Wary Summer Camps to Boost Security

After a school year of shootings and copycat threats, summer camps are bracing for the arrival of millions of children--and tightening security to make sure tragedy doesn’t follow them.

Some overnight camps are asking parents to pack their children’s bags to keep out weapons, and camp directors say they will be more vigilant in searching campers and sending kids home if they don’t behave.

“We feel the greatest tragedy of Columbine would be thinking it can’t happen to us,” said Bob Schultz, American Camping Assn. director of resource development, referring to the April 20 shooting rampage in Littleton, Colo., that left 15 people dead.

The Martinsville, Ind.-based ACA sent a letter to member camps urging them to review safety procedures and detailing when it is legal and appropriate to search campers.

“There is stepped-up concern,” said Don Cheley, who operates camps in Estes Park, Colo., 75 miles from Littleton. “In terms of, are kids bringing in bombs or weapons, we are clearly going to be mindful of that.”

Rodger Popkin, owner of North Carolina’s Blue Star Camps and president of the ACA, sent a letter to parents asking them to pack for their children.

Also, “we’ve added an addendum to our contract with campers saying they can’t have weapons or ammunition,” Popkin said. “Previously, we would have never dreamed we needed that type of contract.”

Still, Popkin and other directors said overnight camps have a number of safety advantages over schools. Counselors living round the clock with campers are more likely to spot any problems, and children’s access to weapons is limited since they are not allowed to leave.

Jeff Solomon, executive director of the New York-based National Camp Assn., said member camps have received more calls since the school shootings from parents hoping to send their kids to camp.

“If anything, it has heightened the attractiveness of summer camp because it is a secure environment which is not in an urban area,” he said. “For many families, camp this summer more than ever before really represents a safe haven.”

Many parents agreed.

“Frankly, I’m more concerned about when he’s at school,” said Bob Asher of Montclair, N.J., whose 11-year-old son will go to Camp Interlocken in Hillsboro, N.H. “Of all the things to worry about, that doesn’t enter my mind.”

Robert Gallea of New York City, who is sending his son and daughter to Incarnation Camp in Ivoryton, Conn., said: “The fact that I get my kids out of the city for six weeks, I feel they are so safe.”

Camp directors say they have received more calls from parents who want their children excluded from riflery and other target sports on moral grounds than from those concerned about a shooting.

Security concerns are also being discussed at the nation’s day camps.

“In the wake of these kinds of incidents, if somebody brings a duffel bag they didn’t bring before, you have to go up to Johnny and ask, ‘What is that?’ ” said Dave Hilliard, president of the Wyman Center, which runs 16 day camps for disadvantaged children around St. Louis.

Hilliard said the organization contacted law enforcement officials to help review existing safety precautions.