Bulletproof Vests Are Band-Aids

It is commendable that the Santa Ana Unified School District has purchased equipment to protect its security guards; however, the district should realize that no vest is bulletproof (“Campus Guards Get Bulletproof Vests,” Nov. 22).

Manufacturers of these vests refer to them as soft body armor and as being bullet resistant to a certain degree, depending upon the specifications of the vest. Identifying these vests as bulletproof is giving a false impression of the vest’s capabilities and a possible false sense of security to the person wearing this equipment.

Ray Allison, the police chief for the district’s school security said, “We purchased the vests for the officers’ state of mind.” He also stated, “The person wearing the vest feels more secure and more relaxed instead of worrying.”

There is no question that the body parts covered by this vest will be more protected than without the vest; however, the officer’s mind is located within his still unprotected head. If these security officers are worried about shootings, the school district needs to give them more than just one of these vests.

According to school officials, none of the guards has ever been injured by gunfire. Based on the purchase of this equipment, it is apparently foreseeable to the school district that a security guard could be shot. Hopefully, none of these guards will ever be shot or injured.

The real concern for these security guards should be that they are still exposed from the neck up and from the waist down. This purchase was a minimal solution to a major problem--the safety of our schools, students and personnel.

JOHN J. JANSON JR., Criminologist, Huntington Beach