School security relies on student input more than metal detectors, safety expert says

Metal detectors won't guarantee gun-free campus, officials say

By Kathy Bushouse | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

November 13, 2008

Shauntay Watson doesn't want to go to school today.

Wednesday's midday shooting at Dillard High School left Watson, 15, shaken and scared. "Nothing should happen like this," the sophomore said. "They should have metal detectors."

As police investigate Wednesday's shooting and school officials grapple with its aftermath, parents want to know one thing: How was a 15-year-old girl able to bring a gun on campus?

That's what Tony Guskin asked as he picked up his son, Tony Guskin Jr., 16.

"This is a horrible world we live in when you have to be worrying all the time about a gun in school," he said. "How does a gun get into a school?"

No Broward County public high school is equipped with metal detectors. The School Board in 2001 discussed installing walk-through metal detectors at its schools, but determined it would be too expensive and the devices couldn't stop students from simply tossing a weapon over a fence to avoid detection.

Instead, many Broward schools have hand-held wands that administrators and school security officers can use when they think a student is bringing a weapon on campus, said school district spokesman Keith Bromery.

Dillard and other district schools have security cameras installed throughout the campus, Bromery said. And should students hear rumblings of a gun or a threat to student safety, the district's "Silence Hurts" program urges them to immediately alert teachers or administrators, or call the district's anonymous hotline.

Ensuring a school's security takes more than just metal detectors, said Patrick Fiel, public safety advisor for ADT Security Services and former executive director of school security for Washington, D.C.'s public school system.

"We don't need our schools to look like prisons," Fiel said. "However, you have to take a stronger approach of prevention before you have to react."

It's important for schools to involve parents and the community in crafting security plans, but student input is critical, he said. "They'll tell you what's going on on their campuses," Fiel said.

Staff Writer Ihosvani Rodriguez contributed to this report.

Kathy Bushouse can be reached at 954-356-4556 or KBushouse@SunSentinel.com.