In the wake of the Littleton, Colo., high school shooting, schools across the country are scrambling to avoid becoming the next tragedy site. From banning trench coats to setting up metal detectors, they're searching for the antidote to violence. School safety experts caution against such knee-jerk reactions. What's needed, they say, is a balanced approach, combining preventative steps with security measures. Law enforcement in public schools.
Most schools tend to prefer long-term approaches that focus on prevention and intervention.
Peer counseling and mediation programs are quite in vogue these days and can be very effective over time. But experts say too many schools pat themselves on the back for implementing such programs and neglect more immediate security concerns. Schools Must Plan Ahead Trump, who has assessed schools in 30 states, says he sees the same mistakes repeated at most of the schools he visits. Schools will leave dozens of doors open, making it easy for strangers to wander in and out. They fail to secure science labs, enabling kids to take chemicals for making homemade bombs.