Safety and Security in Schools

The state of school safety and security in America remains a contentious issue as security measures adopted are yet to achieve desirable results. SERAPH conducted a two-year study on the state of security and safety in schools by analyzing school policies and their effectiveness in maintaining desirable security levels. The report found that the complexities in school policies provide a chaotic environment with different security challenges. Schools have external influences from families, vendors, intruders, legislators, and other groups. Schools experience security challenges, such as violence, robbery, sexual aggression, and gun violence. The challenges face both students and teachers, with a high prevalence among students. The main challenge experienced in solving the problems is the lack of enough information and awareness of the challenges due to inadequate reporting mechanisms and protection of the victims (SERAPH). The victims do not report, leading to further mental health issues and a desire for revenge. As such, security challenges escalate, leading to deadly consequences, like brutal deaths and suicide cases.

Lacoe (2015) provides a study on safety in schools and recognizes that policymakers, teachers, and parents are concerned about students' safety and security. Achieving security in schools calls for reduction of violence, bullying, and disorder in addition to adopting security measures, such as metal detectors and the use of law enforcers (Lacoe, 2015). However, the stakeholders lack information on the level of safety in schools and the students’ feelings about it. The research also found that the levels of safety feelings differ depending on the racial groups. Thus, schools' safety is also dependent on the schools and their neighborhoods, since they are significant determinants of socialization in American society. Additionally, stakeholders, such as teachers, students, parents, and administrators, propagate school safety. In their study, Mowen and Frend (2019) provided that the inter-relationship between stakeholders determines the level of security in American schools today. When the stakeholders lack consciousness on the need for security and safety in schools, students find a ground to breed different insecure activities that jeopardize other students' safety and security.

Motivations for Insecurity in Schools 

Insecurity in schools is motivated by individuals, social, and environmental factors. SERAPH reported that parenting is the main socialization agent to children in determining their discipline and responsibility towards others. When parents fail to discipline children during development, they develop undesirable behaviors. Most students were found to receive 'emotionally immature parenting' that made them lack parental involvement in their life, education, and development. Parents also defend children when they are charged with indiscipline cases, rather than face disciplinary measures. As a result, students get away with their bad behavior and develop the notion of doing anything they want towards others. Children who have witnessed their parents go through divorce experience problems in life. They lack role models, develop anger and emotional instability, and may indulge in substance abuse and delinquent behavior (SERAPH). Such students have a higher likelihood of committing crimes in school, endangering other student’s safety.

Paolini (2015) provides that bullying is the leading cause of school shootings, the leading cause of insecurity in American schools today. It contributes to 87% of all security cases, with drug and substance abuse contributing to 12% (Paolini, 2015). Perpetrators claimed that they were bullying and felt humiliated, resulting in suicide or revenge. Additionally, 10% of the perpetrators had psychiatric conditions, and they failed to adhere to their medications, leading to violent actions. Sadly, there have been psychiatric reports showing warnings on some drugs with side effects, such as hostility and homicidal thoughts (Paolini, 2015).

The availability of firearms among students continues to be a challenge in maintaining security in schools and safety among students (Paolini, 2015). Despite the Supreme Court ruling against gun ownership to mentally ill people, their accessibility continues to be a threat. Mentally ill people, among them students, are determined to own firearms, placing the public in danger. However,focus on controlling the availability of guns to mentally-unstable people lacks. Despite the danger they pose to the general public around them, mentally-unstable students lack the support and services they need to maintain sobriety since counselors and teachers lack awareness of the mental illness and un violence (Paolini, 2015). As a result, violence bursts in school, and untreated mental cases, homicide, or suicide are witnessed. Thus, all students' welfare is jeopardized when there lacks awareness, support, and education on mental health and its relation to gun violence.

School shootings are also related to inadequate family supervision, family dysfunction, unregulated access to firearms, and mental health issues among students (Paolini, 2015). Parents lack involvement in their children’s life and education, thereby lacking guidance and supervision over their children (SERAPH). Therefore, they never notice when their children possess firearms or even carry them to school. Additionally, families are sometimes unstable and dysfunctional and socialize children into the usage of firearms for protection. Thus, children carry firearms to school as a way of protecting themselves from bullying or harassment. Accessing firearms in the U.S. has become easy through purchasing weapons in the black market. Owning a gun becomes as easy as owning a play station or a bicycle. The behavior is also motivated by bullying, harassment, discrimination, and revenge when students feel intimidated by others. They seek to protect themselves when the system seems dysfunctional. Other students fear reporting bullying or harassment cases, thereby taking measures in their hands to revenge bitterly.

American gun laws and institutional gun policies directly relate to school shootings due to the provision of the "right to own a firearm." According to the National Education Association (2020), leaders develop gun policies without considering their impacts on young people, especially students. They fail to address the leading causes of gun violence in schools from every angle, including policies to regulate gun ownership, thereby affecting American students. As PBS (2019) reports, students are scared and traumatized due to their colleague's deaths from gun violence in schools. The country lacks strict gun control laws that may not necessarily infringe the right to own firearms but to use them.

