Some Want Metal Detectors Removed from NYC Schools
Some groups see the metal detectors as discriminatory while others see them as a vital part of school security.
Metal detectors are installed at 88 different school buildings in the city.
Some parent groups and student advocates are calling for New York City schools to remove the metal detectors in school entrances.
The groups argue the metal detectors are discriminatory because they are largely present in the schools with the most minority students, according to eagletribune.com. The groups also say the detectors are unnecessary due to falling crime rates in the city. There hasn’t been a student shot in a New York City school in the past 13 years.
But others, such as the union for school safety agents, argue that the school security measures should be maintained and point out that more than 300 weapons have been confiscated by the safety agents since July. School safety agents are supervised by the New York Police Department but don’t have arrest privileges.
RELATED: NYC Schools Nab Over 1,200 Weapons in 2013-14
A City Hall panel had recommended some metal detectors be removed earlier this year, but Mayor Bill de Blasio currently has no plans for widespread changes to the city’s school security policies.
New York City schools educate 1.1 million students every year. Eighty eight buildings in the district feature metal detectors.
The current metal detector system has students put items from their pockets into their backpacks and send their backpacks through a scanner. Then the students walk through the metal detectors and occasionally are patted down or wanded if necessary.
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