Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Schools Turn to Apps, Other Tech to Guard Against Shootings
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
May 17, 2019

Share

LOS ANGELES — Schools trying to protect kids from mass shootings are turning to gunshot detection systems, cellphone apps and artificial intelligence — a high-tech approach designed to reduce the number of victims.

“We’ve kind of reached this state of frustration where we (feel like we) can’t protect our students. What we’re trying to do is find some technological fix, and there isn’t one.” Dennis Kenney, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Technology that speeds up law enforcement’s response and quickly alerts teachers and students to danger is a growing tool amid rising concerns over the inability to prevent shootings like the one last week at a suburban Denver high school. An 18-year-old student who rushed one of the gunmen died.

While a focus on gun control often emerges after school shootings, technology can be a less partisan solution that’s quick to implement — though some experts say funding preventive mental health resources should be the priority.

“We’ve kind of reached this state of frustration where we (feel like we) can’t protect our students,” said Dennis Kenney, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “What we’re trying to do is find some technological fix, and there isn’t one.”

Districts nationwide are recognizing that and instituting an approach that combines technology with mental health programs, bullying prevention and security officers.

“If I’m intent on shooting people at a school, there are 20 ways to do it,” said Erik Endress, CEO of Share911, a New Jersey-based company with an app that allows staff to immediately report to colleagues and police everything from medical conditions to active shooters.

A New Era of School Security

“We can improve the outcome of these situations,” Endress said. “We can minimize the casualty count.”

While school attacks are relatively rare, they have been among the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.

The 1999 massacre of 13 people at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, ushered in a new era of school security but the carnage continued, including 27 people killed in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and 17 deaths last year at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Joseph Erardi, a retired Newtown superintendent who came to the district a year after the shooting, said lawmakers pressed for “hardening” infrastructure at schools.

That has spurred a billion-dollar industry where companies manufacture products from “ballistic attack-resistant” doors to smoke cannons. The hardening market, as well as lobbying efforts to get taxpayer dollars to fund upgrades, had stalled in recent years but rekindled after the Parkland shooting.

Now many schools, like the Beverly Hills Unified School District, are combining that kind of hardware with more high-tech solutions and therapeutic programs.

“That’s like the Number 1 concept of security for any principal: physical security and emotional security of children,” said Juliet Fine, principal at Horace Mann School, which serves kindergarten through eighth grade.

Wealthier Areas Have Not Been Immune to Violence

Beverly Hills is among 200 U.S. school districts using the Share911 app. The board of education added it and other measures, including armed security officers, following the Parkland shooting.

In the fall, the district will add a central command center that will monitor feeds from all the district’s surveillance cameras and use software to monitor keywords in online search traffic for potential threats.

“Safety in schools is evolving. Technology and software, like in all aspects of the modern world, need to be utilized and used. We want our kids to feel and be safe. … If we do all this, then our teachers can do what they need to do.” — Christopher Hertz, school safety director, Beverly Hills Unified School District

“Safety in schools is evolving. Technology and software, like in all aspects of the modern world, need to be utilized and used,” said Christopher Hertz, district director of school safety. “We want our kids to feel and be safe. … If we do all this, then our teachers can do what they need to do.”

Wealthier areas have not been immune to violence. Horace Mann parents and teachers stressed that they and students feel safe within the walled campus, and not just because it’s in an exclusive area.

“I’m grateful I live in this community that has so much security, and I know they are protected,” Evelyn Lahiji, 42, said as she picked up her sons, Lorenzo Naghdechi, 8, and Leonardo Naghdechi, 9.

Christina Richner, 45, said her 6-year-old son, Julian, and 9-year-old daughter, Olivia, have gone through so many emergency drills that “their reflexes will kick in” during a shooting.

The students are trained to gather in a corner with the classroom’s lights out and blinds drawn in a lockdown, social studies teacher Laura Stark said. Staffers check in via the Share911 app to share information, including if any kids are missing or injured.

Share911 launched three weeks after the Sandy Hook shooting. The app provides real-time data to school employees and law enforcement, such as the type of threat and its location, based on floor plans of the building.

Embracing Technology to Allay Public Concern

“You can’t decide if you’re going to run, hide or fight in the absence of information,” said Endress, the CEO.

AmberBox, an indoor gunshot detection product that looks like a smoke detector, has a similar philosophy. It alerts school officials and law enforcement the moment a shot is fired and maps the location.

The system uses sensors that track a gun’s muzzle flash and a bullet’s shockwave, CEO James Popper said.

Chicago-based Aegis AI is refining technology to identify a gun as soon as it enters an area that a camera is scanning. The company was incorporated a year ago and still is working to minimize false alarms, such as when the software flags a staple gun or drill, CEO Sonny Tai said. Most of its clients are in a pilot program.

Some experts are concerned that districts are embracing technology to allay public concern while taking money away from mental health programs and violence-prevention efforts.

