New Jersey to Send in Troopers to Patrol Schools Following Florida Shooting

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has announced an array of measures to improve school safety as a result of the Parkland, Florida, shooting last week, including assigning state troopers to conduct unannounced visits to 107 public schools where they have jurisdiction.

In addition, he said at a press event Tuesday, the state will look into how tips are reported to, and reviewed by, law enforcement; review and upgrade school safety protocols; and train bus drivers and teachers to identify suspicious activity. Murphy also urged state lawmakers to craft gun control and safety bills.

“Enough is enough," Murphy said. "While state actions cannot replace the federal reforms that are needed, student safety comes first in New Jersey."

As for the visits by state troopers,  Col. Patrick Callahan said they would give teachers and staff an extra layer of security and build closer relationships with students.

"A trooper sitting there having lunch with a sixth grader—that's where they help them with their homework. That's were they start to humanize the badge," Callahan said. "For those young men and women in our schools, to start to see law enforcement as somebody on their side."

Some New Jersey towns are taking it even further.

The East Brunswick school district voted unanimously last Thursday to assign an on armed officer to each one of the 11 schools in the district.

"Four years ago, I wasn't quite sure that we should be bringing armed personnel into our buildings. But you know the circumstances of the world around us continue to change," public schools superintendent Victor Valeski told WNYC in a separate interview. "We felt that now was the time to implement this next phase that we'd always been talking about."

He said he didn't think the change would have any adverse impacts.

"I don't see this as being like big brother," he said, "where we're gonna monitor anything that you do."

Zachery Dougherty, a junior at Toms River High School North, helped organize a rally against gun violence in his town Monday. He had mixed feelings about the potential increase of police presence in schools across the state.

"At the end of the day they're there to protect us, if nothing gets done on the congressional level and state level, I guess police force is necessary to protect the students," Dougherty said, but he worried it might have negative effects like creating a "police-like state."

"Putting police in schools, I think that's just a band-aid for the overall issue," he said. "It's not gonna solve this long-term."