Why do schools need armed officers?
The state of security today raises a legitimate concern over maintaining the safety of schools to promote a healthier learning environment for students. Schools use a variety of methods to ensure the safety and security of their students, employees and visitors. While some schools do use integrated modern technology to deter violence and counter unnecessary situations, others also have one or more armed officers present on campus.
The presence of an armed officer in and around school buildings substitutes for maintaining order and preventing any mishap that may occur on school grounds. However, not all schools consider recruiting armed security staff but may resort to using security systems coupled with general security officers stationed at the premises. Numbers are a great way to analyze the existing situation of armed officers within educational facilities. Here are some facts about armed guards in schools.
What’s the difference between security staff and armed guards?
It’s important to note that security staff in school usually do not carry firearms. They have more of a managerial duty such as overall security operations and supervising security training. However, security staff that routinely carry a firearm are known as armed guards.
Check these facts about armed guards in schools
How many schools in total have security staff and armed officers present in their buildings?
According to statistics for 2013 to 2014, 43% of all public schools had one or more security staff present in their buildings. This number increased to 56.5% in the period from 2015 to 2016. As for armed guards present in school, or security staff routinely carrying a firearm, statistics show 28.0% of all schools had armed security guards for 2009 to 2010.
Perhaps due to modern technology being very reliable for security purposes, the percentage of public schools that have armed officers has decreased over the years from 34.1% and 30.7% in 2007 to 2008 and 2005 to 2006 respectively.
What percentage of primary schools have one or more security staff?
Based on research conducted in the year 2015 to 2016, facts about armed guards in schools statistics show that a total of 45.4% of primary schools had at least one or more security officers present on site.
This shows an increase in the presence of guards in primary schools in 2013 to 2014, which was at 28.6%. Data from earlier years shows numbers of 27.7% (2009 to 2010), 33.1% (2007 to 2008) and 26.2% (2005 to 2006.)
What percentage of primary schools have security guards who routinely carry a firearm?
Based on research, statistics for 2009 to 2010 show that 12.5% of primary schools had security staff routinely carrying a firearm. However, this percentage has decreased over the years from 20.1% and 15.7% in 2007 to 2008 and 2006 to 2007 respectively.
What percentage of middle schools have one or more security staff?
Studies show that from 2015 to 2016, 73.4% of middle schools had at least one or more security staff present on school grounds. This number has significantly increased from previous years, and the data is shown below.
| Year | Percent of Middle Schools with One or More Security Staff |
| 2005 to 2006 | 63.7% |
| 2007 to 2008 | 65.5% |
| 2009 to 2010 | 66.4% |
| 2013 to 2014 | 63.3% |
What percentage of security staff in middle schools routinely carry a firearm?
Middle schools have reported a comparatively higher percentage of armed officers routinely carrying a firearm than that of primary schools. Facts about armed guards in schools statistics show that from 2009 to 2010, 51.0% of the middle schools had one or more armed officers routinely carrying a firearm. This is compared to the previous two years where the percentages were 54.2% in 2007 to 2008 and 51.8% in 2005 to 2006.
What percentage of high schools have one or more security staff?
High schools also showed similar security measures in place in an effort to protect their employees, students and visitors. In 2015 to 2016, 71.3% of high schools had one or more security officers present on campus, a big jump from 64.1% in 2013 to 2014. In this context, high schools reportedly have the highest percentage of security personnel compared to middle and primary schools. Data for earlier years is shown below.
| Year | Percent of High Schools with One or More Security Staff |
| 2005 to 2006 | 62.9% |
| 2007 to 2008 | 65.5% |
| 2009 to 2010 | 62.8% |
What percentage of high schools have security guards who routinely carry a firearm?
Based on the statistics for the year 2009-10, 50.1% of the high schools reported having at least one or more armed officers routinely carrying a firearm. However, the statistics show a decrease in the percentage of armed officers carrying a firearm than a year before. In the year 2007-08, 54.9% of the high schools reported having armed officers routinely carrying a firearm. The percentage figure was 51.8% for 2005 to 2006.
What are the statistics of armed guards in schools based on enrollment size of 1,000 or more students?
For schools with an enrollment of 1,000 or more students, the percentage of schools with armed officers is as follows: 74.6% (2009 to 2010,) 73.5% (2007 to 2008) and 70.3% (2005 to 2006.) These statistics show a steady incline for the presence of armed security officers in these schools.
In comparison, the percentages for schools that have between 300 and 1,000 students enrolled are less than half the figures stated above, which shows that higher enrollment is proportional to the presence of armed security officers.
How many schools in cities have armed officers as compared to schools in towns?
The data collected on percentages for schools in various locales shows that a higher percentage of schools in cities have armed officers as compared to schools located in towns. To give some numbers to this context, 27.6% of schools located in cities reportedly had security staff carrying a firearm (2009 to 2010.) This compares to 33.1% (2007 to 2008) and 30.5% (2005 to 2006.) Statistics for schools located in towns for the same years are 31.6%, 45.0% and 38.1% respectively.
How many schools in the rural areas have armed officers?
The percentages of rural schools that have armed guards are 25.3% (2009 to 2010), 30.5% (2007 to 2008) and 27.1% (2005 to 2006). These statistics indicate a much lower percentage when compared to schools located in cities.
What percentage of all public schools have armed law enforcement officers?
Many public schools also tend to deploy sworn law enforcement officers who routinely carry a firearm. Statistics from 2015 to 2016 show that 42.9% of all public schools reportedly have armed law enforcement officers. The breakdown for the same year for percentages of primary, middle and high schools is shown in the table below.
| Public Schools by Level | Percent of Schools with Armed Law Enforcement Officers |
| Primary Schools | 30.6% |
| Middle Schools | 60.0% |
| High Schools | 60.7% |
What percentage of schools present in rural areas have one or more security staff?
The data from five years shows a gradual increase from 2005 to 2014 and a significant rise from 2014 to 2015. Results from 2005 to 2006 show 33.8% of schools in rural areas having one or more security staff. This is followed by 36.0% in 2007 to 2008, 35.2% in 2009 to 2010, 35.5% in 2013 to 2014 and 46.7% in 2015 to 2016.
