Pinellas County schools are poised to enhance their safety measures with a new panic alert system set to roll out in 2025. The five-year, $3.8 million initiative will provide employees with wearable badges featuring a button that activates a silent alarm, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times. This system replaces a phone app, which made some staff apprehensive according to assistant superintendent Clint Herbic, and is designed to notify law enforcement and initiate a campus lockdown quickly.
Lori Alhadeff, the mother of Alyssa Alhadeff who was a victim at the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, has been a fervent advocate for such systems. "Lives absolutely would have been saved that day," she told FOX 13 News. The urgency for this technology comes in response to Florida's adoption of Alyssa’s Law, which mandates schools to employ a silent panic alert system directly linked to law enforcement agencies.
Herbic assured during a board meeting that the new badges are not trackable except when an alert is triggered, responding to privacy concerns some had with the previous app. The badges, attached to employee lanyards, are believed to be more intuitive during emergencies. Board member Eileen Long highlighted the system's potential to ease the burden on staff, saying, "Unfortunately, we live in a world where danger is all around us," in a statement collected by Security Info Watch.
Implementing the system involves installing monitors throughout the schools and training staff on its use. Strobe lights and intercom messages will be integrated to enhance alert visibility and communication during incidents. Training and installation are expected to take six weeks, and the model has already been tested by the Hillsborough County school district without any reported issues. Superintendent Kevin Hendrick emphasized the district's ongoing commitment to safety, stating, "We are constantly evaluating our safety and security systems to find the best way to keep our students and staff safe," during a workshop discussion on the proposal mentioned by Security Info Watch.
The simplicity of the system raises questions about accidental alerts, to which Herbic clarified that the badges will only activate near school-based monitors. "You can sit at home and push it all day long. It won’t set off anything," he explained, clearing doubts regarding off-campus triggers. Board Vice Chairperson Caprice Edmond expressed that her colleagues and others she told about the proposal supported the change, recognizing the importance of adopting reliable and efficient safety technologies as per Security Info Watch.
