Rhode Island Security Company Pitches Idea to Keep SouthCoast Schools Safe

A Rhode Island-based company believes that they may have found an affordable way to help make SouthCoast schools a little safer.

The key is to optimize lines of communication between teachers and administrators in the schools and the responding police.

David Paolo is the president and CEO of Skypath Security in West Warwick, Rhode Island. He says he's developed software and a phone app that will work in conjunction to give real-time updates about what is happening inside of a school during an emergency.

"Our software will give an overlook of a building using their blueprints and schematics," he said. "We digitize them and map them out. It interacts with our mobile app. If there's an active shooter event, teachers can lock themselves in their room, take the kids and put them in a secure area, and touch one button on their phone. They'll enter the room number they're in, the number of people in the room and a code word."

All this is happening in real-time as police are en route to the school, so when police arrive, they know exactly where people are in the school, the exact layout and other technical information that can help end the situation as quickly as possible.

If there are people inside a classroom, red will light up on the app. Police can immediately go to classrooms, identify themselves outside the doors with codewords and evacuate the people. The classroom status will then turn to green.

If there are live cameras inside, they will also be fed to the app. Security experts at Skypath in Rhode Island would have the ability to feed key information directly to authorities while the event is in progress.  All of the information is integrated into one location.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced last week that he wants to spend $40 million to help shore up safety in our schools.  Part of that funding would be used to improve security and communication.

Skypath Security's program would cost approximately $5,000 per school.

The Rhode Island company says it could launch the program in hundreds of schools within 30 to 60 days.

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