Arming the highschool security staff?

[wooddogg]

Our school board has considered arming the highschool's 2 security guards. (small town 12,500 pop.)

The guards are to recieve to same training as our police force officers did.

They put the subject on a discussion board of the local newspaper's website and the responses against it were beyond belief, lol.

I personally wouldn't take a job of confronting trespassers and possible armed threats without my G22.:rolleyes:

What do you members think of arming the highschools'' security staff?

Thankx in adavance, Wooddogg.

[WhiteLite]

I'm not positive about the schools here, as I've not attended them, but I know when I was in Middle and High School in Northern Virginia, the Sheriff's Office had SRO (school resource officers) stationed at almost all the schools in the county... They were fully uniformed and had their duty weapon on them. I was somewhat under the impression that most towns/counties provided police protection at public schools nowadays. *shrug* I don't have a problem with it.

[highwayman]

It depends where the HS is located at (remote area) crime rate, how many violent crimes had occured in campus - if any - and how far the PD is from the property.

The security company needs to make a new threat assessment prior to upgrading the gear that guards carry.

My personal opinion on this however is that if there was a true need to arm the guards in the school, the community would be more receptive to that idea.
If 50% or more is unhappy with the proposition, chances are, the effect will be more negative than positive, regardless if it's passed or not.

[gringoscott]

The high school security in my area is unarmed, but they are supplemented by SRO's. I don't know if they need to be packing, but by all means, give them a taser, OC, and an ASP. I wouldn't do my job without a gun, but they have police backup on site. Give them the tools they need to do their job, but when the task at hand becomes out of their league, let those who are trained come in and handle it. And if I worked school security I'd wear one of those stab/bullet resistant vests. The schools around here are like prisons.

[normal1]

As long as I've known of the city where I grew up, there have been full-blown police officers on campus at all times. I honestly wouldnt take that job for anything.

[JDS]

I would support it. I used to work for a university that had a high school on it's campus. Not only were we armed, but we did active shooter response training often.

[wooddogg]

Thankx for the replies.

Wooddogg.:D

[mcsap]

ONLY if they were fully certified by the state to carry.

PA has what is known as Act 235 which covers anyone who isn't a cop but wants or needs to carry while being employed.

[greenlead]

We have SROs at each of our high schools and the school corp's security department hires off duty police officers (and some probation officers) to work security.

[TXCharlie]

The unarmed security guard at Red Lake High School lasted about 5 seconds against the kid's shotgun - Just fodder for the cannons when something really significant ever goes down,

Ditto for SRO's with light body armor and no rifles, if the attacker himself has an AK-47 and hard body armor. Truly the odds are stackrd in those real-life situations. If you don't learn from them, you're doomed to repeat it.

[resqr1]

There is somebody armed at my son's ELEMENTARY school...


























ME
EVERY time I'm there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CelicaGuy]

We had a SRO at my Highschool, he was in plain cloths but had a duty weapon and two magazines of ammo, handcuffs, and belt badge.

My views, I would say every school should have a SRO.

[mpd145]

NOOOOOO
not the security guards,they already think theyre the cops of the campus.
We have 2 SRO's, i think thats plenty.

[mxwelch]

I say why not arm the teachers that want to? The SRO probably won't be there when the shooting starts, being it's usually only one officer, but the teacher probably will be.

[mcsap]

I say why not arm the teachers that want to? The SRO probably won't be there when the shooting starts, being it's usually only one officer, but the teacher probably will be.

I am OK with this but only if the teachers WANT to be armed, can safely and properly carry or have secure access to a weapon AND are fully certified by the state to carry as a condition of employment.

No exceptions of any kind simply because they are teachers.

The other issue is that repsonding officers are NOT going to know who these teachers are and if they enter the school due as a response to a call and happen to see a person with a gun...