| Crime and violence in schools continues to concern the nation. Federally sponsored projects have examined school problems and described available security technologies. These studies have also suggested how security products should be used and their possible advantages and disadvantages. There has been a lack of information concerning what security technologies are being used and by what types of schools.; This dissertation uses a national sample of public schools to answer three major research questions: (1) What security technologies are most commonly used by schools? (2) What school and contextual level factors are associated with the level of security technology use? (3) Is security technology use in schools better explained by school problems, or other factors?; The results of this research suggest that there is variation in the level of security product use among schools. Marking/identifying school property, lighting, telephones or duress alarms in classrooms, and burglar alarm systems are among the most common technologies used by schools. Generally, schools that are large; at the secondary level: with many safety rules and procedures; with high rates of school crime/disorder; with high levels of police and community presence; located in high crime neighborhoods; Southern; and urban schools, use more security products. Interestingly, school wealth is not a significant predictor of technology use. Further, school and contextual characteristics are better than school crime/disorder as predictors of security technology adoption in schools. |
