Safety & Security
Providing a safe learning environment is a critical part of ensuring academic success. The Fulton County School Board takes this seriously and under the most recent capital plan, funded by ESPLOST, large investments have been made in safety and security at each of our campuses.
Access Control Improvements/Visitor and Volunteer Management System
All Fulton County Schools are equipped with front door entry controls. After student arrival all exterior doors are locked, and visitors and students must be granted access by personnel in the front office. These devices are located at the entrance of every school and are equipped with cameras, intercoms to the front office, and a notification button. Visitors are required to push the button to ring the front office staff, who can view and question visitors via a video phone system, and then determine whether to unlock the front door for entry.
Security Camera Upgrades
Using ESPLOST funds, the district is upgrading camera systems in every school to Avigilon, one of the nation’s leading video surveillance systems. These systems allow FCS safety and security teams to monitor activities in and around facilities with laser sharp accuracy via desktop computers, non-portable monitoring stations or mobile devices. In addition, district office personnel, local school leaders and/or building managers can search for reported activities that have occurred for investigative purposes or monitor activities for mitigation purposes. High tech lenses allow the users to pan the cameras throughout a pre-determined range, zoom in for a closer view, or change the angles of the view – all in high definition quality. The artificial intelligence (AI) component of this technology allows for users to find targets within the facility based upon a tagged “appearance search.” This type of technology is currently used at our nation’s major airports as well as other highly secured environments.
Equipment and Vehicles for Emergency Response Personnel
The FCS School Police fleet of specially branded sedans, trucks and SUVs not only provide greater visibility of our school police, but also increases mobility of our officers, the ability to patrol all schools, and the capability for emergency response. We will continue to ensure our law enforcement and safety teams are equipped to respond quickly to all situations. Investments include body armor and a school report management system which will permit easier access to criminal records among metro police departments. ESPLOST has allowed for replacing and adding vehicles to the school police fleet.