With the increase in mass shootings at schools over the last twenty years and violent crime currently plaguing the nation, officials at Siouxland Christian School in Sioux City, Iowa, decided to take matters into their own hands when it comes to protecting students. The school announced it would have armed personnel on its campus, KTIV reported, in case of a tragic emergency.
Officials first considered having armed personnel at Siouxland Christian School over a year and a half ago, according to KTIV. The school board evaluated the pros and cons, risks and rewards, over several months before committing to having armed employees on school grounds. It represents the dark reality of the security issues schools face in the 21st century.
“Schools now have become a place where we need to think about intruders coming in, unfortunately,” Dr. Lindsay Laurich, the district’s superintendent, said.
It has long been suggested that schools start having more armed employees on campuses as a way to protect in case of emergency in the event of a school shooter. Additionally, many have suggested that the presence of armed people in schools and on campuses would act as a deterrent to shooters since it would mean they would encounter armed resistance instead of the typical gun-free zones that have existed in the past.
“Obviously, to take the step to have armed staff in our school is a big one. And it requires a lot of conversation with a lot of stakeholders,” Laurich said. “As the school board and administration, we came together and said, you know, what else can we do? What can we do above all the things that we’ve already been doing, the trainings, the practice drills, the emergency manuals that we have, what’s the next step we can take?”
A 2021 report from the U.S. Department of Justice studied the effectiveness of armed security in deterring school shooters. The report analyzed data on school shootings from 1980 to 2019. According to the report, armed security was “on scene in 23.58% of shootings.” The report acknowledged that there were many limitations in the study, most of all including the “inability to measure deterred shootings.”
However, it ultimately concluded that there was “no association between having an armed officer and deterrence of violence in these cases.” Furthermore, it found that armed security at schools during shootings was “the number one factor associated with increased casualties after the perpetrators’ use of assault rifles or submachine guns.”
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Such findings would run counter to the belief that “good guys with guns” stop shootings. It would also go against recent analysis that found armed people in situations are effective at deterring an attack or neutralizing the person with a gun in situations where there is an active shooter.
Unquestionably, this is a bold move and innovative step in trying to protect students from school shooters. Hopefully, the school will never have to worry about how successful this plan is. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if others follow Siouxland Christian School’s lead.