Since 1980, 137 school shootings have accounted for 297 fatalities in the United States, the majority of them children. During that time the number of school shooting incidents increased each decade.¹

As debates over how to address this trend continue on Capitol Hill, there are a number of technologies that local law enforcement agencies and jurisdictions can use to better protect and monitor school students, employees, and visitors.

New technologies and innovative applications of technology are progressing school protection beyond the normal conventions. Options that should be very familiar to law enforcement—heavy-duty locks, metal detectors, video cameras—are still very much in play, but their new iterations are so advanced that they can assist and enhance public safety efforts in ways not imaginable outside of Hollywood just a decade ago.

Under Lock and Key

The humble lock, for example, appears to be a fairly standard and immutable tool for protecting property.

But now there is a new generation of lock. Card access has provided an advance in recent years, for example. Firms like Illinois-based Card Imaging or Minnesota’s Datacard Group offer various solutions for schools and districts looking to implement an ID badge system or a similar security approach.

There are other lock approaches, as well. One of the most innovative is the CyberLock Flex System, which combines the benefits of wired door security with a key-based approach to access. The entire system is managed under a single software platform, and law enforcement and school districts can create one unified security platform to track and control access to rooms, doors, and even cabinets and other areas.

“There’s only one key that can be used,” said Stephanie Ulrich, a spokeswoman with Oregon-based CyberLock. This single-key approach, increases security. “You can’t duplicate keys like you can with mechanical keys. To make a duplicate of a mechanical key, you can tell a key maker the cut of the key. You don’t even necessarily need the key.”²

The system stores access data in its memory and features auxiliary power sources to keep the system operational during network and power outages. CyberLock keys can be used remotely and can help target a given person’s access to an area.

“Wiring solutions is a big thing for many locations,” Ulrich said. “It’s great for remote use, and it’s more affordable because there’s no power wiring. If a gym teacher only needs access to one area, you can deny them access to another part of the facility.”

The CyberLock Flex System is already in use in a number of school districts around the United States, including in Toppenish School District, which serves approximately 3,300 students in Washington’s Yakima Valley.

One of the district’s problems with access was related to keys that were distributed or loaned away and of which district officials eventually lost track. The CyberLock Flex System not only helped centralize physical key control, but also allowed the school to know who was accessing what areas and when.

“There was no accountability; even with cameras, we couldn’t tell who was stealing because there are so many people coming and going,” said Scott Kallenberger, the school district’s IT manager, in a case study on the Flex System. “The software creates different access reports; I sent one out to the athletics director detailing who accessed the gym and recreation fields.”³

Other companies also provide solutions that can help law enforcement better monitor and control access to schools and other sensitive areas. Florida’s Datamaxx Group is another leader in this field, as is DoorKing, a California company that provides telephone-based access and entry solutions.

Military Technology in Handheld Metal Detector

A classic walk-through metal detector is standard fare for many schools, particularly those situated in high-risk neighborhoods. They are useful tools to law enforcement in the school environment and well beyond.

Handheld or wand-style metal detectors are also well-known tools to law enforcement, but a new handheld option helps law enforcement make more detailed threat assessments, even within the stricter legal boundaries that apply when student searches are potentially involved.

While traditional metal detectors emit a beep when any metal object enters their field, the Metal-Tec detector, developed by Florida-based Torfino Enterprises, allows officers to essentially identify a specific object without ever laying a finger on an individual search subject.

“The metal detector can tell the difference between different masses by their shape and size,” said Nick de Torfino, vice president of Torfino Enterprises. “You can differentiate between threat levels, the difference between a gun and a pocket knife…With the wand, you can actually ‘draw’ the shape of the object.”⁴

The Metal-Tec, de Torfino said, was used by Navy SEAL teams during the raid to capture and kill Osama Bin Laden, among other operations. According to de Torfino, each Metal-Tec can perform 2,000 30-second searches on one battery charge.

In a school context, 350 officers assigned to the New York City public school system currently use the Metal-Tec. The Metal-Tec, which, includes a training session with purchase, can be especially helpful to law enforcement because it reduces the need for physical searches, which can be more challenging when underage minors are involved.

“People hide things in the crotch of females. They’d hide cellphones, which weren’t allowed in some places,” de Torfino said. “These can help officers more accurately determine how or when to go to the next level. Once they get a ‘hit’ from a regular metal detector, they can use the Metal-Tec to actually pinpoint the object. That helps because when officers do find something, usually they’re not allowed to search the child. They literally have to call the parent and have the parent come in.”

The Metal-Tec also operates silently, emitting a vibration, instead of noise or light, when it detects metal. This can help minimize disruptions and distractions in the school environment.

“It silently vibrates,” Torfino said. “No sound or indicator lights. So it’s less intrusive and it doesn’t call attention to the person or the situation from others, which can make it harder to do the job.”

Putting a Name to Face

Surveillance cameras are standard in many schools. But what do law enforcement officers do when the camera does not capture a clear image of a suspect’s face? Unfortunately, public safety officials in this situation often find themselves out of luck.

The face is the most recognizable part of the body, and as such is the most helpful feature when attempting to identify a person of interest. Forensica, an innovative service from the New Hampshire firm Animetrics can help police officers do their jobs more effectively and efficiently by turning a grainy or incomplete photo into a fuller, more actionable piece
of evidence.

“It takes any digital image and maps out a model of that face in 3-D,” said Animetrics President and CEO Paul Schuepp. “To do this, it uses up to 100 different facial points like eyebrows, the tip of the nose, and the corners of the mouth. It estimates things like the depth of the eye sockets and nose. We get a model from that, and now we can manipulate that model.”⁵

The service visually enhances any crime scene photo, from any source, meaning no extra hardware is necessary. Once mapped, law enforcement agencies can then run the newly mapped image through a national facial image database.

The cost of the software is $5,000 for purchase, which includes training. As an alternative, jurisdictions can “pay per face” or subscribe to a service in which agencies receive a certain amount of image enhancements over a certain period of time. Animetrics also has unveiled ID-Ready, a subscription-based online database service for smaller law enforcement departments.

A growing number of companies are working to better manage and secure information and better monitor an environment or facility such as a school.

School Safety in the Cloud

Virginia-based Haystax Technology in February unveiled the National School Safety Cloud, which helps manage sensitive personal information and provides a continuously updated picture of the school security environment. It also provides seamless coordination during a crisis, including tools like custom safety assessment forms and field alerting apps.

“We have applied our broad expertise in public safety risk, data analytics and visualization, and secure cloud collaboration to assist school safety officials with their critical mission: providing the nation’s 55 million students with a safe, tranquil environment in which to learn and develop,” said Haystax Chief Executive Officer William B. Van Vleet in a statement.⁶

As technology continues to advance, there are more and more options available to protect schools, students, and teachers, including those discussed in this column. When used correctly by trained personnel, school protection technology solutions can increase security and safety, and deliver peace of mind to families and communities.♦

Notes:
¹Chris Kirk, “Since 1980, 297 People Have Been Killed in School Shootings: An Interactive Chart of Every School Shooting and Its Death Toll,” Slate, December 19, 2012, www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/map_of_the_week/2012/12/sandy_hook_a_chart_of_all_196_fatal_school_shootings_since_1980_map.html (accessed February 26, 2014).
²Stephanie Ulrich, telephone interview, January 30, 2014.
³Scott Kallenberger, CyberLock case study, January 31, 2014.
⁴Nick de Torfino, telephone interview, January 31, 2014.
⁵Paul Schuepp, telephone interview, January 29, 2014.
⁶William Van Vleet, press release, Haystax Technologies, February 10, 2014.

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