by HAVEN team | Schools
2020 saw an increase in gun purchases. Subsequently, the number of shooting incidents rose by sixty-four percent. Recent data findings show at least fifty casualties from gun shootings this year alone.
School shooting incidents in the United States are increasing exponentially, as witnessed by increased casualties and deaths from these incidents. School shootings are not new, as the earliest recorded incident was in Pontiac’s rebellion that resulted in the death of the headmaster and nine students on July 26, 1764. To date, over two thousand school shooting incidents have left over 2620 students scarred or victims of mass shootings. However, there are several ways of decreasing these incidences or curtailing their impact. This can be achieved through security enhanced doors, motion detectors, and implementing lockdown features in schools to deter intruders from causing more damage.
Increased School Shootings in the United States
As of 2017, firearms overtook death by road accidents to be the leading cause of death by persons of age twenty-four and below. The trend is worrying, considering that most of these shootings are orchestrated by students affiliated with these schools. However, more has to be said about the poor storage of these firearms, enabling easy access by school-going children. In 2021 there were a total of 249 school shootings reported in the United States. Of these, at least twenty seven students were killed by firearms. These estimates pale in comparison to the annual deaths caused by gunshots. 2022 has seen an upsurge in incidences involving gunshots to levels only witnessed in the pre-COVID era. This can be attributable to an increase in individual gun purchases. According to research, in 2020 alone, Americans had an estimated purchase of at least twenty-two million guns. This was increased by forty percent when compared to 2019. 2022 has been no better, with at least 50 incidences recorded as of June 2022. The increase in school shootings is worrying; the 2020-2021 school calendar witnessed over ninety school shootings. This was an exponential increase compared to 2019, when only 23 reported cases were reported. Out of these, forty-three incidences ended up with at least an individual being reported to have died, while the remaining fifty incidences only recorded injuries. This calls for more stringent measures to improve the safety of kids in schools. Some of these incidences can be attributed to the deteriorating relationship between teachers and students.
Mass Shootings and Active Shooters
Recent years have seen a spike in the number of mass shootings. This year has experienced at least three hundred mass shooting incidences. This is an increase from their average since data started to be considered. The Washington post noted that on average, since 2014, the number of mass shootings topped at a round four hundred, but 2020 saw the number rise to six hundred and eleven incidences, whereas 2021 saw the number rise again to seven hundred. Based on the current trend, this figure will more than quadruple by the end of the year.
2021 saw an increase of fifty percent of active shooter incidences from 2020, an increase that averages at around 96% increase when compared to its four-year average. The FBI has documented at least 61 shootings in 30 states that resulted in the deaths of at least one hundred individuals and injured another one hundred persons. Active shooting is an incidence where an armed individual or individuals are actively killing or trying to kill people in highly populated areas. Of these incidences, sixty were carried out by male individuals, with only one female reported incidence. This calls for an update in the security measures taken to prevent such incidences, as some could result from homeopathy and lockdown related issues. This may be coupled by the high financial distress experienced during the curfew, as not everyone can cope with such situations easily. However, this has also led to some impressive innovations that can be used to curtail the impact of these incidences. More so, the government can implement more effective pieces of legislation to prevent such incidences.
Suggestions
Some of the effective methods include:
Increasing Armed Personnel
Increasing the number of armed personnel can effectively reduce the time it takes for police officers to respond to an incident. This may reduce the pressure on the available persons and help increase the number of patrols conducted by police officers. They can also be equipped with better tools to handle live fire effectively.
Legislation
It is easy to procure a firearm by individuals, both ex-convicts, and other individuals. States can implement strict laws preventing anyone from acquiring firearms, especially individuals with a history of violence. In addition, people allowed to use firearms should undergo proper training to reduce the number of accidental shootings.
Access To Mental Health Services
Suicide ranked among the major causes of death related to gun shootings. These can be attributed to mental health issues such as traumatic episodes related to past shooting incidences, traumatic experiences, and increased stress levels. Accessing mental health services to deal with these increases can help drastically lower such occurrences.
