Should Schools Have Metal Detectors?

This is one of the most important questions today. Many people still think that it is not necessary to increase the level of safety in public buildings, but it is definitely not so.

The level of crime in schools is alarming, and something should absolutely be done to put an end to it. In today’s society, it is very easy to buy a gun, legally or illegally, and the fatal consequences are soon to be seen.

Schools shootings in the U.S. are on the rise again. The early 2000s saw the slow decline of schools shootings (probably because of stringent safety measures caused by 9/11 attacks), but in the last few the rate went higher than ever before.

Thos who are most affected by this, apart from the actual victims, of course, are the parents who send their children to school. They are all worried sick. It is definitely not easy to think about the possibility of your child’s schools falling pray to a shooting.

Chardon High School shooting took three lives; Sandy Hook Elementary Schools shooting took 27 lives. There were also several wounded. This October in a Nevada middle school, a students opened fire with a handgun he took from his parents. He killed a teacher and wounded two fellow students. He later shot himself.

Although the schools have emergency procedures, they all failed to stop the shootings from happening. There are also crisis plans and communication systems with school districts. There is video surveillance and, ID wearing and drug testing- but it is obviously not enough.

Schools that have installed metal detectors have proven to drastically reduce violence, from firearms to blades and daggers. People have to realize that, nowadays, we live under the constant threat of someone carrying a weapon to school and opening fire at will. Students deserve to feel safe and enjoy the level of safety measures seen in a courtroom or an airport.

Imagine the possibility of every school in the nation having high safety measures, including a metal detector at the entrance. What would be the result of that? Would violence reduce? The chances are that most of the shootings that took place in the last few years would not have happened if there had been a metal detector installed.

Some will say that installing a detector is costly; however, if life is our most valuable possession, then there should be no more talk about the need for metal detectors. The future of our children may depend on them. Metal detectors are highly efficient and serve their purpose in the best way. Every school should consider having a metal detector as a part of its safety measures.