Jefferson County leads Ohio with pioneering SaferWatch app for school emergencies
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ohio — For emergency situations in schools, it all comes down to improving response times and providing transparency .
And now SaferWatch technology promises to do just that.
The 11-in-1 emergency response app is a product of Alyssa’s Law, which calls for the use of silent panic alarms that link to law enforcement.
While Ohio hasn’t implemented the law just yet, Jefferson County is the first county in the state to embrace SaferWatch.
“Once they notify us, they can respond and say we received a notification, emergency response personnel are en route,” Jefferson County 911 Director Rob Herrington said. “It does a lot of other things, so it does the location of when the incident is, and it tells us what school and where at in the building. All that.”
The app guarantees the notifications will be made to law enforcement immediately.
But it is versatile, having buttons for medical emergencies and fires, plus allowing access to faculty, staff, students, and parents.
Herrington says it also adds accountability.
“I activated the button, Console 4 at the 911 center claimed the emergency, they marked it received, they changed it to assigned, which means somebody is taking care of it,” Harrington said.
That’s not all:
“There are 1500 cameras in Jefferson County schools,” Herrington said. “Now what this system will do, it will connect those cameras, right here to law enforcement and show them a glimpse of what exactly the hallways look like, providing a pinpoint of the assailant.”
Every school in the district agreed to do this and is paying for this system.
Educators like Steubenville High School Principal Ted Gorman say it’s a game changer.
“If there is an emergency and something happens in our building, the 911 center is able to patch right into our cameras and get the immediate help we need to hopefully resolve the situation as quick as possible,” Gorman said.
Jefferson County Educational Service Center Superintendent Chuck Kokiko says this added layer of protection is just another way to ensure the best education possible for students.
“Whether that be the communication piece from agencies with drills to test procedures, we’re always looking at how we can get better to protect our most valuable assets which are our students,” Kokiko said.
“Having the SAFERWATCH app is really going to add to that,” Gorman said.
