FRISCO, Texas —Officers within the Frisco Police Department have extra sets of eyes on students within their community to help keep them safe.
After 17 were gunned down at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, school districts and lawmakers across America are trying to make campuses safer.
At Frisco PD, Officer Ryan Chandler said the department is ahead of the curve when it comes to responding to a school crisis.
For several years, Frisco PD has been using a program called S.A.F.E.R.—which stands for Situational Awareness for Emergency Response.
With S.A.F.E.R., dispatchers can tap into any camera within the Frisco Independent School District during a crisis or active shooter situation.
Officers can also use the computers in their squad cars to tap into the program while they’re responding.
“An officer can access this information almost instantaneously and see different angles and views within the school district,” Chandler said.
For Chandler, building and acting on information is key. Most officers arrive at a situation with information from 911 calls only.
“We can see in real time what’s going on, so we can pinpoint where something is happening or where someone is—and that saves a lot of time,” Chandler said.
Another unique feature of the program allows officers to see the layout and floorplans of schools they are responding to.
That is a vital tool, Chandler said, since most officers don’t know their way around campuses right off the bat.
“If I got here, I would have to look at this map to figure out where I needed to go,” Chandler said. “With this, I know exactly what I’m looking at, I know what I’m looking for, and I know what I need to do or where I need to go.”
Officers and dispatchers aren’t the only ones who can tap into S.A.F.E.R., firefighters and EMT’s can too.
The program is also used to monitor intersections within the city.
The department has never had to use S.A.F.E.R. in a major event, but Chandler says having it gives officers a huge advantage.
Frisco Police has 29 school resource officers and places one per school within the district.