Making Schools Safer

In the news, there have been many school shooting incidents reported and several reports state that in 2020, firearm-related injuries became the leading cause of death of individuals ages 19 and younger. The Columbine High School Shootings on April 20, 1999, brought the spotlight on school shootings for many and led many individuals to believe that schools will be made safer because of that incident.

Then, it was reported that on December 14, 2012, twenty children between the ages of six and seven, and six adult staff members were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. After the Sandy Hook shooting, executive actions were signed by the President of the United States and proposals were made to Congress but deaths and serious injuries have continued at schools.

In my opinion, we should have awareness and a plan to make schools safer, unlike what we did before September 11, 2001. On September 10, 2001, it seems that airport security did not have the proper personnel, policy, or protective devices in place. In my opinion, regarding school safety, many schools do not have the proper personnel, proper policies, or protective devices in place either.

On September 11, 2001, there were worldwide shock, outrage, and condolences after the deadliest terrorist attack ever occurred in the United States, which was apparently missed in the risk assessments report. The government may have had a plan for a terrorist attack but not the awareness of the possibility of this type of attack.

Law enforcement agencies and politicians probably have ideas to make schools safer, but their suggestions seem incomplete. Based on my four different decades of practical school safety and security experience, experience working with government and private groups, my education, and training, school safety is not a single-issue problem and therefore requires more than a single-issue solution. This will be explored in this publication.