Drones in Schools
Three states are testing drones as a way to stop school shootings
Schools in Georgia, Florida and Colorado plan to deploy drones as a new school safety device. The drones are designed to confront a school shooter before police arrive.
School Safety Devices
The drones can deploy strobe lights, sirens and pepper gel, and can break windows or ram into a threat as a last resort. According to Justin Marston, CEO of Mithril Defense, the drones live in boxes that look like air-conditioning boxes near the ceiling and are flown by elite drone pilots based in Austin.
Effectiveness of Drones
Marston claims that drones can move faster than a human officer on-site and take greater risks. He also says that schools will provide his team with live security camera footage to support officers responding to the scene in real time. However, Kenneth Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, is concerned that the use of drones in schools is not well thought out. He believes that relationships between kids and adults are the most important school safety device.
Concerns and Criticisms
Trump argues that a million dollars spent on technology won't compensate for weak supervision, a lack of connectedness and relationships with kids, limited support services for kids, or the inability to intervene directly on-site to prevent an incident before it escalates to violence. He also notes that there's no guarantee that the drones will work beyond demonstrations, and the potential unintended consequences are too great. For more information on school safety and security, visit our stats page. Additionally, schools can review their standings to identify areas for improvement. Trump's comments highlight the importance of considering multiple factors when evaluating school safety measures, including the role of squad members and staff in preventing incidents. Furthermore, schools can use injuries data to inform their safety protocols and prevent future incidents.
Future Expansion
Marston notes that Campus Guardian Angel has been tested in joint exercises with a Texas school district and the FBI, and he sees potential for the drones to expand beyond schools to anywhere there's a mass gathering. As reported by NPR, the use of drones in schools is a topic of ongoing debate, with some arguing that they can be an effective tool in preventing school shootings, while others raise concerns about their effectiveness and potential unintended consequences. For more information on this topic, visit the NPR website and review their terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org. The use of drones in schools is also related to the broader topic of school safety and security, which can be explored further on our fixtures page.
