Montclair's first-ever Ladies Night Out this Friday

DEMAREST Security measures have been beefed up at five Demarest schools, thanks to a new emergency radio network.

The system has created a broad communication network that can be used by school and law enforcement to better manage emergencies in the borough and in schools, said Police Chief James Powderley.

The system allows police to communicate directly with school officials during a crisis. Users of the system also will be able to communicate with other schools that have the system.

Currently, five schools and two administrative buildings in the borough are equipped with the system. The network will be monitored by the County Communications Center in Mahwah, which is responsible for handling the dispatch of county support services. The radios, which cost roughly $1,800 each, are equipped with panic buttons and GPS tracking.

Demarest has not had a history of violent incidents in schools. But police as well as school officials were eager to take a proactive approach, particularly in light of the Newtown, Conn., school massacre and other tragic incidents in schools and public places in recent years.

The schools already are armed with cameras, security guards and monitors. But the radios offer quicker and more efficient assistance.

If a security guard or staff member spies a suspicious-looking person, they can call over the radio to dispatch and immediately report the incident to get help, said Powderley. The officers on route could even talk to school staff to find out where the person in question is. That is much quicker than calling 911, which puts the caller through to a call center, which might be several towns away. This brings us on the same page as the folks in the school building trying to manage the crisis, said Powderley. We can now communicate easier and react quicker.

The newly installed system proved itself Monday morning during a crisis at the Academy of Holy Angels, in which two students passed out in two separate areas of the building within moments of each other around 9:30 a.m.. Staff called in on the new radios, after the first student became unconscious and help was dispatched immediately. Another call was placed when the second student passed out.

Having these radios and being able to communicate directly with the school allowed us to quickly find the students, and determine it was a coincidence, Powderley said. We were able to eliminate the down time. The radio system eliminated much of the confusion that would have transpired had they called 911 twice about a student passing out, he said.

Jean Mullooly, dean of Students at the Academy of Holy Angels, added, They got here so quickly. An officer was right here within a few minutes. Had we needed to, we could have spoken to the officer while he was on his way. The girls were transported to area hospitals and were released several hours later to their families.

View post:
Montclair's first-ever Ladies Night Out this Friday