Teens carry weapons, such as knives and guns, for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, they think that weapons give them a degree of safety against an unsafe world. Unfortunately, schools are not always as secure as they should be. In some areas, school violence is fairly common. About three out of every ten teens fear for their physical well being in school. Around seven in ten teens have seen people fighting in their schools. Further, the trip to and from school might be dangerous. It may be necessary to walk or drive through unsafe neighborhoods. About one teen in five has a best friend who has been attacked in the past year by someone holding a lethal weapon.
Even schools that are considered safer may have isolated incidents of violence. In such instances, students may believe that their only true means of protection are weapons. And, teens may begin carrying weapons at young ages. One study found that seventeen percent of middle school students in grades six through eight reported carrying a knife, blade, gun or other form of lethal weapon for self-protection during the previous year. The Centers for Disease Control, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance-1999 found that during the previous thirty days between 15.9 and 18.7 percent of high school students carried a weapon. Males were far more likely to carry a weapon than females.
College students have been known to keep guns. The prevalence of guns seems to vary according to region of the U.S. and type of institution. College students in the South have the highest percentage of guns. Mid-size schools, with enrollments between five thousand and ten thousand students, public universities and two-year colleges also have higher numbers of students with guns. Lower numbers were found in private colleges.
Of course, teens who are members of gangs and those who engage in illegal activity, such as buying, using and selling drugs, routinely carry weapons. Their involvement in these activities places them at far greater risk for violence.
Teens are more likely to carry knives than guns. After all, knives are easy to purchase and transport. Gun carriers tend to be older teens and males. They may well have started using cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and/or cocaine at a relatively young age. Those who carry guns seem to be more aggressive than carriers of knives. And fights involving guns are far more likely to end in fatalities than those with knives. Not surprisingly, teens with any form of weapon have an increased risk of being drawn into a physical fight, and, when a physical fight does take place, the weapon increases the risk of injury or death. The vast majority of murders and robberies involve a weapon, usually a gun.
Teens who carry weapons tend to have problems with school related activities. For example, they attend fewer days of school than their peers who do not have weapons. They are fearful that their property will be stolen or damaged at school, and they may well have been threatened or hurt in the past. Moreover, they may be using alcohol, tobacco and giving or selling drugs while at school.
There are ways to reduce the numbers of weapons in schools. Principals can establish a “zero tolerance” policy. It is illegal to bring a gun to school; it places everyone at risk. Students are told that if they bring weapons into school there will be certain, pre-specified penalties. Students should report any gun that they see in school to a teacher or the principal. Principals may also require some or all students to participate in programs for anger management, conflict resolution as well as stress and violence prevention. It has been suggested that this type of training should begin in elementary school. Children and teens need to learn how to deal with their emotions and feelings without losing control.
Some schools have all students pass through metal detectors as they walk through the main entrance of the building. That is the only door that students may use to enter the building. If there is any doubt that a student has a weapon, he or she may be personally searched—as they do in airports. Video surveillance cameras may be installed throughout the school. That enables school officials to keep a closer watch on everything that is happening. Security guards may be hired to walk the hallways of the school. If a guard notes any weapons, immediate action may be taken. These guards may attempt to build relationships with students who are known to be at risk for behavior problems, and they may discourage them from attempting to bring weapons into the school.
Despite the publicity that school shootings generate, they are, thankfully, a fairly rare event. Still, it is important to think in advance what a teen would do if a shooting happened at his or her school. In a case of a shooting, one may have only seconds to respond. Some schools have plans in place. Teens should become familiar with the school plan if it is available. If the school does not have a plan, there are a few basic rules to follow. One should try to leave the building or move as far away from the shooting as possible. If a teen is stuck in a classroom, then shut the door and barricade furniture against it.
It is believed that about half of all teens come from homes in which parents own at least one gun. So about nine million teens have a gun in their homes. It is believed that more than half of these are not locked, and a significantly number are thought to be loaded. Guns in the home increase the likelihood of some form of violence. So a gun must be treated with the utmost care and respect. A gun must always be stored locked in a gun case or pistol box. It should be unloaded and the trigger should be locked. Children and teens should not have access to the key, and the ammunition should be kept in a separate location. Members of a family that owns a gun should receive training from an instructor who is certified in firearms safety. Children or teens who find a firearm or something that might be a weapon should not touch it. Instead, they should report it immediately to a responsible adult. If no adult is available, call the local police. And, if they see a gun when playing in the home of friend, they should not touch it. Again, it is time to involve an adult. Loaded guns do discharge. There are all too many instances in which children or teens have attempted to handle a gun and ended up seriously hurt or dead.
Related topics:
Accidents, risk-taking, suicide, violence and aggression
