The ‘Matrix Problem’ for School Security
Yesterday at Denver East High School, two school administrators with no formal security training were shot by a student during a daily pat…
Yesterday at Denver East High School, two school administrators with no formal security training were shot by a student during a daily pat down for a weapon. This was an example of “The Matrix Problem” when staff at a metal detector or security checkpoint don’t actually think they will find a weapon. When they do encounter an armed person, they are neither prepared, trained, nor equipped to deal with the situation.
Most school shootings are committed by current or former students who plan the attack for months or years. The shooter has a specific grievance that is connected to the school, and they are undeterred by hardened buildings and guards. The security check becomes the nexus of unprepared staff against a determined assailant.
Matrixed Approach
There are two factors that determine the success or failure of searching a student for a weapon. Staff either have formal training and equipment, or don’t have training. In either case, staff either take the threat seriously or don’t take it seriously.
Combining these two variables results in failure for three of four outcomes. Security checkpoints and searching students will only be successful when staff take the threat seriously, and they are also properly trained and equipped to deal with an armed assailant.
In March 2022 at Olathe East High, the SRO and Principal were shot in an office during similar circumstances to the shooting in Denver yesterday. They heard the student had a gun, called him to the office, but didn’t treat it like a deadly situation so they failed to make a plan to separate the student from his backpack with the weapon. When they asked him if a gun was in his bag, he pulled it out and shot them. In January, a teacher was shot in Newport News, VA after the Principal failed to properly search the student.
Inversely, last week in North Carolina the SRO was able to safely execute a plan to separate a student from a backpack with a loaded gun after getting a tip. Nobody was injured and the student was arrested.
Better School Security
Many schools are forcing untrained teachers and administrators into security roles that they are unprepared for. Officers assigned to schools can also become complacent.
The safety of students and staff depends on both proper training, equipment, and taking searches seriously.
David Riedman is the creator of the K-12 School Shooting Database and a national expert on school shootings. Listen to my recent interviews on Freakonomics Radio, New England Journal of Medicine, and Iowa Public Radio the day after the Perry High shooting.