School Shooting Lockdowns
In as much as schools are safe, most are not intrusion free; they suffer a level of permeability that allows outsiders to access the school grounds, offices, and even classes. Lockdown drills are an effective way to teach students what to do in case of an attack. But putting real protective measures can effectively deter intruders from causing real harm to students. Haven is a company that offers services that can amp up the security level of a learning institution or a place of worship. The Haven lockdown is one such security feature that gives administrators the power to control the opening and closing of doors in the school. They also include patented designs that deter intruders from accessing classes. Their school lockdown system is designed to keep away intruders from students while at the same time deterring the intruder from escaping. It features different designs that give administrator rights over doors, the presence of egress buttons, and door locks that can be opened and closed with Bluetooth connectivity. In addition, some of their doors are bulletproof in case of the live firing of ammunition. Finally, this system involves an alert system that signals local authorities in case of such an occurrence.
Conclusion
School shooting incidences have risen, particularly in the last five years, experiencing new record highs. These can be attributed to increased purchases of firearms. Increased levels of stress and poor storage mechanisms of firearms. There are various ways to reduce these incidences and others that can help mitigate the casualties from such occurrences. Haven Company is one company that offers lockdown solutions t schools, apartments, and religious places of worship that deter intruders, lock down the facility under attack and notifies security forces of the attack at hand.
by HAVEN team | Lockdown, Schools, Statistics
At the time of writing this article there has been 27 school shootings in the United States in 2022, and there will no doubt be many more before the end of the year. School systems across the country are scrambling to implement safety measures that will protect students from the threat of active shooters, but taking such measures requires allocations to their budgets which just don’t exist.
There are solutions to increasing much needed school security, with funding that exists through Federal Grants that can be secured to cover the costs for active shooter door locks such as the school lockdown systems provided by the HAVEN Lockdown.
Listed below are 2 Grant Programs that can help schools obtain the funding they need to secure their schools, and lower the potential for tragic loss from active shooter incursions.
The ESSER Fund
The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund is a federal funding program that was approved by the Department of Education and is directly used to assist state education agencies (SEAs), which is then allocated to school districts, also known as local education agencies (LEAs). Although originally intended for COVID-19 aid, this fund also helps schools by investing in infrastructure, and provides emergency financial assistance for a variety of necessary projects to school districts across the country. The program is available to K-12 institutions until September 30, 2024.
The Nonprofit Security Grant Program
This grant provides funding from FEMA for the support to nonprofit organizations (such as schools) that are at high risk for active shooter incursions or terrorist threats. The purpose of this grant is to add physical security enhancement such as what HAVEN Lockdown provides with their lockdown systems that prevent an active shooter from breaching classroom doors.The intent of the Nonprofit Security Grant Program is to integrate nonprofit preparedness activities with broader state and local preparedness efforts. It is also intended to provide greater coordination / collaboration for emergency preparedness activities among public and private community representatives, as well as state and local government agencies.
Contact HAVEN to Learn More
For more information about how you can obtain federal funding or to schedule a consultation with HAVEN, please fill out the form below and we will get right back to you.
by HAVEN team | Lockdown
We want to hear your voice—and you can win big!
Our schools should be havens—places to nurture young minds and engage the next generation of leaders and deep thinkers. Tactical training and defensive drills shouldn’t be part of the curriculum; teachers shouldn’t have to feel that they’re putting their life on the line to teach reading and math. Creativity, passion, kindness, and curiosity belong in our classrooms. Armed intruders do not.
At HAVEN, our mission is to make every school in America safer and less vulnerable to active threats. We know our teachers and children deserve more, and we know that teachers are incredible advocates for themselves and the children in their care. That’s why we want to hear from you this holiday season. Snap a picture of your classroom (make sure none of your students are in the photo!) and send it to us with a brief statement to tell us why you’d love to have Lockdown at your school. Tell us about your classroom and all the amazing things happening inside it; tell us about your kids; tell us about your passion. Inspire us and teach us about everything that’s worth protecting. We want to hear your voice, and we want to keep you safer.
Share your “All I Want for the Holidays” story and you could win school supplies for your classroom! If we publish your photo and story as a finalist, you’ll get a $50 Staples gift card to purchase supplies for your classroom. We know you’re going to wow us, so we’re planning to have lots of finalists! If your essay is selected as the ultimate winner, you’ll get a $500 Staples gift card.
