S.H.A.R.E. Initiative will Enhance Response and Mitigation of an Active Shooter Incident
Photos of the Event are Available Here
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Police Commissioner Hart today announced school districts are now enrolling to participate in the S.H.A.R.E. initiative — Sharing to Help Access Remote Entry. The program will be up and running across the County before the start of the new school year in September.
“We will do whatever it takes to protect our schools by utilizing every available tool and partnership at our disposal,” said Suffolk County Executive Bellone. “The S.H.A.R.E. initiative gives our police department the ability to have eyes inside the school should an emergency ever occur so they can determine exactly where to go, saving precious time."
“Every second matters when it comes to school safety and the Suffolk County Police Department is dedicated to mitigating any potentially dangerous situation in our schools as quickly and effectively as possible,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said. “S.H.A.R.E is another opportunity to work collaboratively with our school districts to ensure the safety of our youngest residents.”
“School officials are working tirelessly to address student mental health needs, enhance student sense of belonging and protect our school environments. We thank County Executive Bellone, Chief Cameron and Commissioner Hart for continuously including school officials in this important conversation on school safety and for dedicating resources to our communities. We look forward to continuing the critical work of keeping our students, staff and faculty safe,” said Dr. Yiendhy Farrelly, West Babylon Superintendent
“We appreciate the continued collaboration and support from the county and police department to ensure the safety, health and welfare of all students. The SHARE program will enable the police department to save precious time should an emergency situation arise. Now that we have this program in place, we hope it never needs to be used,” said Dr. Kenneth Bossert, Elwood Union Free School District Superintendent
“Working with the Suffolk County Police Department on the Share Initiative to protect schools and children is an important part of our mission at IntraLogic Solutions. The Suffolk County Police Department now has some of the most advanced school security technology in the nation. Intralogic’s PISM software gives police the ability to access virtually every camera in any school as well as share resources such as floor plans and interactive control of door locking and PA systems. With this technology police are able to more rapidly respond to active shooter or other emergency situations,” said Lee Mandel, CEO and Founder of IntraLogic Solutions.
S.H.A.R.E is a school safety initiative that would allow school districts the ability to connect their existing CCTV camera systems directly to the Suffolk County Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center, at no additional cost to the district.
The initiative will enhance the efficiency of a Police Department response to an active shooter scenario and will foster more collaboration and information sharing so that police officers will be directed towards specific entry points and locations in a school building to neutralize or prevent an incident from occurring in a much more rapid manner. For school districts that have electronic access controls, the S.H.A.R.E initiative would enable to Police Department to control these features and open doors for emergency responders as needed during an emergency situation.
Additional Safety Measures
The Suffolk County Police Department employs a number of methods to ensure the safety of all residents. The latest initiative is in addition to several public safety measures already undertaken by Suffolk County to ensure school safety. Recent initiatives include the RAVE Panic Mobile application which provides a stratum of features, all designed to dramatically enhance the County’s police and first responders’ ability to effectively react and respond to active shooter events and other emergency situations.
Additionally, the Police Department provides enhanced patrols to school buildings across Suffolk County to further develop relationships and emergency response plans, has assigned additional officers to the SCPD’s Homeland Security Section to assess and evaluate school security, established a new mobile phone line that allows residents to confidentially “text a tip” to report activity pertaining to threats at school facilities, and created a School Resource Officer Training Course.
The Department also regularly conducts active shooter trainings for both civilians and police officers so that they understand the proper procedures and protocol to deal with an incident. The Police Department also deploys tactical and medical response vehicles to enhance the department’s ability to respond to various emergencies.
###