School Security Considerations
Monday, December 31, 2012 at 1:48PM Based on years of experience in protecting educational institutions, we have to disagree with recent platform statements coming from the National Rifle Association. Posting armed security in elementary schools is a BAD idea. Commissioned police officers on patrol nearby, even posted at entries during certain times may be reasonable, but beyond that creates more problems than it solves. In high crime areas, with "foreseeability" of increased threats, improved protection may be justified. Passing legislation to put guns on school grounds reflects the complete lack of knowledge and understanding on the part of those suggesting it. Columbine had armed deputies on the grounds at the time of the attack. Virgina Tech had armed police on the campus at the time of their attack(s). If armed response is not immediately present, highly trained, and in a position to respond, they might as well be somewhere else. Those climbing on the "hysteria wagon" with these types of reactionary proposals should further study the problem, look at the history of known attacks, and think about reasonable improvements such as: enforcing existing laws and policies, utilizing the video systems and electronic access controls as they were intended to be used, and making all staff aware and alert all of the time. We have a long way to go to reduce the threat, but it won't happen without intelligent consideration.
Reader Comments (1)
I'm an undecided moderate on the issue to arm school officials. However, this article in no way explains WHY the proposal is a bad idea. Instead it simply points to two examples where an armed response was possible but fails to explain why their presence was ineffective. In fact, the article essentially commits the very same error it attributes to those on the "hysteria wagon", namely it promotes a position without backing it up with rationale or data.