By Phil Chalmers
For the Salisbury Post
It was 10 years ago today that the eyes of the American public were glued to TV sets, watching the shocking media coverage of the Columbine high school shooting. The main questions running through our minds were: “How could these kids commit such a horrific crime? And in Small Town USA, where violence is virtually non-existent?”
Since April 20, 1999 and particularly immediately afterward, law enforcement personnel, school administrators, politicians and experts launched an aggressive assault against school violence. Their objective was to make our schools safer and ease the minds of parents who now had to wonder if dropping their kids off at school meant they would never see them again.
As time passed by, this once-feverish momentum died down, but to what degree? Are our children any safer now, 10 years after the Columbine disaster? In my opinion, having accumulated 20 years of experience studying teen killers, school shooters, teen culture and violence, I believe the answer is no!
The route to safer school systems is through awareness. Not only must we acknowledge that this kind of thing can happen in our school or community, but we must also recognize and have the courage to report potential warning signs exhibited by violent teens or potential future school shooters. Unfortunately, many administrations are no longer investing the time and effort to do this. Ten years passed and the lessons learned from that day seemed to have faded into oblivion.
Refresh your memory and think about the Columbine shooters for a minute. Both Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold evidenced behavioral red flags that, though some individuals noticed, nobody did anything about. Based on what I’ve identified as the causes of teen murder, these troubled teens were motivated by hate and suffered from depression, heavily influenced by violent entertainment, mesmerized by deadly weapons, and advocated hate philosophies like those of Adolf Hitler. Something was clearly wrong. The signs were there, but no one paid enough attention to them.
Fast forward to today. While I know of and applaud the school administrations who have taken action against kids who could, perhaps, be the next school shooter, there are plenty other school systems who ignore the warning signs ó among them, threats of violence or suicide, fascination with violent imagery and violent entertainment, and displaying violent verbiage on social networks, Web sites, and personal journals. Most schools I have come in contact with say they care about their students but in truth are mainly concerned with budgets, test scores, and their school’s reputation.
So how can you ó the parent, teacher, brother, sister or community member ó tell if your children are safe? Here are five questions to gauge how vested your local school system is in protecting students:
– Is there a school resource officer at the school? This is a full-time, armed police officer assigned to your school with a marked police car parked out front.
– Does your school practice active shooter drills? This is where students are trained to respond to an active shooter, similar to practicing a fire drill. Some schools call this a “lockdown drill” or “code red drill.” Very few, if any, students die in a school fire; yet, too many have died at the hands of a school shooter.
– Is your school locked down during the day? This helps to monitor who goes in and out of the school doors. Recently, I visited two schools where I was able to walk right into the building and toward the students. No one knew who I was, and no one said a word.
– Does your school have an anonymous tip line? This is a resource students can use to report threats of violence or red-flag behavior of fellow students.
– Does your school have a strong anti-bullying policy? Bullying is the No. 1 cause of school massacres, and only the schools that have taken this issue seriously are the ones that are safer.
You can make a difference in your community and help keep your children safe. Just start asking the right questions and stay engaged with your local school to make sure safety is a priority.
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Phil Chalmers is a law enforcement trainer and an expert on teen violence. His latest book is titled “Inside the Mind of a Teen Killer.”