PopShield Provides a Solution to Slow School Shooting Statistics
Today, as the bell rings and the school day begins, school officials charged with student safety are forced to consider what many fear is an increasingly present threat – gun violence.
Since Columbine, school shooting statistics have become increasingly alarming. More than 215,000 students have experience gun violence at school, and in 2018 alone, there have already been 17 school shootings, marking the highest number in a single year since 1999.
Though the threat of a school shooting occurring is statistically small, the mounting casualties and the pain and damage inflicted upon those that do experience one is insurmountable.
Solving the problem is difficult as various organizations and entities identify wildly different approaches to the same problem, and for school administrators, that means finding methods that address the immediacy of the issue while waiting for an overarching, wide-scale answer.
The PopShield, designed in the United States by Shield Technology Inc., offers a solution to this problem, one that was created with school resource offers and campus security in mind.
PopShield offers “front-line” safety to educators and the students they protect, and the benefits of this shield are many.
#1 Designed for Ultimate Protection
PopShield was designed to provide unbeatable protection. Made with authentic American DuPont™ Material, PopShield is largely composed of Kevlar®, which is responsible for a long line of proven ballistic protection materials used in law enforcement and combat scenarios.
PopShield has passed National Institute of Justice (NIJ) IIIA testing, which applies to commercially available firearms and ensures compliance with the ballistic resistance standards. Further, PopShield stops bullet rounds from 9mm, .357 mag, and .44 mag guns, offering protection from a wide range of ammunition.
#2 Maximum Coverage
Bulletproof vests are great for protecting specific body parts on a single person, but in a school shooting scenario, protection needs to extend beyond one person. Conversely, PopShield offers three times the coverage when compared to your average bulletproof vest.
As such, those leveraging PopShield during an active shooter event can maximize coverage to protect students and faculty as they move to safety, as they pursue the attacker, or as they tend to those who have been wounded.
#3 Lightweight & Mobile
Ultimate protection and maximum coverage might suggest that PopShield, like other ballistic products, is bulky and heavy. Weighing only five pounds, the PopShield can easily be transported, allowing for flexible security protocol or spur of the moment reaction. Unlike other ballistic shields, this one provides much-needed protection without sacrificing mobility, a characteristic that can be the difference between life and death.
#4 Increased Maneuverability
PopShield’s lightweight and mobile make up, when paired with its one-hand grip design, make it easy to maneuver around an active shooter scene, positioning user and the shield where it’s most advantageous. In this sense, PopShield allows those using it to aid those around them, freeing up one hand to attend to others while maintaining protection with the other hand.
#5 Compact & Concealable
The trauma of a school shooting can follow our youth into their adulthoods, but the fear isn’t limited to those who have been involved in real-life shootings – thought it’s undoubtedly more intense. Today, students across the nation are being forced to endure lockdown drills, where shooter safety protocol bleeds into nursery rhymes.
“Lockdown. Lockdown. Lock the door. Shut the lights of say no more…”
With that in mind, school officials must try their best to discreetly introduce precautions that can protect the students while maintaining the normalcy that so many of our youth crave and deserve.
Because PopShield is compact and inconspicuous, it can easily be brought into the classroom and placed in a closet, drawer, under a desk, or in coatroom without alerting students to its presence.
#6 Quick Deployment
School shootings are outside the norm, and no one expects a malicious attack to occur in the midst of their math lesson or gym class. Unfortunately, that means that security personnel or administrators have little time to react should a shooting occur.
Though you may not have time to put a bulletproof vest on or move students to a safer location, PopShield will provide immediate protection. With a deployment time of less than one second, those using the ballistic shield can act quickly to safeguard themselves and those around them. All it takes is the push of a button.
#7 Limits Impact Related Trauma to Body
We all know that bulletproof vests and bullet resistant materials are meant to protect by preventing a bullet from piercing flesh, but wounding and trauma aren’t limited to bullet-to-skin contact. Even the best bulletproof vests can leave wearers suffering from the blunt force impact of a speeding bullet.
The PopShield mitigates that risk, preventing bullets from striking the body and distributing the impact throughout the shield. By removing bodily content the shield leaves users less likely to suffer the shock that often accompanies a bullet-to-vest impact. This, of course, means they can continue to move through, secure, and assist within the danger zone.
#8 Empower Security Resources through Increased Confidence
School shootings are terrifying events that leave all involved – directly and indirectly – riddled with fear, but in the heat of the moment, fear or second-guessing can lead to increased injuries or even deaths. The aforementioned reasons speak volumes about the design and effectiveness or the PopShield product, and in real life scenarios, that translates to increased confidence that could save lives.
#9 Budget Friendly
School districts across the nation are facing the crippling effects of decreases budgets, even as the cost of essentials, like books and classroom equipment, rise. For many decision-makers, this means making the choice between academic progress and student safety.
Shield Technologies recognizes that cost often places school officials in an increasingly difficult position. For that reason, in addition to outright purchase options, we also offer the option to rent a PopShield for less than $30 month, making it an affordable safety measure for any budget.
#10 Customizable Options
Individualized protection is important to many schools and organizations across the United States. As such we offer many customizations options.
To discuss what customizations are available for your school, college, or university, please contact us at info@shieldtechnologyinc.com or by calling 1.866.986.5897.