Two months ago, a gunman walked into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and killed 19 children and two teachers. The massacre happened on May 24th. Since then, every parent in America has asked the same question at least once: could that happen at my kid’s school?
In Shelby County, where more than 100,000 students will walk through school doors in August, that question carries a particular urgency. Memphis already contends with gun violence rates that rank among the highest in the nation. The idea of that violence breaching a school building isn’t abstract here. It’s a fear grounded in the daily reality of this city.
So what’s actually being done? And is it enough?
The $5.5 Million Question
Memphis-Shelby County Schools announced a $5.5 million investment in security upgrades ahead of the 2022-2023 school year. The spending package covers new camera systems, access control hardware, and communication equipment across multiple campuses.
Bosch Security Systems is handling a significant portion of the technology implementation. New camera installations are going into schools that previously had aging or inadequate surveillance coverage. The systems include higher resolution cameras with wider fields of view and improved low-light performance, a real upgrade over the grainy footage that made previous incident investigations difficult.
Access control is getting attention too. Several schools are receiving electronic entry systems that require visitors to be buzzed in through a monitored vestibule. The goal is to eliminate the scenario where someone walks through an unlocked side door and enters a building unchallenged. It’s a basic security principle that too many schools still haven’t implemented nationally, and MSCS is trying to close that gap.
The $5.5 million figure sounds substantial. Spread across a district with more than 150 school buildings, it works out to roughly $36,000 per campus. That buys meaningful improvements at some sites. At others, it’s a down payment on what’s actually needed.
SROs and the Staffing Reality
School Resource Officers from MPD remain the most visible layer of school security. SROs are sworn police officers assigned full-time to individual schools or clusters of schools. They carry firearms. They have arrest authority. They serve as both a deterrent presence and a first responder if something goes wrong inside a building.
The problem is there aren’t enough of them.
MPD’s staffing challenges are well documented. The department is running several hundred officers below its authorized strength, and that shortage affects every assignment, SROs included. Not every school that wants a full-time officer has one. Elementary schools, in particular, often share SROs across multiple campuses.
The district’s own security department fills some of the gap. MSCS employs security officers who handle building access, monitor cameras, and respond to incidents that don’t require a sworn officer. These positions pay less than MPD, which creates its own recruitment difficulties. Turnover in school security roles has been a persistent issue across the district.
Some principals have told me privately that they feel the staffing picture heading into fall is better than it was last year. Others say the improvements are incremental and that their buildings still lack adequate coverage during arrival and dismissal, the two most chaotic and vulnerable periods of the school day.
What Uvalde Changed (and What It Didn’t)
The massacre in Texas didn’t introduce new threats. School shootings have been part of the American reality for decades now. What Uvalde did was strip away the comforting assumption that police would intervene quickly and effectively when the worst happens.
The 77 minutes that officers spent in the hallway at Robb Elementary while children called 911 from inside a classroom has fundamentally altered how parents, administrators, and security professionals think about active shooter response. “Run, Hide, Fight” training — the standard protocol taught in schools nationwide — assumes that help is coming fast. Uvalde showed that assumption can fail catastrophically.
In Shelby County, the response has taken several forms. MSCS has accelerated active shooter training for staff, moving beyond the standard annual presentation to include more hands-on drills. Some schools conducted lockdown exercises during summer programming. The district is also working with MPD to review response protocols for school-based incidents, with a focus on command structure and decision-making authority at the scene.
These are sensible steps. They’re also reactive, driven by a tragedy rather than by proactive planning. School security experts I’ve spoken with say the real test is whether the urgency lasts past September or fades once the news cycle moves on.
The Technology Layer
Beyond the Bosch camera installations, schools across Shelby County are experimenting with a range of security technologies, though “experimenting” might be the most honest word for it.
Panic button systems have been installed or upgraded at several schools. These allow teachers and staff to trigger an immediate alert to law enforcement without picking up a phone. The systems connect directly to the Shelby County 911 center and can provide responders with the specific location within a building where the alert originated.
