Free Handheld Metal Detectors Available For All Indiana Schools

Last updated on Monday, July 9, 2018

(INDIANAPOLIS) - Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb provided an update Monday in the state’s efforts to improve school safety, and announced a new program for schools to get handheld metal detectors.

FOX59 News reports the metal detectors will be made available to any public, charter and non-public school that wants them and will not cost the schools anything. They will be provided one detector for every 250 students.

"Controlling what comes into our school buildings is just one important part of keeping our schools safe, and our efforts to assist school corporations must be ongoing and evolving," Holcomb said. "Local officials are best positioned to determine their school safety needs and the measures that make sense for their students and communities, and--for many--these handheld metal detectors could make a substantial difference."

The Indiana State Police and Department of Administration (IDOA) will coordinate the program. Interested schools can submit requests here. The first order will be made on July 19 and should arrive by mid-August.

Details about the Garrett Super Scanner V can be found here.

Additionally, Gov. Holcomb says these actions were taken by lawmakers in 2018 in connection with school safety.

Made $35 million in low-interest loans available to schools to increase school safety through the Indiana Common School Fund. Applications may be found on the Indiana Department of Homeland Security website.
Provided an additional $5 million to support school safety grants recently approved through IDHS
Dedicated $1 million to support a full audit of school safety plans around the state
The General Assembly also allocated an additional $5 million for school safety grants for a total of more than $14 million. This money will be used for additional school resource officers, safety equipment and threat assessments.

Indiana law states every school must have a safety plan and every school corporation must have a school safety specialist.

Indiana already has many school safety policies in place. By law, every Indiana school is required to have a school safety plan and every school corporation must have a school safety specialist. Indiana is also one of only five states with a "red flag" law, which allows officers to confiscate firearms from those deemed as a danger to themselves or others.

Since 1999, IDOE has hosted a school safety academy to train school safety officers. The academy is funded through the Safe Haven Grant, which also provides matching grants for prevention programs and school resource officers.

Gov. Holcomb noted recommendations from his school safety taskforce are due in August ahead of the 2019 legislative session.

Information FOX59, https://fox59.com

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