In a recent report issued by the NYPD over a four-month period, from July to November, School Safety Agents seized more than 400 knives, stun guns and illegal drugs in and around City public schools on 355 occasions.

These statistics fly in the face of a new initiative introduced by Mayor de Blasio called: “Roadmap To Reduced Punitive School Discipline and Make Schools Safer,” which calls for the use of non-law enforcement tools, including a decreased presence of metal detectors. The  “roadmap” was developed by the Department of Education, the NYPD and a 150-member “School Climate Leadership Team,” predicated on their finding that school violence is down over 29% during the last four years.

But, Local 237 President Gregory Floyd finds fault with the DOE’s numbers and the plan. Floyd stated: “I’ve spoken to our Agents, and the mayor may claim that crime is down, but in fact what we are seeing is a reclassification of crime that is not reported in the statistics. In the same period of time when School Safety Agents confiscated hundreds of weapons, including BB guns, butcher knives and machetes, with the help of metal detectors, only 30 arrests and 74 summonses resulted.

“Just last month, a video surfaced of a near riot in a Bronx high school, with no adults on site to break up the fight. School Safety Agents had to work over 10 minutes before they were able to push past the crowd and separate students. In another Bronx high school, an Agent confiscated a machete from a student. In Brooklyn, a student was caught with an 8-inch steak knife. Obviously, it is misleading reporting and misclassification that distorts the reality: Crime in and around schools is not down.”

Those in support of less safety measures in public schools, especially the removal of metal detectors, argue that the presence of detectors is demoralizing to students — especially in communities of color — and sends a message that their school is unsafe and academically failing. But, according to Floyd: “The numbers are clear. Without metal detectors, students, faculty and other school personnel are at greater risk. I am reminded of a time, back in 1992, when two teenagers were shot to death in the hallway of a Brooklyn high school a little over an hour before Mayor David N. Dinkins was to visit the school to give an inspirational speech. The shooting happened just 15 feet away from two police officers who were part of the school’s normal security team. There were no metal detectors in use.

“This tragic incident, that sent shockwaves throughout the City, was the catalyst for increased use of metal detectors in New York City schools. No student has been killed in a New York City school since then.”

Floyd went on to add: “Frankly, I can’t understand the logic. At a time when safety measures are being beefed up around the world, why is the Mayor of the City of New York looking to lessen the use of devices that protect a most vulnerable target: our public school students? Read the headlines. Shootings of youngsters is on the rise in the streets and in their homes. That’s the real world we live in. We’re just trying to keep them safe in schools. Why take the risk?

“Passing through a metal detector on the way to class might pose an inconvenience and a symbol of troubling times. But when visitors to Chancellor Fariña or Mayor de Blasio go to their respective offices, there are metal detectors. Shouldn’t our students have the same protection?”

 

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