Locked doors. Surveillance cameras. Keyless entry systems. Two-way radios. It’s not the county jail but many local school districts, says the Detroit News. One district will spend $1 million reconfiguring the front entrances of its seven schools so visitors are directly routed to the front office. Another wants to install surveillance cameras at its middle and elementary schools if voters approve a bond proposal next month.
One expert said it’s not enough to put surveillance cameras in schools and reconfigure entranceways. “The first and best line of defense is always a well-trained staff and student body,” said Ken Trump, a Cleveland-based school security consultant. School-associated violent deaths among children 5-18 years old continue to be rare events. A recent report by the National Center for Education Statistics and U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics say there were 43 school-associated violent deaths during the 2007-2008 school year, the most recent year that data was available, down from 57 in 1992-1993.