ADAMS KEEPING SCHOOL SAFETY WITH NYPD

This was  a story in the Daily News yesterday:

Mayor Adams reaffirmed Monday that he will keep NYPD safety officers at city public schools, pointing to a Manhattan middle-schooler caught with a backpack full of knives and other weapons last week as an example of why the officers are needed.

“When people attacked me for having school safety agents in our schools, they need to see this,” Adams said, holding up a photo of the knives, brass knuckles and other weapons found in the backpack of a 14-year-old student at NYC Lab Middle School for Collaborative Studies in Chelsea on Friday.

According to school safety sources, the student showed one of the knives to a friend, who reported it to the principal. When school officials and safety agents searched the student’s bag, they found four knives, a set of brass knuckles, an expandable baton, fireworks and a laser pointer.

School principal Megan Adams told families in an email that the “NYPD was immediately notified and it was later determined that there was no immediate threat to our school building, students or staff members,” according to a copy of the message obtained by the Daily News. The student was not arrested, but was issued a juvenile report and suspended from school, according to school safety sources. The school, which does not normally have metal detectors, had temporary scanning on Monday.

“These are real weapons that can be used on teachers, staff, administrators, and most importantly our children. That this is in a backpack of a child, that sends the wrong message,” Adams said.

During the first month-and-a-half of the school year, the NYPD reported a nearly 30% rise in weapons seizures at city schools compared to the same period in 2019, with the bulk of the increase coming from weapons like pepper spray canisters and tasers. The number of guns turning up at city schools also rose substantially. The NYPD has not reported new school weapons data since Oct. 24.

DOE officials and students say many teens toting weapons bring them for protection on their commutes to and from school.

Adams added that he is considering some changes to school safety to make it feel less “heavy-handed” and ensure students don’t “feel like criminals.” He said he’s considering changing school safety officers’ uniforms to look less like street cops and exploring new technology to replace current metal detectors.

Change the uniforms? Okay, that will end school violence.