How Can Technology Enhance School Safety?

[jedishrfu]

So while people debate on how to solve this problem, we grassroots door people can provide some added protection one door at a time. I know it's not a solution to every problem I just feel so bad that it was defenseless kids protected by defenseless teachers who were killed and only if the door could have fought back some of them would still be here.

I also realize that our PF here is not equipped to answer this kind of question but you have in ways you can't envision just yet. Thank you all.

 

[OmCheeto]

Require people with guns and assault rifles to also own a gun safe.

The incidents in both Oregon and Connecticut could have been nullified with this requirement.

The gun in Oregon was stolen, the gun in Connecticut was, I don't know. How did that guys mom have her guns stored?

 

[justsomeguy]

Require people with guns and assault rifles to also own a gun safe.

You would also have to require them to *use* them, and how are you going to enforce that?

 

[BobG]

Require people with guns and assault rifles to also own a gun safe.

The incidents in both Oregon and Connecticut could have been nullified with this requirement.

The gun in Oregon was stolen, the gun in Connecticut was, I don't know. How did that guys mom have her guns stored?

A gun safe would help in many situations, but probably not in the latest shooting attack. Why wouldn't she trust her 20-year-old son to the combo to the gun safe?

Aside from the fact that he may not have been mentally stable. I still get the feeling that she would have never dreamed of keeping the guns away from him, as the guns were for protection against the coming apocalypse; not protection against him.

 

[mfb]

There are ~40 million students in an age relevant for school shootings. Assuming one room with a single door in a school per 20 students, this corresponds to 2 million doors in schools. How expensive is a bullet-proof door or something similar? I found prices of 500$ or more, including installation, locking system and so on this looks like a reasonable lower estimate.

Adding a bullet-proof door to all rooms in schools in the US would cost about 1 billion US-dollar.

I don't know the lifetime of those doors. Based on this list, there was a total of 163 victims since 2000 and 66 between 1990 and 1999. Most of the attacks had 1-5 victims, probably within a single room, so bullet-proof / locked doors wouldn't have helped.

There are 3 school shootings in the list with more than 10 victims:
Columbine High School, 1999, 15 victims
Blacksburg, Virginia, 2007, 33 victims
Newtown, 2012, 27 victims

I am sure it would save more lifes to invest 1 billion US-dollar in prevention, programs to reduce the number of (available) weapons or something similar.

 

[jedishrfu]

There are ~40 million students in an age relevant for school shootings. Assuming one room with a single door in a school per 20 students, this corresponds to 2 million doors in schools. How expensive is a bullet-proof door or something similar? I found prices of 500$ or more, including installation, locking system and so on this looks like a reasonable lower estimate.

Adding a bullet-proof door to all rooms in schools in the US would cost about 1 billion US-dollar.

I don't know the lifetime of those doors. Based on this list, there was a total of 163 victims since 2000 and 66 between 1990 and 1999. Most of the attacks had 1-5 victims, probably within a single room, so bullet-proof / locked doors wouldn't have helped.

There are 3 school shootings in the list with more than 10 victims:
Columbine High School, 1999, 15 victims
Blacksburg, Virginia, 2007, 33 victims
Newtown, 2012, 27 victims

I am sure it would save more lifes to invest 1 billion US-dollar in prevention, programs to reduce the number of (available) weapons or something similar.

This is a good analysis however you can spin the numbers a different way and see that the investment is much lower.

I found these stats from the NCEF website: http://www.ncef.org/ds/statistics.cfm#

55 million students in school in US
4 million teachers

average lifetime of a public school building: 42 years

there 130,000 public/private elementary/secondary schools

cost to build an elementary school is $25k per student with 600 student capacity
cost to build a secondary shool is $30K per student
coust to build a high school is #30K per student

Annual cost of a student: $2300

Just looking at the annual cost per student with a $2000 hardened door in a class of 20 kids would cost $100 more and that could be prorated over 5 or 10 years making it not such an intolerable expense. That same door could be protecting for upto 42 years on average.

My $2000 door estimate is based on prices at this website:

http://www.pacificbulletproof.com/products/bullet-resistant-doors/

 

[mfb]

I don't see how your numbers are lower.
55 million students and $100/student gives $5.5 billions. Sure, you can install just 10% per year (I would expect that you have to, as 2 million doors are probably above the current production capacity), but that does not lower the total costs of the program. Distributed over 42 years, this is $100 million per year. Or ~$30 million per student/teacher killed in a school shooting with more than 10 victims.

 

[justsomeguy]

Also 42 years of protection on average isn't quite right. That's the average duration a schoolbuilding lasts. Unless they are not getting installed except in new schools, they will last significantly less time -- 42 years less whatever the average age of a school is.

From a practical standpoint, I'm in agreement with mfb here, that level of cost does not seem worth it vs. the risk considering the alternatives. I haven't heard of any of these psychos trying to shoot through closed doors, and if they do, well, bullets that will go through an average solid door will go through drywall even easier.

Perhaps (sorry, forgot the name!) was right; we may be well past the point of diminishing returns already when it comes to physical security measures.

 

[Curious3141]

as the guns were for protection against the coming apocalypse; not protection against him.

Something tells me he may not have been the only mentally unstable one in the family.