The question is will this make a difference? It probably will. One of the reactions to the dispatcher was an innate understanding this was "Like What?".
The Sandy Hook School shooting was out of the blue. There were probably a minute or two that passed before responders actually came to grips with the event.
This method places a person at a station listening for evidence of gun shots. They expect it when their system lights up. Then when the response from the monitor is sent out, it immediately shows up on the screens of the police anywhere within the area. There will be an earlier response by minutes, however, the first police on the scene may have a disadvantage of possibly being out gunned. That is possibly the case anyway. So the best use of this system is to have a walk through in training to respond when the schools are out of session. It is new technology, there will be glitches and quite possibly dangers no one considers.
If minutes would have made a difference at Sandy Hook, I am sure it would have the endorsement by any parent. So, this may be an improvement. Something was learned from the 911 tapes that actually could bring a difference in saving lives of students as circumstances exist today in the USA.
Jill Tucker
Published 6:01 am, Monday, November 11, 2013
A gunman walks into a school and starts shooting. (click here)
It's that rare, worst-case scenario, one that all police prepare for and every parent prays will never happen.
But if it happens at one Oakland charter school, a person 25 miles away, sitting in a small, dark room on the second floor of a building in a Newark business park, will hear the gunshots and - within seconds - push a button to notify police.
The information will hit police car computer screens instantly and include a floor plan of the school showing which classroom the shots were fired in, the type of gun used, and which direction the shooter or shooters appear to be moving. If more shots are fired, police almost instantly will know the exact location....
