Kyron Horman disappearance prompts Portland schools to re-examine security procedures
By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian
June 07, 2010, 5:47PM
View full sizeCole Stevens (back left) and Mack Holland of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue team search a private property near Skyline School on Sunday.A horrific 1992 incident in which a 12-year-old girl was abducted from the library of her Southeast Portland middle school and raped nearby changed school security practices across Oregon. After that highly publicized abduction 18 years ago, it became standard practice across the state for schools to lock all but their main entrances, ask employees to prominently display ID badges and require visitors to sign in at the office and wear visitor badges. Sign-in rules are generally relaxed or dropped, however, during events such as science fairs, concerts or parent-teacher conferences that draw a lot of parents and other adults.
Today, schools in and around Portland re-examined, and in some cases upgraded, safety procedures in the wake of the disappearance Friday of second-grader Kyron Horman from the halls of Skyline School in rural Northwest Portland.
A small number of alarming incidents have left most Oregon schools aware of the possibility that dangerous people can intrude. Procedures have reduced, but not eliminated, the dangers of strangers on campuses. According to Portland school security officers, most people who trespass at schools are minors -- typically dropouts, former students or students from other schools -- who show up looking to cause trouble.
Few such incidents are life-threatening. But in 1995, an ex-student came to the cafeteria of Portland's Marshall High School and shot two students. One suffered nerve damage to his face, and the 19-year-old gunman was sentenced to 13 years in prison. The attack prompted the district to use metal detectors on the campus for a while.
In 1997, a nattily dressed man made it into Southeast Portland's Lane