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How Does Law Enforcement Protect Students From School Shootings?

Lauri Burgett, professor of Justice and Intelligence Studies at Northern Arizona University.
(Photo by Jason Robey - KJZZ)
Lauri Burgett, professor of Justice and Intelligence Studies at Northern Arizona University.

Since the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida last month, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery confirmed that there has been a spree of copycat threats at schools here in Arizona.

But, none of them have come to fruition. So, how were they stopped? There’s a debate raging across the country about that — how to best protect students and prevent other school shootings.

To dig further into this, The Show's Lauren Gilger sat down with Lauri Burgett. She’s a recently retired commander for the Phoenix Police Department and a professor of Justice and Intelligence Studies at Northern Arizona University. She also teaches law enforcement career and technical education to high school students in the Valley now.

When they spoke, they started with social media. Burgett says that usually there is a threat or a warning of some kind posted online by a student who might carry out a school shooting. So, law enforcement has focused there, and to do that, they need students’ help.

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Lauren Gilger, host of KJZZ's The Show, is an award-winning journalist whose work has impacted communities large and small, exposing injustices and giving a voice to the voiceless and marginalized.