First county in Nebraska implementing this service
PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. (KLKN) – Cass County 911 is implementing a new way for teachers and other school staff to report emergencies that may occur at their school.
The school staff will be able to use an app on their phone or tablet to report emergencies directly to first responders and dispatch.
Lt. Larry Burke of the Cass County Sheriff’s Office gave an example of how important this tool can be.
“If a teacher in the east wing has seen violence, there was a shooter, or something going on and getting the message in a timely manner to the west wing or the administrative part in the front of the building, oftentimes there was several minutes that went by, valuable time went by, before notification could get out to the responders,” Burke said.
He explained that using the app is quick and easy, and not only does that alert go to law enforcement, but it also goes to all the teachers and administrators in the school.
This allows the school ample time to implement safety measures.
Once an alert is issued, first responders can message the school personnel back and let them know that they are on the way. School staff can also reply to that message and update emergency personnel on the situation.
The app also works in reverse: 911 dispatchers and law enforcement can an alert a school that a threat is nearby. This allows the school to make informed decisions on what it should do.
This service isn’t without cost, but at least for the first year, Sheriff Bill Brueggemann is picking up the tab.
The app isn’t in operation yet. Cass County 911 is still working out logistics and testing it out, but it plans on having the app fully operational in all schools at the start of the next school year.
Cass County is the first county in Nebraska to use this service, but Burke said he hopes to see many more counties look into it.
