Office of the Governor - Press Office

DENVER  -  Governor Bill Owens today announced his intention to issue an executive order creating the Columbine Review Commission. This independent panel of experts will assess how law enforcement, school officials and others responded to the tragedy at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999.

"What happened at Columbine High School could happen anywhere," Owens said. "We need to learn as much as possible from Columbine to help prevent similar tragedies in the future. Convening an independent panel of experts to take a fresh look at the response to the tragedy is a key part of that learning process."

The Columbine Review Commission is expected to begin its work when the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department finishes its criminal investigation of the Columbine tragedy, Owens said. The Commission’s members will consist of experts from law enforcement, school safety, and public education who were not directly involved with the Columbine tragedy.

The Commission will be supported by a grant awarded last week by the U.S. Department of Justice to the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) of the Colorado Department of Public Safety. The $68,800 grant, from the Edward Byrne Memorial Fund, will be administered by DCJ, which will provide staffing and other support to the Commission as needed. The Commission will compile a report on lessons learned from the tragedy to be released to the public.

Owens concluded, "We all must work together to ensure that a tragedy like that which occurred at Columbine must never happen again. Hopefully, with the help of what we learned in the aftermath of Columbine, future such tragedies may be avoided."

The scope of the Columbine Review Commission will include:

• Reviewing law enforcement’s handling of the crisis, including the overall command structure; procedures and techniques used by SWAT teams at the site; coordination among law enforcement agencies; and the integration of electronic communications.

• Analyzing the safety protocols used at Columbine High School and how they fared as the crisis unfolded.

• Reviewing the emergency medical response and evacuation protocols and techniques used at Columbine.

• Evaluating victims’ assistance efforts on the scene and immediately after the tragedy.

• Identifying and understanding some of the key factors which may have contributed to the tragedy.

• Making recommendations for improving collaborative efforts between agencies in the exchange of juvenile information; and

• Examining other relevant issues.

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last modified 8-5-99