Students across America have participated in presentations and drills that are meant to prepare them to protect themselves in the event of an armed intruder entering their campus. They have been told to take protective measures such as turning off the lights in their classroom and barricading the door with their desks while they wait for the police or possibly school security to arrive and detain the suspect. If the gunman manages to get inside of the classroom and security has not yet arrived, then students are told to attempt to immobilize the attacker themselves.
Then the question arises; how far could a group of students get when matched against a gunman until fatalities occur? The media compares having armed security guards in schools to a prison where students and staff alike will supposedly feel unsafe when in reality, these armed security guards will be their protectors. Every school in the United States should have armed security in order to protect the students and staff from intruders. This goal should be fulfilled because armed security would be able to effectively neutralize an attacker and prevent fatalities and injuries from occurring, and can arguably be very affordable to school districts who are in difficult financial situations.
In the event that an armed intruder makes their way onto a school campus, having armed security guards present would allow the attacker to be detained quicker than a 911 call could have officers arrive at the scene, allowing the least amount of injuries to occur. In Campus Safety Magazine, The National School Safety Council’s executive director, Ronald Stephens, states that having armed security guards present on campus can even help to discourage a potential shooter from entering the campus, “It sends the signal that the school is being watched and that the care and supervision of children is an important priority.”
Expert Security Tips claims that the security guards could also be a resource for students or teachers to report students who might be carrying a weapon or a harmful substance. If armed security guards could quickly neutralize or foil a potential attacker’s plans, then much fewer injuries and deaths would occur in all types of schools across the country.
Even if a school district wanted to place armed security in their schools, they might run into a financial dilemma, but student’s lives should not have to be put in jeopardy because of this. Mic Network reports that school security does not need to be a financial burden because of the many organizations such as Front Sight Firearms Training, who offer free training for school administrators, teachers, and staff, so the lives of their students can be protected. It is also implied that volunteers can be trained as armed security, and have a deeper connection with the students as they range from family members to neighbors of the students they would be protecting.
