In recent years, the issue of gun violence and shootings in schools have been an increasing concern for parents and educators. Even though school shootings are rare, there’s been 1,316 instances since 1970 and their frequency is only increasing. In fact, 18% of those shootings occurred within only 7 years. It’s easy to overlook the importance of school safety and to think “this could never happen to me or my children”, but a school shooting can happen anywhere. Just a few weeks ago, a local Texas school near our company headquarters suffered a terrible incident in which 4 people were injured after a student fired a gun during a fight. And just last week, there were two separate shootings at Grambling State University in Louisiana that killed 1 person and injured 7 others. School campuses need more safety protocols in place to protect students and staff from instances of violence, but there can be some unique challenges to address when implementing strategies.
Challenges
In order to effectively prevent school violence and shootings, the best method would be to screen students and visitors before they enter the building. Screening each person will ensure that weapons and other dangerous items are not making their way to the classrooms and being used to hurt others. However, school campuses can be quite large with thousands of students and staff members entering everyday. Performing individual pat downs can be extremely time-consuming which could cause delays in entering and cut into learning time. Not only that, pat downs often miss small weapons and the physical contact can make some people feel uncomfortable. Due to these issues, many school districts forgo screening but this risks the chance of a school shooting or other violent act.
Solutions from 2M Technology
Hand Held Metal Detector
At 2M Technology, we carry a line of metal detectors that can effectively and quickly screen visitors for dangerous items without requiring physical contact. Our handheld metal detector wands are a cost-effective and portable method for inspecting visitors. The inspector will just need to run the light-weight scanner close to the person’s body and if a metal item is detected, a light+sound or light+vibration alarm will be sent out. The scanner can detect a wide range of metal items from handguns to pins. This option is contactless, quick, and easy to use.
Walk Through Metal Detection Gates
A quicker way to screen students and visitors would be to use 2M Technology’s walk through metal detection gates. They’re contactless like the wands, but they’re even faster to use because it does not require the student to stop to be inspected. Instead, each student will just need to walk through the gate. If a metal item is detected, an audio and light alarm will be sent out. This model has 18 different zones which identify multiple target locations from head to toe to ensure that any potential threats are detected. Additionally, the gate has an adjustable sensitivity level so schools can tailor the gate to screen out items of interest. For example, schools can set a higher sensitivity level if they want to detect even the smallest metal item like pins. If they only want to screen for large weapons, they can set a lower sensitivity level to detect knives and guns. This allows schools to customize their screening and catch any potential threats while eliminating false alarms.
Walk Through Thermal Metal Detection Gates
These metal detection gates have the same functions as our regular gates, but with the added feature of temperature scanning. Not only do these gates screen for weapons, but they screen for high body temperatures as well. Even though the number of COVID-19 cases are decreasing, its variants are spreading and breakthrough infections can occur. Using temperature scanners is a good method for screening out illnesses, but checking each person individually with a thermal gun can be time-consuming. It’s even more time-consuming if the school decides to scan each person’s temperature and screen everyone with a separate metal detector. However, this 2-in-1 is the perfect solution for keeping traffic moving while still protecting its students from school violence and the spread of infections. As each person walks through the gate, the device will scan the body temperature and detect metal items simultaneously.
Contact 2M Technology for Your School Solution!
Unfortunately, school violence and shootings are becoming more common throughout the United States. However, we can prevent these incidents from happening by implementing safety protocols such as the use of metal detectors. If you’re looking for a solution for your school campus, give 2M Technology a call! Our experienced sales team can design a secure solution that’s tailored to your school’s needs and keep your campus safe. Our solutions will allow you to maintain your highest priority: the safety of your students.