Originally published Friday, January 5, 2007 at 12:00 AM
Editorial
Safety at school
Upset parents reeling in the aftermath of Wednesday's school shooting in Tacoma can draw guidance, if not comfort, from the fact that school...
Upset parents reeling in the aftermath of Wednesday's school shooting in Tacoma can draw guidance, if not comfort, from the fact that school violence is rare in Washington state.
Yes, it is unnerving that a Foss High School student was able to walk into school and fatally shoot another student. As horrific as it was, the rate of such incidents is low, making our schools the safest place for young people to be. Credit for maintaining safety goes not just to metal detectors, surveillance cameras and other security apparatuses, but to the long-standing relationships between school principals and local police.
Urban districts such as Seattle and Tacoma have insisted on close ties with police departments, to support school security and to provide a line of authority that moves inside and outside of schools.
Two security officers and a city police officer are assigned to Foss in Tacoma. In Seattle, depending on the high school's size, one or two uniformed officers from one of the city's five police precincts are assigned to a building. Along with the school's own security teams, they build relationships and serve as the first line of protection. At major sports events and dances, the police are as tightly involved as the school staff.
This may not sound as sexy as the prospect of state lawmakers responding to calls for greater school security by hastily enacting legislation. Indeed, the mechanics of school security can always be improved.
One proposal in Olympia that would actually pay off is school mapping. Digital X-rays showing every nook and cranny of a school building are essential not just for high schools, but elementary and middle schools.
But, the most important use of time and our public dollars is supporting the partnerships between schools and law enforcement. It has been a long road on both sides. Initially, principals and officers butted heads over lines of authority. Police departments backed off, placing themselves in a supportive role to a school building's chief, the principal.
Administrators had to be coaxed into using police services, some principals reluctant to report crimes for fear of giving their school a bad reputation or being accused by parents of overreacting.
Now, there isn't a high-school principal out there who doesn't have the local precinct captain on speed dial. These close relationships are about keeping events like Wednesday's shooting a rarity.
Smart minds and funding ought to remain on security measures of the human kind.
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Leonard Pitts Jr. / Syndicated columnist: New York terror trials will restore faith in rule of law
Charles Krauthammer / Syndicated columnist: New York trial a propaganda coup for terrrorists

Real Salt Lake wins MLS Cup
Real Salt Lake defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy with penalty kicks after 120 minutes of play at Qwest Field in Seattle.
general classifieds
Garage & estate salesFurniture & home furnishings
Sporting goods
just listed
8 Drawer Dresser with Attached Mirror - $200
8 seat pecon formal dining table and china hutch - $1500
A American Table, Chairs and Bench - $275
More listings
POST A FREE LISTING
shopping
Give yourself a treat and visit Watson Kennedy's Holiday Open Houses
More minding the store
events for Monday, Nov. 23
More shopping eventseditors' picks
- Spas & beauty salons
- Maternity shopping
- West Seattle shopping
- Vintage, consignment and used clothing
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Illegal workers quietly let go
363 - Climate change speeds up since 1997 Kyoto accord
207 - Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
170 - Metro won't cut bus service after all
148 - Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
94 - New Husky recruit: Enes Kanter
93 - Tattoos at Mill Creek Church pierce skin, soul
82 - Middleton says Huskies "plan on scoring at least 50 points'' Saturday
78 - Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
73 - UW, WSU once again meet to see who's worse
66
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Architects, chefs find 'kid' within to build Gingerbread Village
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Taste | The Great Pie Bake-off pits friends and fruit

