Stephanie's Interview

Interview with Officer Hatzipetros 
Nashua, N.H. PD

Do you think the issue of violence in schools is important? Why/why not?
Yes this is extremely important issue. Schools should be a safe place for children. For some kids, school is a safe haven and have extremely tough lives at home. They should be able to feel like school is the safest place in the world for them. Teachers and staff at schools are there to not only teach the children, but to protect them and make them feel safe. Some changes need to be made so that we do not keep seeing these acts of violence in schools across our country.

Do you have any ideas of changes that could be made to prevent school violence?
I think one major aspect of the violence that takes place in schools is mental health.  I think parents, teachers, school staff, coaches, friends, etc. need to pay extremely close attention to the mental health of the students. Some kids have issues that will get overlooked for their entire schooling. People who spend time with the students need to know what to look for to notice if students are having emotional or mental issues so they can get the student help before they snap and hurt themselves or others. I also think that metal detectors should be placed in schools.

Do you think that schools should have a police officer present each school day?
This would be very hard because of budgets. Each town/city could have numerous schools. It would take a lot to place  an officer in each school full time. I think maybe they could place resource officers in the schools  along with metal detectors and security cameras in schools and that could be efficient.

Do you think teachers should carry guns in school?
No I do not. It's not in a teachers job description to be trained to carry fire arms and I think it would be too risky to have guns in classrooms. 

Do you think teachers should be given training on how to take down a gun man?
I think this training would have to be voluntary. It should not be mandatory but if teachers would like to take on this training, it would have to be very extensive so they would know how to properly protect themselves and others. It would involve physical and mental training to learn how to do such a thing. I think it would be a good idea for a few staff members in a school to have the training but once again it would have to be voluntary. 

My Thoughts:
Mike is my brother-in-law who has been a police officer in Nashua for about 3 years and is a Marine Veteran. I chose to interview Mike because he deals with gun control issues and violence everyday at work.When Sandy Hook took place I remember Mike saying he couldn't even come close to imagine being the police officers who had to go into the school after the shooting at Sandy Hook. This was coming from a man who went to war and sees violence everyday so I figured I would see how he felt we could prevent school violence. One point that Mike made that really opened my eyes to a new side of the topic was mental health. When there is a school shooting or other school violence you hear about the gunman and people trying to look back at what could have triggered such an awful act. Teachers, parents, friends, etc. need to closely monitor the students in their lives. If someone is having troubles emotionally, mentally, socially, they need to be addressed before the child breaks down and like Mike said, hurts themselves or others. School councilors need to be in all schools, communicating with students and staff, making sure issues are taken care of. Parents need to also closely monitor their children. If they fear their child is going through hard times, seek help. I also agreed with Mike when he said that it would be very risky for teachers to have guns in classrooms.