Term Paper on "Safety and Security Plan"

Term Paper 12 pages (3145 words) Sources: 12 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

School Safety and Security Plans

Improving Safety and Security in America's Schools

Scarcely a month goes by in the United States today without a headline reporting the latest school shootings. In response to the unfortunate circumstances of September 11, 2001 and the tragedies that have occurred on school campuses throughout our country, schools, private corporations and government agencies have all taken a pro-active stand on developing safety and security plans to protect their employees, visitors, students and others. The purpose of this study is to provide a review of the relevant peer-reviewed and scholarly literature concerning safety and security plans in order to determine what is needed and desirable in such plans so as to identify deficiencies or opportunities for improvement in a specific school setting. An analysis of what additions or changes are required to the specific schools' safety and security plans is followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

Part I: Research and Review of the Literature on Organizational Safety and Health Programs in American Schools.

It is not surprising that the issue of safety plans in schools has assumed new relevance and importance in recent years. As Singer (2001) emphasizes, "High profile school shooting incidents in the past couple of years have generated headlines, heightened public awareness of school violence and been a powerful motivator for schools to beef up -- or initiate -- preventive measures. Despite the attention, however, school security experts say they are concerned, especially about the long-term effectiveness of such efforts" (p. 41). Indeed, ensuring the long-term effectiveness of current initiatives in an increasingly violent society remains a fundamental challenge. For example, Yell and Rozalski (2000) advise, "Violence in the United States has reached epidemic proportions, with a predictable spillover into public schools" (p. 187). Moreover, while the majority of recent school shootings have taken place in high schools and colleges, even elementary schools are not immune to school shootings. For instance, in 2000, first-grade pupil in a Flint, Michigan elementary school shot and killed a 6-year-old classmate (Liu, 2000). In response to these events, Yell and Rozalski note that concern over safety of students, faculty and administrators in the nation's schools has resulted in across-the-board attention from policymakers at all levels: "The national concern over the problem of school violence has led to federal, state, and local efforts to address this issue by creating new laws and policies, which include adopting zero-tolerance approaches, conducting targeted and random searches of students and their property, using metal detectors, and preventing violence through education" (p. 187).

Certainly, violence in the schools is not a new phenomenon, and many schools across the country already have some type of safety plan in place and some are legally mandated. For example, Limber and Small report that, "Most schools operate under legislative mandates to create school safety plans to protect children from violence, and many schools have long-standing policies and programs to address aggressive, violent, and disruptive behavior, including bullying" (2003, p. 445). While many of the mandates requiring safety plans in the schools have been developed and implemented at the state level, there are federal requirements involved as well that must be taken into account in the formulation of any comprehensive school safety program today. In this regard, Limber and Small advise, "Even though state laws dominate the legal landscape, federal laws and policies do provide incentives for school districts to address student safety. Indeed, through major activities such as the "No Child Left Behind" initiative, the federal government often provides funding for research and demonstration programs that address school violence" (p. 446). Two states already recognize the importance of improving communication among staff and students related to student-on-student violence included in their school safety plans (Limber & Small). For example, New York (2002) and Rhode Island (2001) have included identical language in their statutes that require that district-wide safety plans to include "strategies for improving communication among students and between students and staff... such as... creating a forum... For students concerned with bullying or violence" (quoted in Limber & Small at p. 446). While the purpose of this mandate remains somewhat nebulous, the focus on generating discussion concerning violence in the schools is certainly worthwhile. According to these authors, "Holding consistent forums (or class meetings) within the classroom setting to discuss bullying and peer relations is a common and effective component of several comprehensive prevention programs" (Limber & Small, p. 446).

In response to the recent increase in school shootings, a number of government agencies, including the FBI and U.S. Secret Service, have been assigned to school districts across the country to help identify opportunities for improvement and to address security concerns by installing high tech equipment, including closed circuit cameras and metal detectors (Singer, 2001). As Singer advises, "Security experts and education experts agree these can be helpful tools, depending on school conditions, and if used and maintained properly. Such tools are particularly well entrenched in the Richmond, Virginia public school system, where physical security measures have accompanied conflict resolution curriculum since the 1970s" (p. 41). According to Sharon Scott, assistant chief of safety and security for the school system, which has 29,000 children, "We have the hardware. There are door locks, buzzers and closed circuit cameras in the elementary schools. And there are security specialists with police powers at the middle and high schools, who randomly conduct locker and metal detector searches" (quoted in Singer at p. 41). The school's metal detectors have identified some razors and knives; however, because the random searches are highly publicized as part of the student education process, there have been few guns seized to date (Singer). According to this author, there were two school-related incidents involving handguns in 2001, both of which indicated that the students involved had not planned a "Columbine-style" attack: (a) in one instance, a student brought a gun in a book bag fearing there might be reprisal in school for something that happened in the neighborhood; and (b) the other incident involved a gun found in a car while a student working doing electrical work on it in an automotive class.

Other school districts across the country have implemented new procedures that include various security devices, or upgraded them, more recently, as part of their school safety planning. For example, in Wayne Township's (Indianapolis) 16 schools, Chuck Hibbert, coordinator of safety and transportation services for the metropolitan school district of Wayne Township reports that, "All of our buildings are equipped with intrusion alarm systems, basically burglar alarms, and all use electronic locks at critical entrances for access control. We have been implementing the electronic locks and access controls as money becomes available, and we were doing it a few years prior to Columbine" (quoted in Singer at p. 41). In addition, the district has implemented a pilot project that expands the use of closed circuit televisions in the junior and senior high schools to all of the district's schools, at the cost of $3 million, but the safety planners at Wayne Township emphasize that this investment in infrastructure provides the needed "icing on the security cake" to help ensure the safety of their students, faculty and administrators alike. According to Hibbert, "From a physical security aspect, we think we're relatively comprehensive based upon our school climate and our assessment of our community crime situation, in a suburban/urban district. We like to think we try to be proactive, and our superintendent takes great pride in being cutting edge, so we've been fortunate our school board and community has been supportive in addressing physical security as well as prevention needs" (quoted in Singer at p. 41). This approach also avoided the need for traumatic hostage-rescue training exercises that have been used at other school districts following the Columbine shootings. According to Hibbert, "Right after Columbine there were districts doing hostage training, with kids being evacuated from buildings with hands above their heads. We decided that would be traumatizing children unnecessarily" (quoted in Singer at p. 41). The school district has also installed video cameras on school buses, and trained Wayne Township school administrators in the use of metal detectors which are reserved for "reasonably suspicious circumstances" (Singer, p. 41). While some educators have criticized the use of such high-tech devices as part of a school's safety plan suggesting that more emphasis should be placed on anti-violence training, there remains a growing consensus that although such devices are insufficient by themselves, they can be particularly valuable as part of a more comprehensive approach to dealing with the issue of violence in the nation's schools.

Some recently implemented safety programs identified by Singer that may serve as useful models for other schools include the following:

Students Managing Anger and Resolution Together ("SMART"). This initiative uses interactive computer games to help middle school students assess their coping skills in stressful situations and instills social skills aimed at avoiding anger and violence. Available through Learning Multi-Systems in Madison, Wisconsin, the software can… READ MORE

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