Across the country, schools are scrambling to maintain adequate safety in hopes of avoiding another tragedy. Following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school in Florida, many are thinking about new ways to ensure student safety. Florida Governor Rick Scott recently assured the public of new safety measures with the state's plan to spend $500 million on school safety equipment, such as new metal detectors and steel doors.
School staff and parents are not the only ones contemplating safety measures. Security companies are offering high-tech products for the education sector as well. The wide variety of options, ranging from ballistic panels to mobile barricades, are finding a wider consumer market by the minute. Up by 20% to $2.7 billion in 2017 from $2.5 billion in 2015, the security business for educational institutions is booming. The desire for security in schools is at an all time high, and does not appear to be slowing down any time soon.
"Twenty years ago, school safety and security needs revolved around student fights, vandalism [and] weather-related emergencies" says Stacie Dinse, a marketing director of the workflow and life-safety company Rauland. "Today, there is much more focus on solutions" she continued, "to address emergency response and violence," particularly after the tragedies at Columbine High School in 1999 and Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.
Companies are taking advantage of the demand. Businesses formerly focused solely on safety of hospitals and stadiums are now considering the safety of schools as well. Likewise, there are an increasing number of companies that exclusively cater to schools. The company School Guard Glass sells bulletproof windows that can prevent a gunman from entering a school for 4 minutes, which is "conceivably enough time for police and emergency crews to arrive." The company Bullet Blockers sells bulletproof backpacks, while another company has provided bulletproof whiteboards to various schools across the nation.
Although schools are rushing to get new safety equipment, statistics show that while the level of security in institutions have increased, the number of school shootings has not significantly changed. Moreover the growing demand for new security systems, according to some, may leave school officials more perplexed. "There's not a lot of evidence to help districts sort through the pile before investing in costly systems," notes Heather L. Schwartz, a past affiliate of public policy company, RAND Corporation (NASDAQ: RAND). "There's a lot of hunger for some some authoritative third-party source to go out and review these options."
For his part, President Trump has proposed arming teachers and other school staff. Public opinion remains thoroughly divided on this score.