Some eastern Idaho schools getting gun safes
POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — Schools in one eastern Idaho district are being equipped with gun lockers so school resource officers can keep rifles, ammunition and evidence close at hand.
All of the school resource officers in the district are already armed with semi-automatic handguns, but Pocatello Police Chief Scott Marchand said schools have hallways that are 50 to 100 yards long. In the event that a shooter came to the school, a trained officer could do more with a rifle than one limited to a sidearm, he said.
"Having that tool gives us another opportunity to protect students, faculty and staff," Marchand said. "I hope we never use them anywhere."
Marchand told the Idaho State Journal that the idea was adopted more than a year ago, and the gun lockers have already been purchased — it's not a reaction to the Dec. 14 deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut.
The chief acknowledged that some community members would likely be uncomfortable with the idea of putting more firepower inside schools, but he said the safes would be locked at all times except when officers are using them to access the rifles and ammunition or store evidence.
There are other districts in the nation that have gun safes, though Pocatello will be the first in southeastern Idaho.
Marchand spent 22 years as a member of the regional SWAT team before he became the police chief last year. While he believes the accuracy of a rifle in the hands of a trained officer could be a critical element in responding to an attack at the school, Marchand has serious reservations about arming teachers or others who aren't professional police officers.
"I can train anyone to shoot paper targets," he said. "But a real shooting environment is different ... There's a lot more involved than simply shooting."
Pocatello's three high schools and middle schools currently have full-time school resource officers, but officers also visit the other schools in the district. Marchand hopes to have patrol officers visit the schools at least once a week.
"The plan is to be visible," he said.
Sgt. Ralph Daniels, who is in charge of the school resource officers, said the extra patrol presence has been appreciated. Daniels said the gun safes will be a welcome addition. Currently, it would take some time for officers to get a rifle in an emergency because rifles are typically stored in patrol cars, he said.
"This will increase our ability to respond quickly," Daniels said.
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Information from: Idaho State Journal, http://www.journalnet.com
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
Well, one part of the article they described that "metal object" correctly as a "locker" Â It CLEARLY is NO safe. Â Better NOT leave any guns in that after school, they will get stolen when a thief uses a toothpick to get into those things the article later calls "safes".
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NEVER STORE AMMO WITH THE GUNS.
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Already, we have a recipe for disaster.. and to think I support guns in schools. Â just not this FOOLISH way of doing it. Â All it does is give more ammo to the nay sayers... "see I told you so".
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Great idea!
All you really need are teachers who are already gun owners, who know how to use firearms. You donât need all teachers to have guns, only those already educated regarding gun safety and who know how to use one effectively. This is most likely not about actually shooting armed âinvadersâ but rather the knowledge that "teachers may be armed" will deter those that might attempt to enter a school with the intent of shooting someone.Â
If the School Resource Officers post that they roam the different schools but donât give a schedule, that would also be a deterrent, as a possible shooter would not know which school the officers are at, making each school safer.