SINGAPORE: Ramping up security at campuses following the revelation of school attack plots may bring a sense of safety and assurance in the immediate short term, but may inadvertently normalise a culture of fear among students, experts said.
While physical security has a role, preventing students from slipping into radicalisation is just as important, said experts. This includes developing open communication channels with trusted adults with whom they can clarify doubts when they come across dangerous content or face difficulties.
On Monday (Jul 27), the Internal Security Department (ISD) said that it had detained three teenagers who were self-radicalised online, with two of them plotting to carry out attacks in schools.
One boy, 14, drafted a 21-page manifesto detailing the attack plan and admitted to authorities he would have carried out the stabbings. He was arrested weeks before he was due to carry out the attack, in what ISD called a âclose shaveâ.
Associate Professor Razwana Begum, head of global security and strategy at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said: âSchools must remain places where students feel safe, but also where they continue to feel trusted.
âWe should be careful not to unintentionally create environments that resemble high-security facilities unless the threat assessment clearly warrants it.â
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