On that note, safety and security have impacted the learning environment in several ways. Warsi (2018) explains that schools' security provides a safe environment that promotes social plus innovative learning. Safety enhances students to explore new ways of doing things and becoming independent by becoming more responsible. In case security is not maintained, students fear and truancy increases. Thus, insecurity inhibits the attainment of quality education and positive development, which parents cannot provide. Warsi (2018) reports that insecure learning environments contribute to poor academic performance and increases the possibility of indulging indelinquent behavior and substance abuse. The indulgence in delinquent activities results from fear and distress. Students avoid being left out or sidelined to become targets of violence, bullying, or harassment. Kutsyurub et al. (2015) explain that a secure learning environment contributes to academic achievement, and thus, school safety should be a priority to stakeholders in the education sector.

Steps Taken to Address Safety and Security in Schools 

Mears et al. (2018) analyze several measures taken by stakeholders to improve security and safety in schools. Schools are using mandatory suspensions, expulsion, zero tolerance, and the use of law enforcement officers to curb security cases. The approaches have proven to be severe and insignificant since students become resistant and deviant, thereby calling for more liberal and effective measures to deal with insecurity. The approaches are condemned by Kupchik (2016), who explains that punitive measures destroy students and increases insecurity issues in schools. As such, the SIA (2020) has established recommendations and best practices to enhance safety in schools. The recommendations involve all stakeholders in taming students while empowering them to become responsible for ensuring their safety and those of others. Technology measures are rampant in schools where screening using metal detectors, installing security cameras, and the use of identification cards have been adopted to curb insecurity (Fisher et al., 2018).

Schools have taken measures to deal with mental health issues as a measure of increasing security and safety. Cuellar et al. (2018) explore the extent to which schools are using social workers in addressing students’ psychological needs to enhance the school’s safety. Social workers have proven to be effective in stabilizing mentally unstable students to eliminate their instability that can pose a danger to students' safety. Further, schools adopt safe cultures that cultivate positive relationships between students and between teachers and students ( Vallinkoski & Koirikivi, 2020). The culture is committed to enhance positive attitudes and to embrace diversity among stakeholders. Students are involved in decision-making to express their concern, to prevent discrimination of any form. The democratic approach has proven effective in ensuring students’ safety in schools. 

Learning Theory Association 

Several theories guide safety and security measures in schools. First, opportunity theories provide that security measures should control but not perpetuate schools (Fisher et al., 2018) . The theory provides that security measures should be guardians to prevent students from committing crimes. In the school environment, security measures provide awareness to students that they are being monitored, thereby avoiding criminal behavior. For instance, surveillance security cameras deter students from victimizing others in the hallways. Thus, technology increases awareness of possible detection, thereby reducing victimization cases. 

On the other hand, critical theories explain that strict security rules create unsuitable learning environments that lead to victimization (Fisher et al., 2018) . Strict rules make students compare schools to prisons as they believe their peers are dangerous. Additionally, students may maintain a victimization culture, rendering security measures ineffective. Heavy scrutiny grooms a feeling of alienation, thereby weakening social bonds (Fisher et al., 2018) . 

Safe School Initiative guides the steps schools should take to address safety and security issues. The initiative provides that schools establish a safe environment for students and staff (Ames, 2019). The initiative funds safety initiatives in schools by examining the factors that lead to insecurity issues and addressing them accordingly. Once the root causes are identified, training and mentorship are provided to students to empower them to become responsible citizens. The initiative is led by the secret service to notice targeted victimization issues before they happen (Vossekuil et al., 2000). They do so by monitoring social media platforms and investigating potential personalities believed to be a danger to themselves and others.

Definition of Terms 

Safety and security : Schunk (2020) defines school safety and security as “strategies employed to eliminate threats to students, staff, and structures in the school environments.”

Mental illness : Paolini (2015) defines mental health as “the emotional, psychological, and social health that affects how people think, feels, or acts, and determines how people deal with stress, associate with others, and make decisions.”

Bullying : Paolini (2015) defines bullying in schools as “the act of students, teachers, or other staff applying force or coercion to dominate, intimidates, or harm others in a learning environment.”

Gaps in Research 

Scholars should focus on studying the approaches schools should take in developing and updating the school's crisis plan and preparedness for mentorship and training students and staff to renew their commitment to maintaining security. Schools should establish a safe and supportive culture and climate in the future to offer a broader scope of school-behavioral expectations. Additionally, schools should implement positive interventions and support, violence prevention and reduction programs, and compassionate school climate programs. Schools should also provide students with anonymous reporting systems to be reporting bullying cases anonymously to mitigate them early before escalating into serious security issues. When students are involved in decision-making processes in schools through representatives, reasonable security measures can be adopted for them to have a collective responsibility in maintaining security.

