The issue of school violence has recently become a widely debated topic in the USA, and the solution to this problem is still to be found. Various school security policies have been implemented, although even the school security officers are clearly the last thing that students and school staff think of up until the need arises. Just like other contradictory problems, the issues of school violence and school security have both pros and cons. The outcomes depend on what kind of security measures are taken by the school administration.
Among the protective measures taken by school officials is emergency evacuation. Such measure can be taken in a number of cases. The evacuation procedures are put into action in case there is a threat of some environmental catastrophe, including hurricane and some others. However, evacuation is also used in case there is a life-threatening situation, such as school violence, which the students are exposed to. In this case, evacuation might save the lives of children and teachers. Emergency evacuation is considered one of the most effective means of protection, although there are also some negative sides of such a measure. It needs to be noted that evacuation distracts children from the learning process and prevents them from studying without any interruptions. This is a significant drawback of emergency evacuation, even though it is meant to save the lives of school children, teachers and sometimes parents.
There are some other ways to protect both school children and teachers. These are security cameras and metal detectors, which have both positive and negative characteristics. As for the security cameras, they are usually put everywhere within the school and its grounds. This issue is rather contradictory for both students and school administration. In fact, the major negative side of such a measure is the fact that it violates the privacy of students and teachers. It depends majorly on the location of these cameras. Nonetheless, there are certain restrictions as for the use of such cameras applied on local and federal levels. As for the benefits of security cameras, the major advantage of such a security measure is that everything in and around the school can be monitored, so that some violations can be easily detected. Cameras located within the school building might help the police to find out where the violation of rules has taken place and what the best ways to evacuate the students from a dangerous sight are.
Furthermore, some of the US schools have recently implemented a new security measure against school violence that is metal detectors. However, this issue also has its pros and cons. In fact, metal detectors are usually located at the very entrance to the school building. It especially concerns schools with a large number of students, where all the procedures associated with checking students for weapon can result in children being late. At the school entrance, children have to empty their pockets and let the security officers look through their bags. In such a way, metal detectors are associated with certain degree of inconvenience for both school children and the staff members. This may be regarded as a violation of one’s privacy, although there are some positive sides as well.
Thus, without such a measure, it would be difficult to detect guns or knives that might be brought to school by students posing a threat to the well-being of not only students, but also the staff members. If a student carries a weapon to school, metal detectors might help to detect it. If there were no metal detectors, the lives of other students, parents and teachers would be under a threat of injury or even death. This makes metal detectors a necessary measure for all schools as it helps to prevent the incidences of school violence.