Poll: How Should Schools be Kept Safe?
As local officials take steps in the wake of Newtown to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring locally, the debate on the national level has focused on either tighter gun control laws or enhanced school security. Tell us what you think.
While the gun control debate rages on the national stage since the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, the response to the tragedy has taken place even at the local level.
The Saddle Brook Board of Education recently formed a school safety committee to explore possible updates to the districts school security procedures, taking a first step in tightening its policy on guests.
In Fair Lawn, the police will be reintroducing special weapons training in the high school this year, simulating past scenarios that have played out in schools like Sandy Hook Elementary.
“There’s nothing that’s going to guarantee that what happened in Connecticut won’t happen anywhere, but I want to make sure that we’ve done everything we can to try and mitigate it, God forbid something should happen here," police chief Erik Rose said.
The Fair Lawn Borough Council also debated a resolution in support of tighter gun control at its Tuesday night work session, while admitting that setting policy on the matter is ultimately outside its control.
But as the debate on guns and school safety takes place mostly at the national level, local officials are clearly focused on exploring steps to prevent gun violence from occuring in community schools.
What do you think?
Jack
10:01 am on Friday, January 25, 2013
Its time a few teachers, administrators and other uniformed adults are trained in every school and start carrying concealed. If you have 3 or more people that could shoot back and no idea who they are, that's much riskier proposition than police rushing to the scene 6 minutes later to identify a pile of victims. A shooter may think twice about attacking a school.
Under no circumstance should we ever advertise that a place is defenseless with a sign that reads "Gun-free School Zone" or a similar variant.
Just Facts
10:27 am on Friday, January 25, 2013
Jack has a good point. Getting people to commit to Security in our schools is a hard topic to swallow. It means more commitment and work from staff as well as a financial constraints. Security audits should be the first step. Then Camera's, locks, sign in, sign out and supervised entrances and exits, pass keys, armed guards, armed faculty, retired armed police are all excellent layers of security. The problem is getting people to commit to these layers.