Research recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Foundation found that metal detectors were more likely to be found in schools with large percentage of low-income or minority students rather than in schools with a record of high crime rates. The study of 2,500 schools nationwide was conducted by Aaron Kupchik, associate professor of sociology at the University of Delaware, and Geoff Ward, an assistant professor of criminology at the University of California at Irvine.
Professor Kupchik states, “We have fairly good evidence of what works. Schools where students feel respected, listened to, and are part of a community have lower crime rates, not schools where students feel they are always under police surveillance.”
