Berkeley Considers New Safety Measures To Keep Guns Out Of Schools
BERKELEY (KCBS) - Security officers at Berkeley's two high schools should wear uniforms and more closely monitor who comes onto the campuses, according to a safety review in response to a series of gun-related incidents in the Berkeley Unified School District.
On six occasions between January and March of this year, students and other individuals on or near Berkeley High School and Berkeley Technology Academy were found to be carrying guns.
Nobody was hurt, but the incidents prompted the school board to convene an ad hoc committee to recommend campus safety improvements.
KCBS' Chris Filippi Reports:
The findings the committee presented Wednesday focus on ways of restricting access to the campuses, such as reducing the number of entrances and requiring students and staff to display ID cards when they enter.
Superintendent Bill Huyett rejected the idea of installing metal detectors.
"It's not feasible to process over 3,000 students through metal detectors in such a limited period of time," he said.
The committee also found lax compliance with existing safety standards such as a requirement that all crime at the schools be reported to police.
Huyett promised that safety officers and school administrators would be trained on what constitutes a reasonable suspicion that a student may be armed and learn protocols for search and seizure.
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