“It’s something you can show. I can go to a board meeting and hold up this shiny thing,” said Amy Klinger, co-founder of The Educator’s School Safety Network and a former teacher and school administrator in Ohio.

Despite the advances in both safety technology and mental health programs, experts say there’s no foolproof way to predict or stop a shooting. Wealthy, suburban districts like Beverly Hills that can afford the latest innovations face as much risk as inner-city schools where metal detectors have been commonplace for years.

“Nobody ever thinks it’s going to happen there,” Endress said. “Well, it’s happening everywhere.”

DON'T MISS

GOP Picks up Key House Seats While Democrats Say They Still Have a Path to a Majority

DON'T MISS

Costa Expands Lead Over Maher, Richardson Holds Narrow Edge on Bonakdar

DON'T MISS

Clovis’ Measure A and Sanger’s Measure M Get Good News with Thursday Vote Update

DON'T MISS

President-Elect Trump Has Sweeping Plans. Here’s What He’s Proposed.

DON'T MISS

New Look Basketball Bulldogs Open at Home. How Will They Fare Under Walberg?

DON'T MISS

Americans Seek Fresh Start Abroad as Election Sparks Expat Interest

DON'T MISS

President-Elect Trump Names Susie Wiles as Chief of Staff

DON'T MISS

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Foe of Drugmakers and Regulators, Is Poised to Wield New Power

DON'T MISS

California Beat Trump in Court His First Term. It’s Preparing New Cases for His Second.

DON'T MISS

With Mountain West Title Out of Reach, What Is Fresno State Playing For?

UP NEXT

California Beat Trump in Court His First Term. It’s Preparing New Cases for His Second.

UP NEXT

Don’t Expect Kamala Harris’ Loss to Boost Gavin Newsom’s Presidential Prospects

UP NEXT

California Governor Calls Special Session to Protect Liberal Policies From Trump Presidency

UP NEXT

Trump’s Deportation Plan Brings Fear and Sadness at CA Border

UP NEXT

Thousands Ordered to Evacuate as Powerful Wind-Fed Wildfire Burns Homes in Southern California

UP NEXT

Hundreds of Californians Flee and Homes Burn as Powerful Winds Feed Wildfires

UP NEXT

Powerful Winds and Low Humidity Raise Wildfire Risk Across California as Blaze Erupts Near Malibu

UP NEXT

These California Toss-Ups May Decide Which Party Controls Congress

UP NEXT

Democratic Mayors in San Francisco and Oakland Fight to Keep Their Jobs on Election Day

UP NEXT

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

President-Elect Trump Has Sweeping Plans. Here’s What He’s Proposed.

1 hour ago

New Look Basketball Bulldogs Open at Home. How Will They Fare Under Walberg?

1 hour ago

Americans Seek Fresh Start Abroad as Election Sparks Expat Interest

2 hours ago

President-Elect Trump Names Susie Wiles as Chief of Staff

3 hours ago

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Foe of Drugmakers and Regulators, Is Poised to Wield New Power

3 hours ago

California Beat Trump in Court His First Term. It’s Preparing New Cases for His Second.

3 hours ago

With Mountain West Title Out of Reach, What Is Fresno State Playing For?

4 hours ago

Former Fresno State Bull Rider, a Vietnam Vet, Calls Central Valley Honor Flight ‘Life-Changing’

5 hours ago

Don’t Expect Kamala Harris’ Loss to Boost Gavin Newsom’s Presidential Prospects

5 hours ago

Questions About Sexual Orientation and Gender ID on Track to Be on US Census Bureau Survey by 2027

5 hours ago

GOP Picks up Key House Seats While Democrats Say They Still Have a Path to a Majority

WASHINGTON — Republican leaders projected confidence Thursday that they will keep control of the U.S. House as more races were decided in th...

6 mins ago

The U.S. Capitol is seen from Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
6 mins ago

GOP Picks up Key House Seats While Democrats Say They Still Have a Path to a Majority

6 mins ago

Costa Expands Lead Over Maher, Richardson Holds Narrow Edge on Bonakdar

16 mins ago

Clovis’ Measure A and Sanger’s Measure M Get Good News with Thursday Vote Update

1 hour ago

President-Elect Trump Has Sweeping Plans. Here’s What He’s Proposed.

1 hour ago

New Look Basketball Bulldogs Open at Home. How Will They Fare Under Walberg?

2 hours ago

Americans Seek Fresh Start Abroad as Election Sparks Expat Interest

Trump co-campaign manager Susie Wiles is seen at Nashville International Airport as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives, July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP File)
3 hours ago

President-Elect Trump Names Susie Wiles as Chief of Staff

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, at Madison Square Garden in New York, Oct. 27, 2024. President-elect Donald Trump has encouraged Kennedy to “go wild on health,” but has not made clear what role he will play. (Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times)
3 hours ago

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Foe of Drugmakers and Regulators, Is Poised to Wield New Power

Search

Send this to a friend