A panic button system that was recently implemented in an Apalachee, Georgia high school in early August was credited with saving many lives during the shooting on September 4.
This new button ID technology is being credited with alerting authorities of the location of the shooter and those who were in danger.
CENTEGIX CEO Brent Cobb created this technology for this exact reason, hoping to save lives on school campuses around the world when a threat is present.
“We’ve seen descriptions of how they’ve used the platform, and we hope and believe that it had a positive impact in the face of a very tragic circumstance,” Cobb said.
The discreet badge is kept with the staff ID and has two alert options. By clicking a small button three times an alert goes to administration about an altercation or medical emergency, whereas by clicking the button 8 times, Emergency Services are alerted for more extreme circumstances including the Apalachee High School shooting.
“In this case, having the ability to put the school in lockdown with 8 quick button presses is timely. Also, being able to get a hold of the main office for other incidents, with only a few clicks is helpful. It may also give our staff members a sense of safety and security knowing they have help at their fingertips,” Assistant Principal David Roach said.
Along with immediate notification of an emergency, after the button is clicked 8 times, there are strobing lights, messages on computer displays and a pre-recorded intercom message.
Apalachee History teacher Stephen Kreyenbuhl shared that his smart board displayed that there was an emergency lock-down before anything was noticeably wrong in the building. It is for this reason that he was able to get his students to safety.
The staff was introduced to this new badge technology just one week prior to the incident on their first day of school.
"If you think about how this could be even more dark ... think about if they didn't have the locked doors… These panic buttons saved a lot of time, and, in my view, probably saved a lot of lives,” former FBI Agent Brad Garrett said.
About 75% of schools in Georgia use CENTEGIX alert technology, some lawmakers in the state are pushing for emergency systems similar to this to be required.
In Florida, this is known as Alyssa’s Law, which was passed in 2020. Named after a victim who was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, the Alyssa law includes that all schools must have a mobile panic alert system.
There are many similar companies who have created alert systems; these including, LifeSpot, Crisis Go and mySOS. However, many of these systems come in the form of a mobile app, which may not be as quick as a wearable button device like CENTEGIX.
It took Cobb and his team a long time to come up with the solution they were looking for. The idea was originally inspired by the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, 2018.
"We sat down and from a forensic standpoint said, how could we have helped?" he said. "What could we do to create a potentially better outcome in that kind of tragedy? We started a lot with those kinds of questions,” Cobb said.
According to the company, more than six hundred thousand of CENTEGIX’s wearable safety badges are being used in K-12 school settings. It would be very likely that these devices continue to evolve and become a priority throughout many school districts.
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