Just upload your classroom photo (NO KIDS PLEASE!) below, and include your statement about why you’d love to have Lockdown at your school. A few quick notes: You can be creative with your classroom photo—it doesn’t have to be a shot of the entire room. Feel free to show us your favorite spot, your kids’ favorite spot, or maybe even the place where your kids have to go during lockdown drills. When it comes to your statement, be as personal as you can without using names or revealing details about students or other teachers. Tell us a compelling story with your words and your image, and you’ll be a winner! You can composes your statement right in the window below, or cut and paste it in. (The window looks small, but there’s no character limit, so type away!) Any questions? Reach out to support@havenlock.com!
HAVEN values teachers, and we want to hear what you have to say. Thanks for all you do.
by HAVEN team | Lockdown
When Alex Bertelli first deployed to Iraq in 2008, he didn’t know that he’d find his passion and his life’s work welded to the inside of a door outside of Tikrit. He was headed to the Middle East as a helicopter pilot with an Army Special Operations team flying active combat missions. His goals were simple. Fight for his country. Defeat the bad guys. Come back alive.
Over the course of his eight year deployment, Alex flew repeated missions into insurgent territory in Iraq and Afghanistan. And that thing he first saw in Tikrit? He saw variations of it everywhere. It was a solid bar of metal welded to the bottom of the doors his team needed to enter. It was simple, but it was strong, and it did a really good job of keeping the Special Ops forces out.
Recreating the Metal Bar in Nashville
Fast forward 8 years. Alex was out of the military, living in Nashville, and faced with a string of robberies in his neighborhood. His friends and neighbors were falling victim to a different kind of bad guy, and the deadbolt locks they had trusted to keep their homes secure were virtually useless. Alex remembered the welded bar, and he set out to replicate the incredibly strong device in a design that would work in today’s modern home. HAVEN was born.
Havenlock is based on the same physics principles that allowed the insurgents to confound our military’s Special Ops across the world. But instead of welded metal, it’s formed from military grade Delrin® plastic and steel with a sleek appearance that blends seamlessly with any home’s decor. Havenlock is ten times stronger than a deadbolt, and infinitely smarter. The lock can be controlled manually or remotely via key fob or mobile app.
Adapting Havenlock for Institutional Spaces
With Havenlock proving its worth in the residential market, Alex and the rest of the HAVEN team looked at the mass shooting epidemic plaguing the U.S. They knew that with some design tweaks, their smart lock could offer an immediate security solution for schools, churches, and offices. Haven Lockdown™ uses the same military grade materials and smart design, adapted for application in wider institutional doors. In the event of an active shooter or other threat, teachers and administrators can activate the HAVEN Lockdown™ device instantaneously, stopping the shooter in their tracks.
Havenlock and HAVEN Lockdown™ are the stronger, smarter solutions for residential and institutional safety. Alex Bertelli’s combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan informs every aspect of the company, from design and manufacturing to the company’s position as a thought leader in the security space. HavenLock, Inc. proudly employs veterans and manufactures their line of security products in the U.S. Learn more about HAVEN’s residential products at havenlock.com.
As of 2017, firearms overtook death by road accidents to be the leading cause of death by persons of age twenty-four and below. The trend is worrying, considering that most of these shootings are orchestrated by students affiliated with these schools. However, more has to be said about the poor storage of these firearms, enabling easy access by school-going children. In 2021 there were a total of 249 school shootings reported in the United States. Of these, at least twenty seven students were killed by firearms. These estimates pale in comparison to the annual deaths caused by gunshots. 2022 has seen an upsurge in incidences involving gunshots to levels only witnessed in the pre-COVID era. This can be attributable to an increase in individual gun purchases. According to research, in 2020 alone, Americans had an estimated purchase of at least twenty-two million guns. This was increased by forty percent when compared to 2019. 2022 has been no better, with at least 50 incidences recorded as of June 2022. The increase in school shootings is worrying; the 2020-2021 school calendar witnessed over ninety school shootings. This was an exponential increase compared to 2019, when only 23 reported cases were reported. Out of these, forty-three incidences ended up with at least an individual being reported to have died, while the remaining fifty incidences only recorded injuries. This calls for more stringent measures to improve the safety of kids in schools. Some of these incidences can be attributed to the deteriorating relationship between teachers and students.
