There were fewer serious violent incidents in schools last year compared to five years ago.
If you’ve been to any public school lately, chances are you weren’t able to just walk right in. You have to ring a bell, then you’re either buzzed in or greeted by a security guard or school employee.
This is just one of the common reforms that’s taken place across Connecticut in recent years. And, according to a survey by the National Center for Education Statistics, these measures seem to be working.
The survey found that there were fewer serious violent incidents in schools last year compared to five years ago. Bullying incidents are down, as are incidents of sexual harassment and racial tensions.
The survey also found that 88 percent of school districts have plans in case a shooter attacks a school. Nearly half of all schools have security guards at least once a week, and three-quarters of all schools have surveillance cameras.
Browse the study below:
Bill Smith said that not every security idea is a good one. He's a security consultant based in Canton, and he said that a single incident of a student bringing in a weapon shouldn’t lead to metal detectors throughout the school. He also said that surveillance cameras are often not used the way they should.
"The surveillance systems in most schools are passive, they’re not active," Smith said. "What I mean by that is: there’s cameras, obviously, in various parts of the facility -- external and internal -- but oftentimes, they’re not watched. No one’s watching those cameras, or they rarely watch those cameras.”
Smith said that routine training is key, and that ultimately school security is a community concern that extends beyond the school.
