Last week, a statewide hoax had law enforcement officers scrambling and parents of Westside High School students panicking, but the Richmond County School Board is implementing a new security system that may help avoid such chaotic situations.
The newly installed Centegix System is more than a security alarm, according to Richmond County Board of Education Police Chief Mantrell Wilson. It is a fully integrated system that will aid in all types of emergency and non-emergency situations.
“We can use it for everything from severe weather, lock downs, medical emergencies, any time we need to get an alert out to a mass amount of people,” Wilson said.
The new system, according to Wilson, links classrooms to a “primary group” selected by the school principal for health issues or situations considered to be minor in nature. The select group then responds accordingly.
However, in the case of a serious emergency such as an active shooter situation, the system immediately notifies BOE Police as well as the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. Wilson says that depending on the nature of the threat, the system can lock down all or parts of a campus almost like the watertight doors on a ship.
Each staff member will have a small module that is a little larger than a credit card with a push button in the center. They will wear the module around the neck. When a teacher or employee needs to communicate immediately with the primary group, they simply push the button.
According to Wilson, the number of times the button is pushed indicates the need, whether it be a medical situation, power outage or unruly student(s). If the button is pushed a certain number of times, the system automatically connects with law enforcement, and the lockdown procedure begins immediately.
The Centegix system is already being used in Douglas, Henry and Fayette counties in Georgia and Hillsborough County in Florida, according to the company’s website.
The Centegix system is being tested and should be operational at every school and Board of Education building by the first of the year.
Wilson says his police force, which is staffed 100% with trained and certified peace officers, is learning to deal with the reality of instant information being put out over the internet. He urges parents to be calm and allow the officers to do their jobs when there is a perceived threat.
Large numbers of parents showing up to try to get their children away from schools always makes a tense situation more complicated, Wilson says.
“Our priority is to keep the kids safe, keep the parents safe. Safety is paramount in our efforts to send the kids home the same way you sent them to us,” Wilson said.
