If metal detectors are required at courthouses, isn’t it that much more important to have them at all schools? We owe our children a duty to protect them, even the demented ones before they inflict such horrific pain.
Will it cost money? Yes.
Will it slow down access getting into the school? Yes.
Will it save lives and serve as a deterrent to demented children? Yes.
Catherine M. White
Attorney at Law
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In discussing mass shootings, the Onion, a satirical magazine, once posted a headline and story entitled: '"No way to prevent this," says the only nation where this regularly happens.'
Michael V. Woodward, Ph.D.
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I totally agree we should have metal detectors in schools. We’ve seen sufficient reason as to why. We can afford it. Not as glamorous as a new baseball stadium but way more valuable to the residents of Hamilton county. If we guarded schools like we guard courthouses, banks and casinos, they wouldn’t be such easy targets.
I also believe we should have two officers at every school. It should be a rotation. Seasoned street officers assigned one day a week at a school. These officers have split second reaction time. They would appreciate the break, I would imagine.
I’m speaking as a taxpaying, law-abiding parent of two children in our Hamilton County public school system.
Jason Turner
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The Chattanogan.com’s Daily Poll asks “Should metal detectors be put in schools?” The response has been a whopping 93 percent “Yes.” Catherine White posted her opinion that metal detectors in school will cost money, and slow down normal school building access but will save lives. Apparently, there’s a prevalent opinion that we should install these detectors in the schools.
As we launch the school metal detector project, we’ll need to note that all schools, K-12, must be accommodated. Some large schools may need to have more than one detector installed. Each detector must have a trained operator or two for it to function, plus additional personnel to search when detection is alerted. We’ll need to consider how the staffing of the detectors should be done - teachers? School safety officers? Contractors?
While we are installing and staffing these detectors, we’ll need to consider that these devices need to be in use and staffed during the whole time time the school is in operation, and “by operation” I mean while the entry door is unlocked, not just during the short period when the students enter to start the school day. Part of the installation process will have to establish an effective protocol to assure all the “non-detected” entry-exit doors are secured.
During the procurement process for the detectors, an effective maintenance contract, maybe including spare working detectors will have to be established.
We’ll answer questions about how or whether the school support activities such as cafeteria operations, and supply deliveries can be accommodated in the detection program. Athletics, PE lessons and after-school programs will require detection - or maybe not: we’ll have to decide.
Once the detectors are installed in all the schools a set of standard operating procedures will have been set up - to insure that all schools are properly utilizing the devices. Periodic inspections will be part of these SOP’s. Who will inspect all the schools? The Hamilton County Sheriff’s office? School Central Office? Contractor?
It’s good to have the opportunity to discuss proposals such as school metal detectors, to consider all angles - do some actual problem solving and not just political posturing - in the process of deciding a truly effective, functioning course of action.
Everett Kidder
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The last great school where I was assigned was Soddy-Daisy High School. I am not sure of the exact number of outside entry doors on the ground level, I think it was somewhere around 38.
They can be locked so that no one can enter from the outside but because of fire regulations you cannot lock them to keep students from getting outside. They have a piece of hardware called a panic bar that opens them with a push. As long as no one opens the door from the inside the door is locked.
However, sometimes the door gets stuck open. Sometimes the door gets a rock put under the sill of the door. And sometimes.....someone sees another person at the door and lets them in so they don't have to walk around in the rain or cold to go to the door where a metal detector would be located.
It's impossible to monitor all the doors in a school. If you saw the person that shot the people in Nashville, she just shot the doors open. I know the SRO at Soddy-Daisy, if he heard this shooting, he would be ready and willing to defend the students at his school and so would the Soddy-Daisy Police Department. But it would take a few moments to get to the scene. You can count on these folks to protect your student.
Metal detectors might help if you had at least three at larger schools, however, until we find a way to secure the building during school hours it will remain a problem.
Finally, what do you do in the minutes before and after school when hundreds of students are milling around talking?
There are other situations that could come-up like athletic games, PTA meetings, registration, recess, lunch, etc. etc., etc.
I don't know the answer. I wish I did.
Ernie McCarson
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Metal detectors would work but at an enormous cost. It would be a lot cheaper, and mort effective, for the US House and Senate to simply outlaw the sale of military style assault weapons across the board.
Include with that would be a ban on semi-auto pistols that could be modified to fire totally automatic, being therefore, a machine pistol. With a bump stock and a trigger mechanism that one can easily install, the AR type weapons could fire like machine guns.
Raleigh C. Perry
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Yes, metal detectors should be in schools, and change doors to be only opened from the inside. Also, if you see someone standing at that door and they let someone in and not go thru the metal detectors, than that person should be held accountable.
As far as having people man the detectors, why not employ some of our veterans?
Seriously, there should never be any question should metal detectors be installed. It should have been yes we need to get these and get them installed ASAP, when we have had so many instances of threats and guns brought to just our local schools in the last four weeks.
These kids need to feel safe at school. Never say it isn't going to happen here, you just can't. It would be well spent money and I bet everyone would like that, even if it means no new concession stand for another year. Let's protect our future.
Amy Smith
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Having read through the various comments about metal detectors in schools, Mr. Kidder makes some valid points as to the cost, maintenance and other points of interest associated with metal detectors. Metal detectors are not an install it and forget it machine.
My personal experience with metal detectors having worked in the nuclear industry for many years is that the costs necessary to install, maintain, training for maintenance and personnel to monitor would be so expensive that it cannot be feasible in the public schools and the budgets. I worked in instrument process control and there were specific crews within our department that maintained the various detectors, whether it was explosive or metal and drug detectors. The costs associated with just maintenance and monitoring would be enormous, plus the need for male and female officers or personnel to do physical body searches when a detection signal is generated. Then the costs of hand wands as well for physical searches.
There is also the difficulty of getting large numbers of people through the detectors in a timely manner. In nuclear, many plants had six lanes and each station had a minimum of one person on the monitor and other armed security personnel to do physical searches. So on a typical day anywhere from 18 or more personnel getting folks into the plant. Remember everything must be run through the scanners including all backpacks, phones, belts, watches and even some rings etc. as all of these items will set off a properly calibrated detector. In most nuclear facilities it takes quite some time to process 1,000 plus personnel, thus staggering work schedules and so I imagine schools will have time adjustments to be made and a lot of angry kids waiting to be processed through to enter the school, especially standing in the rain and cold.
Then one reader mentioned the huge number of doors that can be opened from the inside which basically defeats the metal detector process. One way in one way out is the only way detectors could work. In my opinion, as great of an idea as it sounds, it is not doable to have metal detectors in schools. Just a small portion of what funds it would take to have detectors would go a long way in having many more SROs physically on site and the cost would still be cheaper than metal detectors.
Arch Ron Tinker