Book Review: Coon, J. K. (2007). Security Technology in U.S. Public Schools. New York: LFB Scholarly. v, 163 pp

• Author: David R. Graff
• Published date: 01 June 2009
• Date: 01 June 2009
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016809331660
• Subject Matter: Articles

Book Reviews 275
Coon, J. K. (2007). Security Technology in U.S. Public Schools. New York: LFB Scholarly.
v, 163 pp.
DOI: 10.1177/0734016809331660
Violence in America’s schools attracts media attention and public concern, especially the
extreme violence of tragedies of multiple shootings in schools. In response to school vio-
lence, the federal government and numerous federal agencies launched legislation and
programs in an effort to examine and reduce the violence. Federal grants offered funds to
the schools to provide security equipment and programs. Publications have addressed the
security equipment available to the schools. However, in her first book, Coon points out
that the literature is lacking information concerning what security technologies are being
used and by what types of schools.
Coon raises several questions about the use of security technologies in schools. What
technologies do schools most commonly use? What school (organizational) and contextual
factors are associated with use of security technologies? Is security technology use in
schools better explained by school problems or other factors?
The author embarks on an energetic endeavor to add to the now limited literature about
the use of security technology in schools. She uses data from a national sample of schools
in her attempt to answer the questions mentioned above. This is a larger sampling than the
previous research limited to smaller areas. The book carries a discussion about the impor-
tance of the relationship between school, other organizational, individual/household char-
acteristics, and the use of security technology throughout.
Coon uses chapter 2 to discuss the limitations of previous research in this area. The
author points out that the previous research is lacking in methodology. The significance of
relationships was not tested as most of the literature was descriptive. The author suggests
that bivariate relationships need to be explored, followed by multivariate...