The Slovenian Police held an inter-institutional roundtable at the premises of the Ministry of the Interior on threats of violence in schools and educational institutions, with the aim of enhancing institutional networking and exchanging best practices and challenges.
The main topic of the roundtable was how to improve communication between the Police and schools in cases of increased security risks. Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar, who opened the event, recalled the recent tragic events in schools across Europe in his opening speech, noting that the world is a different place than it was just a few years ago. "Schools are vulnerable and we must do everything to keep them safe." In order to improve our response to the threats, we need effective cooperation and communication, the very topic that was addressed at the roundtable.
The roundtable brought together experts, who presented their perspective on the topics related to this topical issue. Damjan Petrič, Head of the Criminal Police Directorate, presented a proposal for a protocol for notification and response in cases of perceived threats and violence. Aleš Bučar Ručman, PhD, sociologist and associate professor at the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security, presented the aspects of adequate methods of informing the public of security risk events and the impact of the current security situation on the ways we experience security risk information. Tristan Rigler, PhD, a specialist in clinical psychology, presented the psychological impact of security risk information on people. Janja Lesjak, Head Teacher of the Fran Metelko Škocjan Primary School, shared the experience of head teachers in the face of security risks in schools and educational institutions. Lara Romih, President of the Association of Parents' Councils of Slovenia, spoke on the ways the parents experience security risks, and Alenka Klepac, representative of the Ministry of Education, spoke about the Ministry's challenges in the face of security risks. The closing remarks were made by Robert Tekavec, Head of the Juvenile Crime Section at the Criminal Police Directorate, who presented the police perspective on peer violence and the challenges ahead.