City, DCPS declares partnership with company specializing in security doors, glass

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The city of Jacksonville and Duval County school district on Wednesday introduced a new plan to maintain children secure in the classroom.

The varsity district hired a New York firm named Armoured One, which specializes in doorways and glass and claims it will probably decelerate or stop a shooter from getting into a classroom.

These are essential components after police in Texas decided the door accessed by the gunman at Robb Elementary College in Uvalde was closed however not locked. Initially, state police said a teacher left the door propped open. Investigators concluded the teacher truly closed the door, but it didn’t lock mechanically prefer it was supposed to. The gunman shot and killed 19 students and two lecturers earlier than he was killed by law enforcement.

Armoured One, which was based after the Sandy Hook Elementary Faculty shooting, is made up of former army and legislation enforcement agents who examine mass shooting attacks and consult on school security measures.

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“We are going to first work collaboratively to identify where Armoured One assets can best praise the training already supplied, adding their assets to the training tools and resources the district already makes use of,” Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry mentioned Wednesday afternoon at a news conference at City Corridor to announce the partnership.

Press the play button instantly beneath to observe your complete news conference.

The safety glass and movie that Armoured One invented can face up to several hits -- whether that’s bullets, someone ramming into the glass or utilizing different objects or weapons -- with out breaking, which might slow an attacker. The doorways it uses have steel framing, latch bolts and deadbolts.

Armoured One is also known for providing energetic shooter training and assessments. The company issues individual stories for each constructing and recommends the most effective equipment to make use of for every facility it’s working with.

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Curry mentioned he plans to search out the funding for that coaching but in addition work with the corporate to carry out school safety assessments. Armoured One CEO Tom Czyz mentioned his crew knows what to search for when it assesses a college’s vulnerability.

“They’re looking at ways to decelerate an attacker and speed up police response,” Czyz mentioned. “How do we sluggish him down -- and then velocity up the response that might cease him.”

Duval County Public Faculties Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene and Duval County School Police Department Chief Greg Burton say security and safety are top of mind on daily basis.

What I want to be frequent is that our households know that we are ready each and every day. And that’s what we work towards being a better college district as it pertains to safety and safety,” Green mentioned.

Burton stated, “I might say the one phrase that summarizes every part that we do is vigilance.”

Greene mentioned that the district’s finest protection is its college students and workers. She stated she continues to encourage the school community to report anything they see that’s suspicious.

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So far as the price, it’s unclear right now, because the partnership remains to be being worked out.

Duval County voters approved a half-cent gross sales tax in November 2020 with the precise function of changing growing older colleges, repairing a massive backlog of upkeep points, and bolstering school safety.

Right now, 74 initiatives are within the design section and 15 are beneath construction.

As of January 2022, the tax has generated greater than $118 million dollars, with greater than $5.7 million already spent or allocated to initiatives beneath development.

Over its 15-year life, the sales tax is projected to generate $64.9 million for the specific purpose of upgrading college security in DCPS faculties.

Extra information about how that money is planned to be spent in individual schools could be discovered on the school district’s half-cent gross sales tax info dashboard.

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The following list of safety measures is printed on the college district’s web site:

Each faculty has a safety plan and emergency response workforce.

All school classrooms are locked when occupied by college students.

School plans are reviewed with employees every semester.

The district has a extremely trained faculty police division, giving all colleges direct access to highschool useful resource officers.

The district utilizes numerous major security monitoring methods including digicam surveillance and monitored managed access methods.

All colleges and district places of work have a District Emergency Communications Community radio with direct access to school police and district management. College Police have direct access to JSO.

All faculties conduct common evacuation drills (hearth drills).

All colleges conduct common emergency and lockdown (“code crimson” and “code yellow”) drills.

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