IN THE NEWS WITH ASR

The global pandemic has dominated the news for most of the year, but schools are back in session in person for much of the country. Children have been largely cooped up, and this has been shown to lead to increases in anxiety and depression. It’s important to have a conversation about the level of safety available within a school to make it a safe school. The requirements of the recently passed Alyssa’s Law won’t fully go into effect until the next academic year, but it is never too soon to improve the school security system. The school threat this year is still unknown, and it is crucial to be fully prepared for a response.

Past instances of violence are still fresh in the minds of the community. At the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, the group, Sandy Hook Promise, released a disturbing school shooting video as a public service announcement that some called “a gut punch” and “hard to watch.” The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school in December of 2012 was devastating to the country, yet there have been over 387 school shootings since that time. There was virtually no debate over Alyssa’s Law following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018.

Why is  Alyssa's Law Important?

The main purpose of Alyssa’s Law is to require an advanced alarm system that ties directly to Law Enforcement, instead of relying on simpler defense methods like metal detectors and basic phone calls to the police. In the event of an active shooter situation, the staff would have the ability to push a panic alarm button that launches an immediate response. A lesson-learned from all the active shooter situations in schools is that there is a direct correlation to the amount of time a shooter is allowed to operate and the number of lives lost. That seems to be rather obvious but, unfortunately, failure to properly inform police and/or failure of the security staff present contributed to some of the lives lost.

ASR Alert Systems, A Solution that Complies with Alyssa's Law

One of the specific solutions to address the issue and comply with Alyssa’s Law is ASR Alert Systems. ASR Alert Systems feature state-of-the-art technology that communicates directly with Law Enforcement and First Responders and provides an exact location for the response. This technology is easy to integrate with the current school security system and provides the highest level of protection for the students because it ensures the fastest possible response from Law Enforcement. Every second is crucial in an active shooter situation, and ASR Alert Systems cuts down on the confusion and misinformation that is possible during a chaotic situation. Pressing the panic alarm button transmits the data discreetly without tipping off the active shooters and possibly initiating a hostage situation.

The sad reality is that we can never fully remove the threat in schools, but ASR Alert Systems give our students the best chance of survival by giving the active shooter the least amount of time to conduct their attack. Alyssa’s Law has already been implemented in New Jersey, but should become the standard across the nation to ensure the protection of our children.