Using Textbooks as Ballistic Shields in School Emergency Plans
| Date | 01 December 2010 |
| DOI | 10.1350/ijps.2010.12.4.203 |
| Author | William E. Stone,David J. Spencer |
| Published date | 01 December 2010 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Using textbooks as ballistic shields in
school emergency plans
William E. Stone‡ and David J. Spencer†
(Both) State Department of Criminal Justice, Texas State University, 601 University Drive,
City San Marcos, TX 78666, USA.
‡(Corresponding author) Tel: +1 512 245 3343; Fax: +1 512 245 8063;
email: ws03@txstate.edu
†Email: ds15@txstate.edu
Submitted 24 March 2010; revision submitted 15 June 2010; accepted
5 July 2010
Keywords: school emergency plans, school resource officers, ballistic
shields, police practice, international criminal justice, police administration/
management
William Stone
is a professor of criminal justice
at Texas State University. He has professional
experience in the fields of corrections and law
enforcement, as well as an academic career that
spans over 30 years. He has published over 30
research reports, articles and book chapters. He
has also been active in professional associations,
presenting numerous papers at regional and
national meetings. He has been involved in many
areas of correctional and law enforcement
research including: suicide prevention, popula-
tion projections, inmate classification systems,
prison rape reduction (PREA), homicide solvabil-
ity indexes and intelligence sharing.
David Spencer
is a senior lecturer in criminal
justice at Texas State University. He has over 30
years of professional experience in the fields of
corrections, prosecution, international law and
judicial administration. His academic career
spans over 20 years and he has taught extens-
ively at both the graduate and undergraduate
levels. He is active in numerous professional
organisations.
A
BSTRACT
This study reports the results of an empirical
investigation into the ability of textbooks to form
an effective ballistic shield that can be incorpor-
ated into school safety plans. The authors exam-
ine the history of assaultive violence with firearms
in schools and the evolution of school emergency
plans. The most common calibres used in school
shootings were tested for their ability to penetrate
hardback textbooks. The results indicate that most
common handgun bullets can be stopped by only
one or two textbooks and that even most assault
rifle rounds can be stopped by three to five books.
Examples are also provided on how law enforce-
ment officers might incorporate the ballistic resist-
ance of textbooks concept into a school emergency
plan.
INTRODUCTION
Schools throughout the world have experi-
enced the tragedy of armed attacks on their
students. These attacks have occurred in
schools ranging from the lowest grades
through universities. A brief list of the most
serious, excluding terrorist attacks,
includes:
●13 March 1996 — UK — In Dunblane,
Scotland a gunman (Thomas Watt
Hamilton) burst into a primary school
Page 536
International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume 12 Number 4
International Journal of Police
Science and Management,
Vol. 12 No. 4, 2010, pp. 536–547.
DOI: 10.1350/ijps.2010.12.4.203
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