient staffing, there should be a documented process:
IDENTIFY → REPORT → ASSESS → RECOMMEND → FUND → REPAIR → VERIFY
There must also be accountability for ensuring that recommendations are followed through.
The objective should not be to find someone to blame after an incident. The objective should be to close the security gap before an incident occurs.
The Branch Board's Position
The MTS Branch Board believes that school security must be treated as a whole-of-school safety responsibility.
We therefore continue to advocate for:
✅ Comprehensive security audits of schools
✅ Immediate repairs to damaged perimeter fencing
✅ Adequate lighting throughout school compounds
✅ Replacement and refurbishment of unacceptable security booths
✅ Additional security officers where staffing levels are inadequate
✅ Proper communication equipment for officers
✅ Clearing of overgrown areas and elimination of security blind spots
✅ Improved access-control systems
✅ Regular review of security staffing against school population, size and risk
✅ Proper consultation with security officers who work at these locations every day
✅ Follow-up inspections to determine whether identified deficiencies have actually been corrected
Protect the Students — Protect the Teachers — Protect the Officers
The security officer should not become the convenient scapegoat for infrastructure deficiencies that were identified beforehand.
Our officers have a responsibility to provide vigilance, deterrence, access control and an appropriate security response. However, they must also be provided with the tools, infrastructure, manpower and safe working environment necessary to perform those responsibilities effectively.
The MTS Branch Board will continue to raise these matters because prevention must always be better than reaction.
A school should not have to experience a serious security breach before the broken fence is repaired, the lighting is installed, the booth is made safe or additional officers are assigned.
This Is About More Than Security — It Is About Duty of Care
Every child who enters a school compound deserves to be protected.
Every teacher deserves to work in a reasonably secure environment.
And every security officer deserves to go to work with the necessary resources and infrastructure to perform his or her duties safely.
The warning signs must be taken seriously.
The recommendations must be acted upon.
And security gaps must be closed before—not after—the next incident.
MTS Branch Board
Standing Up for Our Members. Standing Up for Safer Schools.
“United We Bargain — Divided We Beg.”
