Levels of Security Essays

Levels of Security Essays Levels of Security Essay Levels of Security Essay In some places the security makes people feel as though they are being arrested and other places where America’s children spend the day are often not secure enough.   Is there a happy medium to protect the innocent without making them feel like criminals?Since September 11, 2001, boarding an airplane requires almost the same level of security clearance as meeting the President, while almost anyone can walk into many schools.   The local retail store has more security even than some schools do.   What needs to be done to provide protection while still allowing freedom in American society?Anyone who has tried to board a plane in the past six years knows what it feels like to be interrogated.   In order to get through security in an airport, one must go through a metal detector, have their bags x-rayed and undergo a multitude of questions.   Any questionable items like liquids, scissors, or letter openers are brought into question and sometimes c onfiscated. Babies are unwrapped and searched shoes have to be removed to make sure no weapons are hidden and in some cases body searches are made, simply to go on a business trip.   The airlines are so frightened of a 9/11 repeat that no one is above suspicion.   Even passengers in wheelchairs must prove they are not hiding anything.   Any liquid container over 3 ounces is taken and all lighters in a pocket or purse are confiscated (TSA).   Security officers are seen in every corridor watching for any suspicious behavior and if a person has a seizure on a plane they are arrested for possible acts of terrorism.   By the time the person is actually allowed to board the plane they have been recorded on video and feel like they have been accused of a crime.In the local retail store people are not interrogated, unless they are suspected of theft, but there every move is monitored.   People are recorded on camera when they walk into the store, when they put items into their c arts, and when they pay.   Dressing rooms are not allowed to contain cameras, but someone sits at the door to monitor what goes in and what goes out to make sure they match.   Shoppers are greeted as they go into the store, but they go through an alarmed door in order to exit to make sure they have not stolen anything.   Often even the parking lot has cameras in it.   Many larger stores have hired security officers to monitor the store and the parking lot for any problem behavior.In the local school however it is somewhat less secure.   Since the number of school shootings in recent years, schools have become more secure especially in large cities.   Some have hired security officers and monitor doors a few have gone to alarm systems and metal detectors, but many small schools still lack sufficient security measures.   The main reason for this is that in small communities people still do not think bad things happen there.   Of course most of the school shootings have occurred in small communities.   One of the most recent of these was an Amish school with no security other than a young female teacher.   Many of these schools have signs telling visitors to check in at the office, and stating that all doors are locked except the main entrance.   Most times during the day however, these doors are not locked and anyone can walk in.   Parents are supposed to make a list of the people who are allowed to pick children up from school, but this is not always closely monitored.   Cameras are not installed in many small schools and the principal and teachers are the only security staff provided.The lacking school security is the result of the small towns saying they do not want to make visitors feel they are not welcome in the schools.   It is true that no parent wants to feel interrogated for going to have lunch with their child, but no parent wants to find out their child has been shot by a classmate either.   If it is okay to make people go through extensive security measures in airports and retail stores, then it needs to be okay in schools.   The safety of America’s children needs to be considered as important as the safety of its clothes and radios.   A stranger should not be allowed to walk in off the street and walk out with someone’s child and sadly this happens very often in this country.What can be done to create a balance in the safety of our airlines, retail stores and children?   It is true that the airports in the United States were the targets of a major terrorist attack and need to be protected, but so were the schools.   Just weeks ago a student on a large college campus walked into class and killed over twenty students.The American people are starting to feel like suspects while trying to go on vacation while students are being killed in their classrooms.   With this trend, parents are going to send their children to the airport or shopping instead of to school, because they w ill be safer.   One of the main problems is that the airline industry and retailers spend a great deal of money on security.   Unfortunately, most public schools do not have a budget for expensive security measures or security staff.   Therefore they are limited to dividing up the teacher’s time between teaching and monitoring student safety.One of the first steps to making schools safer is developing a plan for the school’ssecurity and determining who is in charge of the security (Richards, 1997).   Schools are making progress by making the lists of people allowed to pick children up and lists of people who are not allowed to take them.   These lists just need to be more closely monitored to make sure they are followed.   Many children who are kidnapped by non-custodial parents are picked up after school by them even though they may be on the no pick up list.   The schools next need to assign someone at doors if they are not locked to make sure visitors sign in and out.   Each public school needs at least one individual who is specifically assigned to insure the safety of the students.   This person should monitor halls to make sure there is no one with weapons or fighting. Schools should incorporate a safety evacuation plan in case of such emergencies as a gun attack.   These plans should be practiced periodically like the fire and natural disaster drills. Even without expensive surveillance equipment or metal detectors, schools can be safer if there is a clear plan and it is practiced regularly.On the other side of the security dilemma is the overly secure airlines and shopping centers.   These obviously need to be closely monitored and the security needs to stay advanced as the terrorism plots become constantly more sophisticated.   The cameras and x-ray machines have been around for years, but maybe they can eventually require less strict searches of people.   People want and need to feel safe and it is an unpleasan t fact that security measures are required to ensure safety.   If that makes people feel their privacy is invaded a little it is okay.   Making innocent people feel like criminals however makes people want to stop going shopping or flying.   There needs to be some kind of compromise to provide the average American to feel a degree of safety while still having some freedom and privacy.