The School Security Apparatus: Does it Accomplish What It Claims to Accomplish?

• In Event: 3429 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 27. School Discipline and Violence

Abstract

Police, surveillance cameras, and metal detectors—the heart of the school security apparatus—have become commonplace in American schools under the assumption that they make students and schools safer. Some argue that the school security apparatus is indeed necessary to protect a vulnerable population from a dangerous world and maintain order and discipline. Others argue that the school security apparatus is not only unnecessary for safety and discipline, it actually increases violence and misbehavior. To test whether the school security apparatus makes students and schools safer, I use data from the Education Longitudinal Study to examine the impact of police, metal detectors, and cameras on changes to student victimization and levels of crime in high school. Results show that the school security apparatus does not reduce student victimization nor does it reduce crime rates in school. Counterintuitively, it appears to exacerbate student victimization and criminal acts in schools, especially when a variety of safety protocols are used in unison to create a maximum security environment. These findings not only contribute to our understanding of the effectiveness of school security strategies, it also provides insight into the appropriateness of the massive increase in hyper-security in a multiplicity of American institutions.

Author

• David S. Morris, College of Charleston