An Indiana high school recently installed a new security system that connects the school directly to the sheriff’s department, allowing authorities to track an intruder on facility grounds in real-time.
The new solution at Southwestern High School in Shelbyville includes video surveillance cameras, security lighting, sirens, panic-button fobs for teachers and doors that can stop a bullet, according to WTHR-TV.
“It used to be that education was the number one thing that schools did,” Dr. Paula Maurer, superintendent at Shelby County Schools, told WTHR-TV. “Now we need to keep our students safe first.”
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Each classroom is equipped with a box that is hooked up to the sheriff’s department. In the event of alarm activation, teachers can flip help if they actually see a suspect and if they’re in danger, or they can flip safe if the kids are not threatened.
Administrators have also adopted active shooter measures to place the school in full lock down during which classroom doors immediately lock. The school can launch hot zones where exploding smoke cannons, hidden in the ceiling, can be deployed to disorient a suspect.
Much of the cost of the system, about $400,000, was donated by a local security company. Funding from a government grant was also made available to purchase the system.
“If schools can afford to pay for football fields, stadiums and computers, they can find the money for security,” Maurer said.