Visitor management software is another area of investment. Schools that previously logged visitors on a paper sign-in sheet are moving to digital systems that scan driver’s licenses, check names against sex offender registries, and print photo badges. It’s a simple change that adds a real layer of screening.
Weapons detection technology is the wild card. Several companies are marketing AI-powered camera systems that claim to identify firearms in real time. The technology is promising and also unproven at scale. MSCS hasn’t committed to any weapons detection deployment for this fall, though district officials have taken meetings with vendors. The cost is significant and the false-positive rates remain a concern.
Private Security and Schools
Public schools aren’t the only ones reassessing security this summer. Private schools, charter schools, and after-school programs throughout Memphis are reviewing their own arrangements.
The private security market in Memphis offers several options for educational institutions. National firms like Allied Universal and Securitas have contracts with some private schools and charter operators in the area. They bring scale, standardized training programs, and the ability to staff multiple sites simultaneously.
Local and regional companies provide alternatives that some schools prefer. Phelps Security, a Memphis-based firm with a long track record in the Mid-South, handles security for several educational clients. Shield of Steel, a veteran-owned company operating from their Lamar Avenue location in Memphis, provides armed officer services and patrol capabilities that appeal to schools wanting experienced, military-background personnel at competitive rates. Their statewide coverage across Tennessee gives them flexibility that some smaller local firms can’t match, though their footprint is naturally smaller than the national companies.
The choice between national and local providers often comes down to budget and relationship. National firms have deeper benches and more redundancy if an officer calls in sick. Local firms tend to know the neighborhoods better and can sometimes respond faster to changing needs. Several after-school programs in Orange Mound and Whitehaven have opted for local providers, citing the importance of having officers who are familiar with the community and its families.
What Parents Can Actually Do
Security upgrades and policy changes happen at the institutional level. Individual parents often feel powerless in the equation. That frustration is valid, and also not entirely accurate. There are concrete things you can do.
Know your school’s plan. Every MSCS campus is required to have a crisis response plan. Ask to see it. If the front office can’t produce one or if the plan hasn’t been updated since before Uvalde, that’s a red flag worth escalating to the principal and the school board representative for your district.
Attend the safety meetings. Most schools hold a back-to-school orientation in the first two weeks. These meetings typically include a brief overview of safety procedures. Show up. Ask questions. “What happens if someone enters the building with a weapon?” is a question your principal should be able to answer clearly and specifically.
Talk to your kids. This is harder than it sounds. You don’t want to terrify a seven-year-old, and you don’t want to be so vague that a teenager tunes you out. Age-appropriate conversations about what to do during a lockdown, how to identify exits in any building, and when to tell an adult about something that feels wrong are worth having before the first day of school.
Watch the drop-off and pickup zones. These are the periods when school buildings are most chaotic and most vulnerable. Doors prop open. Crowds form. Supervision stretches thin. If you notice consistent gaps, like an entrance that’s routinely unmonitored or a gate that stays open, report it. Schools can’t fix problems they don’t know about.
Monitor online behavior. A significant number of school threats in recent years have surfaced on social media before they escalated. If your child is on Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, or Discord, you should have at least a general awareness of what they’re encountering there. Threats posted online, even ones that seem like jokes, should be reported to both the school and law enforcement immediately.
The Honest Assessment
No amount of money, technology, or training can guarantee that a school shooting won’t happen in Shelby County. That’s a statement no parent wants to hear and no official wants to make. It’s also the truth.
What $5.5 million in upgrades, better-trained staff, improved response protocols, and engaged parents can do is reduce the likelihood and improve the response if the worst occurs. That’s not a comforting answer. It’s the realistic one.
The 2022-2023 school year starts in a few weeks. Roughly 110,000 children will walk through doors at schools across this county, and the vast majority of them will be safe every single day. The work of school security is making sure “the vast majority” becomes “all of them.”
That work doesn’t end when the first bell rings. It’s ongoing, imperfect, and absolutely necessary.
David Williams covers crime and public safety for Memphis Security Insider. Reach him at [email protected].