For many months I’ve warned that the use of classroom barricade devices and could allow unauthorized people to secure classrooms and commit crimes. Several people have asked me for statistics on how many crimes have been committed behind secured classroom doors. It’s impossible to compile any sort of meaningful data, and this news report from WBFF Fox 45 Baltimore illustrates why. It’s shocking and difficult to believe, but many crimes in schools go unreported. With these conditions in so many schools, I don’t understand why any district would take on the potential liability associated with failure to meet their duties of care.
The ability to lock classrooms and other areas should be limited to staff members, particularly when the security device can not be unlocked or removed from outside of the room. Additional statistics have recently been released regarding sexual assault on school grounds, further illustrating the need for authorized control of lockable doors.
What research says and doesn’t say about student sex assault – The Associated Press
University of Michigan* researchers surveyed nearly 1,100 junior and high school students in the state about peer sexual assault, both in and out of school. The study, published in 2008, said about half of all girls and a fourth of all boys reported peer victimization of some kind…
* Note: The Michigan State Fire Marshal’s bulletin on classroom barricade devices is here.
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Can you say “Loss of funding”? Why would school districts report every skirmish that occurs on campus when they would surely face reduction of funding.
Great article Lori! One would think that school systems (Public and Private) would have the same mandate of reporting crime as Colleges and Universities do under the Cleary Act. Sounds to me like this needs to happen. As a physical security consultant I am completely against barricade devices, although many colleagues of mine in Consulting circles feel they augment existing physical security programs that are in place. Statistically hard to to argue with them given the lack of data available on crime in the K-12 environment. Reports and videos like these prove the point. It will certainly be interesting to see if the barricade devices are actually used to perpetrate crimes such as these. I suspect they will at some point in time.
Great piece. Until we stop thinking up to a problem, and not through it, we will continue to use these devices and put people in greater danger than the threat the device is supposed to stop.