An Examination of the NRA’s “National School Shield” Proposal

[rdharma]

American Journal of Criminal Justice
March 2013
The Only Thing That Stops a Guy with a Bad Policy is a Guy with a Good Policy: An Examination of the NRA’s “National School Shield” Proposal

Gordon A. Crews,
Angela D. Crews,
Catherine E. Burton

Abstract


With the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT, the public and the government are looking for solutions to school violence. The National Rifle Association (NRA), a Second Amendment, pro-gun advocacy group, has proposed an “education and training emergency response program” called The National School Shield, which advocates the placement of armed security in schools. Although the program sounds provocative, serious questions complicate its plausibility, necessity, motive, and effectiveness. Furthermore, the potential policy and practical ramifications of encouraging armed security forces in U.S. schools are complex. The authors examined the proposal’s key elements from a public policy perspective and determined that the NRA program would be expensive in terms of both implementation and civil and/or criminal liability, would increase juvenile contact with the criminal justice system, would increase the potential for injuries and deaths from firearms, and would potentially only serve to increase profits for those invested in security industries. More potentially effective and safe policy alternatives are offered.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12103-013-9202-x#

[sylvi]

1. So are you going to spend the $40 to tell us what this paper

says, or are you a salesperson for Springer?

[rdharma]

2. It's perfectly clear as stated in the abstract!

Read CAREFULLY!

[Straw Man]

4. Abstracts only give the conclusions.

They skip the supporting evidence. You may be willing to take their conclusions on faith, but I'm not.

[sylvi]

5. No evidence as to how they reached their conclusions

No statement of what these workable alternative policies are.

They might as well be.......you!



I crack myself up.

[krispos42]

3. The crux of the matter

Mass school shootings, despite the corporate media hand-wringing, are very rare events. Putting a a half-million armed guards in 133,000 elementary schools would, likely, not stop a mass shooting, nor reduce the impact of one. However, annual casualties from the accidents and misunderstandings and police over-reaction of having such a force in place would likely exceed any savings from stopping crimes.