Schools across the Northeast and the Nation are beefing up security and safety procedures in the wake of the Newtown shooting. Capital Region Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.
Friday's elementary school massacre in Connecticut has touched people across the nation, and many are wondering how safe local schools are and what law enforcement agencies are doing to ensure school safety.
Captain David Bartlett of the Columbia County Sheriff's Office says they've had a Safe School committee in place for the last 8 years.
Albany City School District spokesman Ron Lesko says keeping children and staff safe at school is top priority every day and, like many districts across the northeast, all buildings have a range of security measures in place.
Captain Bartlett points out some find the proximity of Newtown to many of New York's counties particularly troubling. Friday's shooting has renewed calls for tighter gun control. Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple urges teachers, students and parents to be vigilant every school day.
New York Rifle and Pistol Association President Tom King says, when it comes to school safety it's time to look at all the options - he offers what he describes as a "temporary solution" to gun violence in schools.
CBS News is reporting that Connecticut's public school superintendents are working to draft national policy for keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally disturbed. A spokesman says recommendations by the panel will be made and presented at the national level.