The Biblical World View 

The Bible, in Job 11: 18, says that “and you will feel secure because there is hope; you will look around and take your rest in security;" recognition on the fruits of peace and security for a peaceful mind. The verse shows that a peaceful mind is a byproduct of an environment blended with security and hope. On relating to the topic under research, safety and security are imperative in students' academic performance in schools and for holistic development. Additionally, the gospel of Matthew 22: 39 states that “You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.” The second greatest commandment from the biblical perspective considers the highest safety concern through love. Thus, the motive for every person’s relationship with others is to honor God by loving others. Thus, students can show love by being conscious of the importance of maintaining others' security by following rules and respecting human dignity. On that note, students should also be good neighbors, just like the Good Samaritan who helped the wounded stranger as narrated in Luke 10: 25-37, by doing good to them and preventing harm or injury through bullying, revenge, or harassment.

Conclusion 

Safety and security in schools is a serious issue that has proven ambiguous to stakeholders due to its depth and complexity. Security issues in schools are in the form of bullying, harassment, revenge, and shootings. They are caused by various factors such as lack of parental care, mental health issues, and unstable school environments. Schools have outdated reporting mechanisms that make students fear reporting insecurity cases. As such, school policies are seen as perpetrators of insecurity in American schools today.

Additionally, gun laws in America provide the right to own firearms but lack regulations on curbing access of ammunitions to mentally unstable individuals. Thus, gun violence in schools increases, leading to loss of lives and injuries to many students. On that note, stakeholders have taken various steps to curb insecurity in schools. Schools have adopted surveillance systems and metal detectors to prevent firearms and other weapons to the school environment. Schools have also employed social works to address mental health needs among students and staff. In a broader scope, the secret service has adopted an approach to monitor victimization signs in schools through social media and monitoring persons of interest.

That being said, safety and security in schools is a collective responsibility, and all stakeholders should play their part. Students should be guided by the biblical perspective of loving one another by being their neighbor’s keeper to uphold human dignity and respect human life since it is a sacred gift from God. When security is achieved, students will record excellent academic performance, become responsible citizens, and enjoy a holistic development. Thus, school safety and security provide a peaceful, stress-free, and innovative learning environment for students to explore their potential in life.

References 

Ames, B. (2019). Making Schools Safe for Students . National Institute of Justice. https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/making-schools-safe-students 

Cuellar, M. et al. (2018). School social workers’ perceptions of school safety and security in today’s schools: A survey of practitioners across the United States.  Journal of school violence ,  17 (3), 271-283. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2017.1315308 

Fisher, B. et al. (2018). School Security Measures and Longitudinal Trends in Adolescents’ Experiences of Victimization. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 47(6), 1221-1237. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10964-018-0818-5

Kupchik, A. (2016). The real school safety problem: the long-term consequences of harsh school punishment . University of California Press.

Kutsyuruba, B., Klinger, D. A., & Hussain, A. (2015). Relationships among school climate, school safety, student achievement, and well‐being: A literature review. Review of Education ,  3 (2), 103-135. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3043 

Lacoe, J. R. (2015). Unequally safe: The race gap in school safety.  Youth violence and juvenile justice ,  13 (2), 143-168. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541204014532659

Mears, D. et al. (2018). The benefits, risks, and challenges of get-tough and support-oriented approaches to improving school safety. Criminal Justice Policy Review , 30 (9), 1342-1367. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403418786553

Mowen, T. J., & Freng, A. (2019). Is more necessarily better? School security and perceptions of safety among students and parents in the United States.  American journal of criminal justice ,  44 (3), 376-394. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12103-018-9461-7 

Musu, L. et al. (2019). Indicators of school crime and safety: 2018 . https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/iscs18.pdf

National Education Association (2020). Keeping our Schools Safe: A Plan for Preventing Mass Shootings and Ending All Gun Violence in American Schools . https://everytownresearch.org/report/a-plan-for-preventing-mass-shootings-and-ending-all-gun-violence-in-american-schools/

Paolini, A. (2015). School shootings and student mental health: Role of the school counselor in mitigating violence.  Vistas Online ,  90 , 1-15. https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/vistas/school-shootings-and-student-mental-health.p

PBS (2019). How teens want to solve America’s school shooting problem . https://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/student-voices/how-teens-want-to-solve-americas-school-shooting-problem/ 

Schunk, D. (2020). Learning theories: An Educational Perspective . Pearson.

SERAPH. The State of School Safety in American Schools 2004-2005 . https://www.nyssba.org/clientuploads/ex_seraph_updated_report.pdf 

SIA. (2020, August 26). School Safety . Security industry association. https://www.securityindustry.org/advocacy/policy-priorities/school-safety/.

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Vallinkoski, K. K., &Koirikivi, P. M. (2020). Enhancing Finnish primary education schools' safety culture through a comprehensive safety and security management. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy , 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/20020317.2020.1720069

Vossekuil, B. et al. (2000) Safe School Initiative: An Interim Report on the Prevention of Targeted Violence in Schools . U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center.

Warsi , W . (2018). Why School Safety Is Important for Children. https://www.franchiseindia.com/education/why-school-safety-is-important-for-children.11214 

The Bible 

The New International Version Bible (2011). Zondervan. (Original work published 1978).