What is a School Lock Down?
- Written By: S.E. Smith
- Edited By: O. Wallace
- Last Modified Date: 28 March 2013
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Copyright Protected:
2003-2013 Conjecture Corporation
A school lock down is a procedure that is initiated when school officials believe that there is a credible threat to student and staff safety. Lock downs are classically used to protect students from school shooters, bomb threats, and other forms of violence, but they can also be used when police are engaged in an operation nearby, or when a national disaster has been declared. The goal is to keep students and staff safe, and while it may be frightening or disruptive, it is important for everyone to comply with the lock down for safety reasons.
When a lock down is ordered, people are told to stay inside their classrooms and lock the doors. This is designed to prevent anyone from entering the rooms from hallways and corridors. Windows will also be shut, locked, and covered with blinds to obscure visibility, and people are often encouraged to stay away from doors and windows, sheltering in an area where they cannot be seen.
The school itself will also be locked to prevent people from entering or exiting the building until the lock down has been lifted. In the case of precautionary ones, such as those that are initiated while police attempt to round up a suspect or serve a warrant, the lock down will be cleared as soon as the threat is over. In cases like bomb threats, police officers need to clear the school. A lock down may also be changed to an evacuation order if school officials feel that students and staff would be safer outside, or in the wake of a national disaster, once transport has been organized for the students and staff.
Lock down announcements are commonly made over public address systems, and in schools where the classrooms have phones, the phones will ring to alert teachers to a lock down. Some schools also send text messages to students and parents to alert them to the action, so that students who are not on-site know that it is not safe to return to school. This type of alert is very common on college campuses, letting students know that they should stay where they are rather than moving around on campus.
People are usually instructed to avoid using cell phones during a school lock down so that they do not clog the phone network. They are also usually ordered to remain as quiet as possible and to avoid engaging with anyone who is unknown, with the exception of clearly identified police, firefighters, and other emergency personnel. While the situation may distress parents, they should stay away from the school until the lock down has been lifted so that they do not interfere with emergency responders or police operations.
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Discuss this Article
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anon310858
Post 11 |
Other institutions besides schools go on lock down during certain emergencies, like hospitals and prisons, but few people complain about that practice. If a criminal enters a hospital to finish off a victim in his room, for instance, the rest of the hospital needs to be aware of the intrusion. If the policy during a lock down is that nobody enters and nobody leaves, then the criminal has fewer opportunities to escape. I'm not always convinced a lock down in a public school is the safest course of action, but it does beat allowing the shooters to run out of the building and keep going into the surrounding neighborhood. The students may not be any safer than they were before, but at least the police will have enough time to surround the exits and work their way inside the building. I can understand why parents might get upset when denied access to their children, but a lock down also limits the number of people who might become hostages or victims. |
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anon309031
Post 10 |
A lockdown is not safe. Lockdowns are dangerous to the lives of students. The purpose of a lockdown is to protect members of law enforcement and has nothing to do with protecting students, but more of preventing suspects from evading capture. Students; lives are the last concern for law enforcement. Students locked in a classroom are more likely to be shot than those who flee. |
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anon305261
Post 9 |
My daughter's school had a practice lockdown recently, and the school did not notify the parents. One of my daughter's friends was getting dismissed and her mother came to pick her up since she had not been notified of the lockdown and the doors were locked and nobody answered the phone, so this girl's mother was very concerned. She texted her daughter who informed her that they were in a lockdown and that she was not allowed to use her cell phone, but she had it on her anyway, which was good. Is it legal to not notify the parents? |
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anon257435
Post 8 |
I still don't get it. If it is a person running from the police and not in the school, why don't they run to the front gate or door, close it and lock it before they get in then go under the table if they get in? |
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anon252962
Post 7 |
Sounds like a police state to me. |
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anon243320
Post 6 |
@TunaLine: This has nothing to do with bullying. Yes, lockdowns make for safe schools. Since lockdowns are not about bullying and are about terrorists, school shootings and other extreme violence, there is no point in bringing up bullying here. If it's an issue, the principal, counselors, teachers, etc. should be addressed. |
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anon115272
Post 5 |
Recently law enforcement reportedly requested a lock down of a local school due to a potentially threatening note found on the floor of the school. It was the end of the day and it would more than likely be safer for the children to be split up rather than be together. The school refused to lock down and was criticized by some. I question the motives of law enforcement. I suspect they wished to use the lock down as a investigative tool and essentially hold the students captive until the guilty parties were found. |
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TunaLine
Post 4 |
How effective are lock downs at preventing school violence? I mean, if you look at school bullying statistics, they just seem to keep going up and up.
Do lock downs really make for safe schools? |
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lightning88
Post 3 |
@anon86542 -- That's pretty crazy -- I've never heard of locking down a school just because of a thunderstorm warning. I'm not sure as to the legality issue, but that does sound like an over reaction.
Perhaps you could ask to speak it the school's safety officer or the principal in order to get a better idea about their thought process. Best of luck. |
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EarlyForest
Post 2 |
Although lockdowns are not fun for anyone, they really are a big part of school safety and security.
Like anything, the key is to use them in moderation.
Of course, a lockdown is only one way of preventing violence, and school officials shouldn't turn to that as their first option. |
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anon86542
Post 1 |
My son's school was locked down for a thunderstorm warning. In fact, they wouldn't let me leave. Is this legal? They would not let me see him as well. |
