City, DCPS announces partnership with firm specializing in security doorways, glass

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The town of Jacksonville and Duval County school district on Wednesday introduced a brand new plan to maintain youngsters safe in the classroom.

The school district employed a New York company named Armoured One, which focuses on doors and glass and claims it might decelerate or stop a shooter from getting into a classroom.

These are essential elements after police in Texas determined the door accessed by the gunman at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde was closed but not locked. Initially, state police said a instructor left the door propped open. Investigators concluded the trainer really closed the door, but it didn’t lock robotically prefer it was imagined to. The gunman shot and killed 19 students and two lecturers earlier than he was killed by regulation enforcement.

Armoured One, which was based after the Sandy Hook Elementary Faculty capturing, is made up of former military and regulation enforcement agents who study mass capturing attacks and consult on school security measures.

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“We will first work collaboratively to establish the place Armoured One assets can finest praise the coaching already provided, including their sources to the training instruments and resources the district already uses,” Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry stated Wednesday afternoon at a information conference at City Hall to announce the partnership.

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The security glass and movie that Armoured One invented can withstand several hits -- whether or not that’s bullets, someone ramming into the glass or using other objects or weapons -- with out breaking, which might sluggish an attacker. The doors it uses have steel framing, latch bolts and deadbolts.

Armoured One can be recognized for offering energetic shooter training and assessments. The corporate issues individual reviews for each constructing and recommends the best equipment to make use of for each facility it’s working with.

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Curry stated he plans to search out the funding for that training but additionally work with the company to carry out college safety assessments. Armoured One CEO Tom Czyz stated his team knows what to search for when it assesses a faculty’s vulnerability.

“They’re looking at methods to slow down an attacker and speed up police response,” Czyz said. “How can we sluggish him down -- after which pace up the response that might cease him.”

Duval County Public Colleges Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene and Duval County College Police Department Chief Greg Burton say security and safety are top of mind each day.

What I wish to be frequent is that our families know that we are prepared each day. And that’s what we work in direction of being a greater college district as it pertains to safety and security,” Green stated.

Burton said, “I'd say the one phrase that summarizes the whole lot that we do is vigilance.”

Greene stated that the district’s best defense is its students and employees. She stated she continues to encourage the school group to report something they see that’s suspicious.

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

Duval County voters permitted a half-cent gross sales tax in November 2020 with the specific purpose of changing getting older faculties, repairing a massive backlog of maintenance points, and bolstering school safety.

Proper now, 74 tasks are within the design phase and 15 are below construction.

As of January 2022, the tax has generated more than $118 million dollars, with greater than $5.7 million already spent or allotted to tasks underneath building.

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

Extra information about how that cash is planned to be spent in individual colleges can be found on the varsity district’s half-cent sales tax data dashboard.

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The following listing of safety measures is published on the college district’s web site:

Each faculty has a safety plan and emergency response crew.

All faculty classrooms are locked when occupied by college students.

College plans are reviewed with workers each semester.

The district has a highly educated school police division, giving all colleges direct access to school useful resource officers.

The district utilizes various main security monitoring methods including digicam surveillance and monitored controlled entry programs.

All colleges and district offices have a District Emergency Communications Network radio with direct access to high school police and district management. School Police have direct entry to JSO.

All faculties conduct regular evacuation drills (fireplace drills).

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

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