NRA intends to change security in most schools

NRA proposed that armed police officers in every school in the U.S. in January to change security procedures, nearly 70% of public schools, a USA TODAY investigation found.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 57% of public schools in the United States had no security personnel at any time during the week in 2009-2010, the last year data were available. Even more - nearly 70% - was a cop at school each week.

NRA Executive Vice President Wayne Lapierre unveiled plans Friday as a tool to protect children after Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 20 children and six adults.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, "he said.


But critics - including a number of security experts, said the school focuses on school shootings and armed officers will not stop random acts of violence, and may have a negative impact on schools.

"I think the police is not the answer," said Gregory Thomas, former security director for New York public schools in cities now preparing school districts on prevention of shooting. "They can not be seen as a sentinel at the door can be moved from a school of something else .. You do not want to be a quiet learning environment."

NRA officials did not figure on the amount of giving by an armed guard at each school will cost.Market public radio estimated annual cost of around $ 8 billion.

Mo Canady, head of the National Association of School Resource Officers, said one of the armed guards would cost $ 80,000 per year, including salary, benefits and equipment.

The number of schools with security guards or the police has not changed since 2004, when 45% of schools reported that they have security personnel present.

When you do with an armed attacker bent on harm humans, the best defense that you are a person who is trained and armed to deal with this situation," said Mo Canady, Director of the National Association of School Resource Officers.

Resource officers, usually the most common type of police officers in schools receive special training to work in a school environment - to help deal with the shooting developmentally disabled students, said Canady.        

Data showed that urban and suburban schools are much more likely to be safe now than towns and rural schools. And presentation is a big factor: 90% of schools with 1,000 or more students had some kind of security presence - most often a resource officer, compared with only 26% of schools with less than 300 students.