Across the United States, legislative action is being taken to prepare schools for an increasingly common and disturbing public concern – active shooting events. Since Columbine in 1999, more than 338,000 students in the U.S. have experienced gun violence at school. This staggering truth has impacted public anxiety about school safety and the precautions school boards are taking to keep children safe.
In response, Missouri Governor Mike Parson has introduced new funding through the School Safety Grant Program, allocating a substantial $20 million to support physical safety improvements in schools across the state.
As part of the School Safety Grant Program, Missouri has contracted directly with Raptor Technologies to provide schools with free mobile panic alert technology. When used during emergencies, the Raptor Alert app can quickly and discreetly alert the local 911 agency while providing critical building and event information — helping to reduce response times and raise situational awareness when responding to an on-campus emergency.
Empowering 911 Centers and Police Departments
Establishing a digital connection between schools, 911, and field responders can save precious time during an emergency scenario. To take advantage of these emergency notifications, however, Local Missouri Emergency Communication Centers (ECCs) must be prepared to promptly receive and handle digital alerts transmitted from schools.
Raptor Technologies partners with RapidSOS to securely send digital alerts directly to a school’s local ECC via RapidSOS Portal – a free, web-based solution used by ECCs nationwide to provide real-time views of emergencies within their jurisdiction. With access to Raptor Alert information via RapidSOS Portal, ECCs gain unparalleled access to actionable insights, enabling informed decision-making, seamless collaboration with law enforcement, and faster response times during school emergencies.
911 telecommunicators fielding emergency calls and alerts receive data like precise location of the incident, information about the caller, type of incident, and more.
Raptor specifically shares the following enriched data:
- Caller Name and Information (e.g. Job role)
- Dispatchable Address
- Callback Number
- School Name and Precise On-Campus Details (e.g. Building name, headcount of students and staff, number of visitors on the school’s campus)
- Real-time status of the emergency
- Type of emergency (e.g. Lockdown)
With RapidSOS, Raptor automatically delivers this critical information to operators and first responders at the touch of a button. Instead of merely sharing the caller’s phone number, Raptor, together with RapidSOS, can provide the caller’s name, their precise location within the school, and the nature of the emergency – speeding response, enhancing situational awareness, and ultimately saving lives.
Signing Up for the RapidSOS Portal
RapidSOS Portal provides a master view of all emergencies on one map while sharing data from millions of connected devices – from health profiles, vehicle telematics, alarms, and more.
To start receiving information via RapidSOS Portal, visit rapidsosportal.com, and select “New Agency Sign Up.”