A high-tech safety solution could transform the way schools respond to threats via drones assisting first responders.
Leon County Schools may pilot a new drone-based safety system called Campus Guardian Angel. The program aims to enhance school safety by providing immediate situational awareness during threats. Watch the video below to find out how much money the state allocated for the pilot program. Drones could revolutionize school safety with new Campus Guardian Angel program in Florida
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Could drones be the next line of defense in school safety?
I’m Lentheus Chaney, your neighborhood reporter in northwest Tallahasseetaking a look at how these eyes in the sky could change the way we respond to school threats.
The program is called Campus Guardian Angelan innovative response system that deploys drones to school threats in seconds.
During Mondays demonstration at the Leon County Schools District Security Center, drones took off, livestreamed video, and simulated response tactics in real time.
The technology gives law enforcement immediate situational awarenesshelping officers assess and respond before arriving on scene.
The drones can also deploy less-lethal deterrents to delay a threatbuying critical time to protect students and staff.
Superintendent Rocky Hanna attended the demonstration.
He says the use of drone technology in school safety is an added tool and expense to the districts school safety and protocol.
I think anytime you make an investment you have to think of the return on that investment. So, as we are hiring an additional deputy sheriff in all of our high schools, so we have security monitors in all of our schools. We have a weapons detection dogthat comes with the price tag. We have AI software in our cameras. All that comes at a price point, and so its us managing that budget and trying to figure out where were getting the biggest bang for our buck, Hanna said.
The pilot program is backed by $557,000 in state funding, approved in Floridas 202526 budget.
It will cover implementation in three school districts, and Leon County is being considered for participation.
According to the K12 School Shooting Database, Florida has reported more than 60 school shooting incidents since 2018ranking among the top states nationally.
Jimmy Williams, Chief of Safety, Security, and Emergency Management, is always exploring new toolslike drone technologyto help protect students and staff. But he says nothing beats strong safety protocols and a connected community.
Our number one resource for school safety and security is our community. If you see something, you hear something, please say something, Williams said.
Hanna says the cost to fully implement the system beyond the pilot could exceed $1 millionand with budget cuts, it’s unclear how that would be funded.
So far, no decision has been made on whether Leon County will be included in the pilot.
In Tallahassee, I’m Lentheus Chaney, ABC27.
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