Avoiding Fortification: A Note on Preventing School Shootings

Abstract

In recent years, society has become more aware of the risk of school shootings and the necessity to prepare for such threats in educational settings. School shootings are rare in Nordic countries, but they do occur. In the aftermath, there are intense discussions about school safety issues and the need for increased securitization. In this academic essay, I present some observations on spatial aspects in school shootings and highlight various novel aspects with respect to school safety and security related to the design of the school environment. Perpetrators of school shootings are driven by an institution-oriented motive, with the school building itself a target or victim in the attack and also an actant in facilitating the attack. The use of security measures in these rare events is seldom effective and often counterproductive, signalling that the school is an unsafe place. Instead, school buildings need to provide an uncomplicated way for students and staff to survive by facilitating a multi-optional response in terms of evacuation and lockdown. As argued here, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), is a potential preventive approach, which thus allows for the multioptional response needed in the case of a school shooting and finds a balance between physical and psychological safety.