School Safety: What is keeping us safe?

With all of the chaos going on in schools around the country, it’s imperative that we’re staying up to date with the most advanced and secure technology regarding school safety. Especially for seniors, you may have noticed obvious changes around the school in the last few years. 

Metal detectors, Power doors, and Cameras

Campus security across the country has dramatically improved over the past several years, including the addition of metal detectors, power doors, cameras, panic buttons, ID’s, and scanning into campuses.

The most helpful/interesting security feature of them all, would be the panic buttons. As an example, in the recent Apalachee High School shooting, the Centegix crisis alert system was able to alert law enforcement officials silently in seconds. 

In March 2020, the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund Act was passed, which granted schools K-12 country-wide, panic buttons.

This investment, funded by the government to protect students and staff, might have been the best tool of safety that has even come into the hands of a school and the teachers.

Is it Really Helping?

Yes! Looking into most recent school incidents including shootings, safety systems like the panic buttons have become crucial to having quick law enforcement response time on campus. 

You may have heard about the Apalachee High School shooting in Georgia on September 4th, 2024. During this horrific incident, a teacher who heard gunshots during her lecture immediately pressed her panic button while in an adjacent classroom. Within minutes, law enforcement presence was on campus. 

This beats any other method of reaching enforcement. Not only does this help with the speed of response, but also the discreteness of it. Hypothetically speaking, if a shooter heard the intercom in a room when a teacher was asking for law enforcement, the teacher would become a target.

Safety in a Nutshell

School safety has drastically changed over the past few years. New technology helps prevent incidents on campus. Faster police response times save lives and ensure that students are safe. 

This technology will only get better over time. The future appears promising for reducing tragedies, safer campuses, and helpful technology.