Does Your School Have The Tools to Detect and De-Escalate Active Shooter Situations?

As school security administrators, you prepare for a lot of scenarios, but preparing for an active shooter response has to be the toughest. The implications of such an event on your campus can be disquieting. Your job is to provide the training and tools that allow your staff to carry out its two main goals: prevention and intervention.

Prevention includes officers with their feet on the ground actively listening and watching for any developing situations or chatter. While a physical presence helps mitigate potential dangers, your staff cannot have their eyes and ears everywhere, especially in the din of hallways between classes. 

A comprehensive security and communication network in your Memorial, TX school gives you the added tools to pinpoint trouble, direct students and staff to safety, and guide first responders to intervention.

See Also: 5 Ways School Access Control Keeps Students and Staff Safer

Gunshot Detection

When a gunshot does ring out, there is very little time to pinpoint the location and respond. A gunshot detection system uses an array of acoustic sensors distributed around your campus. Notifications are sent to a monitoring center and administrators for prompt action.

Once gunfire is detected, the mesh of microphones calculates the difference in the sound between them to provide an exact location. The system is tuned to filter out noises that the human ear confuses with gunfire, such as slamming books, minimizing false alarms. 

Safety Status

Once an incident has begun, communication is crucial for protecting people and creating a quick resolution. Security needs to know two things: the location of the intruder(s) and the safety status of classrooms. 

Faculty and staff need to be notified to begin lockdown procedures and secure rooms. Essential instructions and updates can be delivered via text messages. Security staff can send questions requiring one-touch responses to gain insight of teachers’ room status. Your team can use this information to update first responders and formulate an extraction plan based on situational needs.

Mass Notification

When an active shooter lockdown has begun, it is inevitable that those inside the building will reach out to family and loved ones. There is almost no amount of practice, training, or procedural reminders that can quell children’s natural urge to reach out for solace during a crisis.

It is critically important to initiate a mass notification alert to parents and the community with exact instructions and information. When an incident occurs and those outside the campus are made aware, it is an innate response for worried parents and others to converge on the site.

Initiating a multi-channel communications system to send alert messaging and information helps direct everyone to pre-arranged gathering locations, cleaning the way for police and rescue. Messaging is delivered simultaneously via text, pre-recorded phone calls, and social media platforms.

An active shooter response requires practiced coordination between safety staff, students, faculty, first responders, and the community. Prevention and intervention plans work to stop tragedies before they happen and to minimize any impact when it does occur.

Learn more about the technologies that can help protect the teachers, staff and students during an emergency in your Memorial, TX, school. ASAP Security Services can help guide you through the most effective systems. Give us a call at 877-418-ASAP or fill out an online contact form to schedule a consultation.