Crisis in the Classroom: Jefferson County looking to lead Ohio with SaferWatch technology
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ohio — Jefferson County could potentially be the first county in Ohio to implement a new school safety initiative called SaferWatch.
It’s something that could potentially impact the communication among first responders, parents, faculty, and staff.
And it’s right at your fingertips — an app where teachers and staff can use emergency or desktop buttons or smartphones to initiate attention to an emergency.
All of those notifications would be tracked and immediately responded to by authorities.
Jefferson County 911 Director Rob Herrington says it’s a program which schools in Uvalde, Texas and Broward County, Fla. have utilized.
“It’s a huge step into protecting those children as much as we can,” he said.
Also connecting all 1,400 county school security cameras to the 911 center, something Herrington says could help locate a potential threat faster.
“There’s really two pieces to it,” Herrington said. “One, SaferWatch would give us the immediate notification. And the second part would be the links with the cameras will allow emergency responders, primary law enforcement when they go into that building like that situation, they’ll know from the video where that shooter is and if you’re going to watch the video, you’ll see.”
Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla says it doesn’t stop there.
Their entire overall safety program entails a lot, something he and Herrington have been planning for months.
“We’re obviously communicating with each other,” Abdalla said. “We’re getting everyone on the same page. It’s another piece of the puzzle. You know there’s not one solution to it, obviously armed officers in every building, and I’m going to say that again, armed officers in every building. It’s a necessity.”
He adds this resource combined with these strategies, more training and better collaboration across the county and state can help keep schools more secure.
Herrington and Abdalla say they hope to implement this program in September.
