Metal detector use in US schools has held steady or slightly decreased since the 1990s despite renewed calls after the Parkland shooting¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2024: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In the 2015-16 school year, 4.5 percent of schools used random metal detector checks and 1.8 percent used daily searches. → Schildkraut 2019

Evidence¶

Schildkraut 2019¶

Schildkraut, J., & Grogan, K. (2019). Are metal detectors effective at making schools safer? San Francisco, CA: WestEd. https://www.wested.org/resources/are-metal-detectors-effective-at-making-schools-safer

q2 · i? · review · r2

The brief's review of federal indicator data reports usage trends: "just 4.5 percent of schools used random metal detector checks" in 2015-16, down from 7.2 percent after Columbine, with daily searches at 1.8 percent.

"Specifically, in the 2015–16 school year, just 4.5 percent of schools used random metal detector checks (down from 7.2 percent in the academic year following Columbine) and only 1.8 percent used daily searches"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Metal detectors impose substantial equipment, personnel, training and time costs on schools — related
• Students report feeling less safe and more likely to perceive violence and disorder in schools with metal detectors — related
• Common physical and exclusionary safety measures can cause harm to the very students schools are trying to protect — related
• Two mass shootings exemplify how metal detectors can be insufficient at stopping such attacks — related
• Available data suggest schools with metal detectors identify more weapons through searches without scanning devices than through scanning — related
• Metal detector use disproportionately affects students of color, who are more likely to pass through detectors daily — related
• Metal detector effectiveness depends heavily on the human element: training, correct operation and functioning equipment — related