‘One Size Fits All’…Usually Doesn’t Work

Recently I was listening to conversations happening nationally and locally about whether or not teachers should be armed on campuses. For many people in my state of Idaho, carrying a gun is second nature. One school here already trains teachers to access and use rifles stored around the school in case of an active shooter. Other districts in the state allow staff to conceal and carry their own guns at school. In most cases these schools are rural and would face a long response time from law enforcement were an active shooter event to happen. Arming and training teachers and staff in these instances makes sense. While having armed teachers is not foreign to some school districts here, other schools have openly noted that it’s not a solution they are seeking, based off of teacher, parent and student response. What works for one school district isn’t always going to work for another one.

It seems obvious that an idea, policy or procedure that works for one town, one county or one state, may not work somewhere else. But after hearing some recent debates and learning about some new proposed legislation, I’m not sure the idea is obvious afterall. In April, the IACP released a letter of opposition to the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act (H.R. 38/S. 446), which would “dismantle state-level concealed carry permitting systems.” Among other things, the federal bill seeks to require states to recognize conceal-carry licenses from other states. IACP President Louis M. Dekmar, chief of the LaGrange, Ga., Police Department wrote that he opposes the Act, stating, “This legislation would override state laws that determine who is qualified to carry a concealed firearm—laws that take into account the distinctive circumstances and needs in each state. No state should be forced to accept a person carrying a concealed that does not meet the standards the state has set for its own citizens.” That last sentence is key. States set standards for their own residents and when it comes to conceal-carry, states are all across the board on requirements, making it difficult to implement a federal ‘one size fits all’ method.

In a broad sense, I’ve rarely come across a ‘one size fits all’ method that actually works. This is a common challenge we even face here in this magazine and on our website, Officer.com. We write articles about law enforcement agencies in the U.S. who have successfully utilized a piece of technology or implemented an idea with great results. But I’ll be the first to admit that not every ‘success story’ will create the same result for all other agencies. When it comes to implementing ideas, procedures, technology, legislation, etc., we must remember that one size does not fit all.

Stay safe, readers.

Editor's Note: Have you tried integrating a technology solution based on its success at another department only to have it fail at your own? Let me know at [email protected].