Survey: Since Newtown school attack 85% of N.J. school districts have tightened security
OCTOBER 28, 2014, 9:00 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014, 9:00 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
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Since the deadly school shooting in Newtown, Conn., more than 85 percent of school districts in New Jersey have taken new security measures, including adding cameras, hiring security and making building changes, according to a 2013 survey of local school officials.
Their responses were included as part of a report titled “What Makes Schools Safe?” released Tuesday by a task force of the New Jersey School Boards Association. The task force studied security improvements and made recommendations for school safety.
Of the 273 school board presidents and business administrators who answered the survey, about two-thirds said their schools had made technology improvements, including adding surveillance cameras and upgrading electronic access systems for buildings.
About 45 percent said they had made physical changes like safeguarding windows and doors and changing outside landscaping. Just under a quarter started using emergency alert systems, while an additional 31 percent added perimeter patrols.
Since Newtown, many schools have hired security personnel. About 17 percent of respondents use retired officers and 19 percent use non-police security, but the survey did not ask if those individuals carry weapons. An additional 2 percent employ part-time police who are paid less and don’t have training to work in schools.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/survey-since-newtown-school-attack-85-of-n-j-school-districts-have-tightened-security-1.1120219#sthash.iIoQ7Nzm.dpuf
87 school shootings since Newton (22 months ago).
Does that make sense ?
https://everytown.org/article/schoolshootings/
School shootings are still non-existent in a statistical sense. They are extremely rare. We are investing resources to stop a non-existent problem instead of focusing on real issues that threaten the health of our children. Things that are much more likely to harm a child:
–Car accidents
–Suicide
–Gun accidents at home
–Obesity
–Sexual assault from classmates
Lets focus resources on real problems instead of worrying about things that statistically do not even exist.
Brain – you need medicine if you think 87 incidents in 22 months is not statistically significant.
What would that same 22-month sample have looked like 30 years ago…?
Much less I’m sure.
#3 How many children are killed in automobile accidents each year? Do you even know?
#4 – what’s your solution…should we stop driving cars..?
“The National School Safety Center, a good source of statistics, started collecting data on K-12 violence in the 1992-93 school year. During the first five years, from 1992-93 to 1996-97, there were 26.8 gun murders per year on K-12 and university school property. In contrast, during the last five school years, 2009-10 to 2013-14, the average was 12 – a 55 percent drop.
There have obviously been ups and downs from year to year since large school shootings are rare, but the five-year averages have shown a consistent drop in gun deaths. Even including the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, that is the trend.
With 77 million Americans between the ages of 5 and 22, that implies a school murder rate of 0.008 per 100,000 people in the 2013-14 school year, well less than 1 percent of the overall murder rate.”
Shootings are rare and statistically insignificant. Focus on real problems and stop wasting resources on an event FAR LESS LIKELY THAN BEING STRUCK BY LIGHTNING
If we were to use statistics to govern policy on this issue, we would have lightning drills to teach kids what to do in a thunderstorm. They are infinitely more likely to be struck by lightning than to be involved in a school shooting.
Hey, maybe we can even send home warnings from the school every time there is a thunderstorm nearby since this “grave danger” is also astronomically more likely than a child being abducted by a stranger.
#5 said
#4 – what’s your solution…should we stop driving cars..?
If it can save just one child’s life we should get rid of guns right? Why shouldn’t the same apply to cars?
Teachers who are properly trained such as ex military should be allowed to carry concealed firearms to protect our children.
Brian, are you saying that security measures should NOT be taken and training should NOT be conducted for school shootings in this area ?? You mention all these other things that we should be more concerned about. Aren’t those things something parents should be teaching their kids.
Some minor practical steps might be appropriate such as training for school officials so they can help assess whether schools should be evacuated or kids should shelter in place.
I think we cause harm when we restrict parents from coming to schools and scare kids about something that has almost no chance of happening–not to mention even lower chance of being stopped by the “safety” measures.
I realize school shootings are a sensational news story and are incomprehensible tragedies; however, they are so unlikely to occur that it is insane to invest resources when we have other real problems that can be solved. The root causes and weapons used in school shootings also come from home so saying parents should be the solution is sort of pointless.