South Florida city is first in US to deploy new tech to speed school-threat response

CORAL SPRINGS – Coral Springs will be the first city in the country to implement a new technology designed to speed up law enforcement response times in the case of a threat to school safety.

The Active Law Enforcement Response Technology, from IntraLogic Solutions, will connect schools’ security systems directly to the Coral Springs Crime Center. The new program is funded by the School Safety Grant organization, started by Andrew Pollack after his daughter, Meadow, was killed in the Parkland school shooting.

Coral Springs police officers were among the first to arrive at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High amid the chaos of the massacre that left 17 dead in February 2018.

The new program was designed specifically to increase response times and save lives in school. It could be used in other places where people congregate, such as houses of worship and shopping malls.

“Although this project started out with school safety in mind, the applications of this software go beyond education. It is my hope that the ALERT program becomes the standard for all schools in our nation, as well as in houses of worship, businesses and any venue where large numbers of people gather,” said Coral Springs Police Chief Clyde Parry.

The Coral Springs Charter School and Chabad of Coral Springs will be the first institu

tions to receive grant funding and implement the technology. The rollout date will be announced at a news conference Thursday.

Pollack first began working with IntraLogic Solutions after it was revealed that it took officials more than 30 minutes during the shooting to realize surveillance footage was on a 20-minute delay at Stoneman Douglas.

ALERT will allow those in the command center to unlock doors and take over the school’s intercom system. The program also will give dispatchers interactive maps and live camera footage within five to 10 seconds.

The program will also satisfy the requirements of Alyssa’s Law, which mandates that mobile panic buttons be installed on every teacher and staff member’s cellphone as an app to silently alert law enforcement to emergencies. The law, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in June, is in honor of Alyssa Alhadeff, who was also killed in the Parkland shooting.

MIKE STOCKER/SUN SENTINEL Coral Springs will be the first to implement new technology with a grant from the School Safety Grant organization started by Andrew Pollack, left, whose daughter was killed in the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.