If only. If only law enforcement could have arrived faster. If only someone would have connected the dots. If only there were more barriers to entry. Such tragic statements surround every school shooting, because each one is a complete, senseless tragedy. And from these tragedies, often come insights, courage and tremendous resolve to prevent another.
Alyssa’s Law
As those in law enforcement know, it can take anywhere from three to 60 minutes to arrive on scene following a 911 call. Most mass violent attacks are over in five minutes, so anything we can do to shorten response time, is time and energy well spent. This is the intention of Alyssa’s Law, critical legislation addressing the issue of law enforcement response time when a life-threatening emergency occurs. The law is an initiative of Make Our Schools Safe, a non-profit organization founded by Lori and Ilan Alhadeff, who lost their 14-year old daughter, Alyssa, to the brutal shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Valentine’s Day 2018. Alyssa’s Law calls for “the installation of silent panic alarms that are directly linked to law enforcement, so in case of any emergency they will get on the scene as quickly as possible, take down a threat and triage any victims.”
The call to support this initiative is felt across the country as organizations devise solutions to align with Alyssa’s Law. We are happy to share that our Emergency Management Suite meets the requirements of Alyssa’s Law because of the Panic, Alerts and Notifications feature in the Student & Staff Accountability module launched in 2017. Giving first responders all the time they can get to help victims and save lives is one of the many benefits of today’s technology and an effort we can all support.
What More Can We Do?
The timeline of an active shooter event, while rarely more than a handful of minutes can seem like an eternity both in the moment and long after the fact. In addition to giving law enforcement precious time to save lives, we can also empower staff and students with critical life-saving skills of their own. ALICE Training is designed to teach effective active shooter response strategies to staff and students to help improve outcomes and minimize loss of life. Together, Alyssa’s Law and ALICE Training can help our schools keep their minds focused on learning, knowing they have critical technology and education to protect lives.
It’s a shame such senseless acts occur in our schools, businesses, and other gathering places across the country. Yet it’s the courage of survivors like Lori and Ilan Alhadeff who challenge and inspire us to be better and do more. Creating safe environments to learn, work, live and play is a mission we take seriously.
Your path to safe communities starts here.
