Professor Peterson co-authors new article on school safety policy

Criminology Professor Jillian Peterson and VPPRC Deputy Director James Densley co-authored a new aritlce in the Journal of School Violence along with Professor David Pyrooz (UC Boulder) - "Public support for active shooter drills, arming teachers, and target hardening: Evidence from a national experiment".  10,000 U.S. adults were surveyd on three widely debated school safety measures: active shooter drills, target hardening, and arming teachers. Support was highest for target hardening (85%), lower for drills (73–83% by school level), and lowest for arming teachers (36–41%). Information about student anxiety, attackers bypassing security, or school-climate harms reduced support for drills and hardening, whereas opinions on arming teachers were largely unmoved.  The full article can be read open access here - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15388220.2026.2704742 The research was also covered by Security Management Magazine - https://www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/latest-news/today-in-security/2026/july/school-interventions-study/