Effectiveness of metal detectors in schools

Document Type:Research Paper

Subject Area:Education

Document 1

They help to ensure that no intruder or a student or a teacher gets into the school with a weapon. They are used to prevent people from bringing in metallic devices such as guns and knives in certain restricted areas. Experts say that metal detectors may not stop a gunman from entering into a school with a gun but they are helpful in situations where the school is surrounded by gang activities and students may tend to bring guns or knives as a means of protecting themselves (Cheurprakobkit, Sutham, 2005). Then a student should be well informed of what can be and what cannot be brought to school. They should also be aware of the penalty for each and every offence. Black students often operate in a system which is more of a correctional facility than an institutional facility.

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Black students face a lot of discrimination and many social injustices hence making it difficult for them to receive a quality education (Devine, John, 1996). More opportunities for the Black students should be created to stop the violence that is associated with them. Principals should stop summoning students in parade assemblies. Their methods create an insecure environment making it difficult for students to study. Metal detectors can be handheld or it may be a place where people are required to walk through to be scanned before entering the school compound. This method works well when the school closes all other entrance points thereby ensuring there is only one entrance and exit point. Metal detectors may be a requirement in district schools which have a history of insecurity and incidences of violence ((Devine, John, 1996).

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As a parent being left by the child for school early in the morning only to receive shocking news later in the day that there are gunshots in the local school where your child is very terrified and unfortunately your child is a victim. This could not be easy to accept the situation and for such a parent, he or she would advocate for metal detectors to be installed in the school. This will help students to start being exposed to a system where they can abide by the laws and conducts that are expected to be adhered to. This will ensure that students become responsible citizens who can be looked upon (Devine, John, 1996). Nowadays, most organizations and businesses have set up tight security for their employees.

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They also prevent insecurity in schools by enhancing a conducive environment for learning to take place without any disruption that may emerge as a result of weapons that can be detected by a metal detector. This ensures high productivity since the employees feel secure and are not worried that something wrong would happen to them. Therefore, this method is not practical in schools where a student has to be in the lecture rooms on time. Installation of this device is also a disadvantage to the school since metal detectors installation process is not feasible for some schools because some schools are large with various entrances and exits thus it is very hard to use this device to provide security (Astor, Ron Avi, et al, 1999).

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Metal detectors are seen as a bad image to the school. This is because some parents coming into the school feel that they need to provide themselves with their own security and therefore refute the idea of being searched at the school gate. Many feel that use of metal detectors sends mixed signals concerning the school security. This can impede the normal flow of children in and out of the school who must get to the lectures on time. There is also another problem of maintaining such gadgets since they are expensive and handling high numbers of people increases the chances of such machines becoming faulty. There has also been a debate on how to ensure security not only inside the restricted areas where the metal detectors are being used but also outside of such areas to ensure security at every place.

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