GRAND BLANC, Mich. – With many schools already out of session for the summer, most K-12 school campuses are left virtually empty for the next three months. As a result, school property is vulnerable to crime, school vandalism, burglary and other criminal acts.
While these incidents are not, necessarily, unique to the summer season, it is known that most campuses generally have fewer staff members and security officers on hand to guard and protect school property.
With schools vacant for up to three months during the summer, school officials tend to reduce their security on campuses, leaving open opportunities for an increase in crime, which is especially problematic in the Flint area.
There have been nine apprehensions on school campuses in the past year in the Flint Community School District alone, all captured by Sonitrol Audio Verification, a live audio verification security system.
“Whether it is a prank or criminals taking advantage of the summer vacation to burglarize school property, these incidents are serious. In every case, these people were not authorized to be on school property. Some of these incidents are class pranks, but entering school property unauthorized is illegal,” explains Mike Buckel, vice president of operations for Sonitrol Tri-County in Grand Blanc.
Sonitrol Audio Verification technology uses unique, impact-activated audio technology, which triggers an alarm when the jarring sounds of an intrusion are made on-site. The alarm signals to the Sonitrol Central Monitoring Station in Grand Blanc, where trained monitoring specialists review the recording and listen live to verify an alarm immediately and notify local law enforcement of the intrusion.
Due to the real-time component and significant number of apprehensions made as a result of the technology, Sonitrol customers in educational institutions are able to significantly reduce costs related to property damage and loss.
“This system essentially pays for itself tenfold,” said Keith Gibson, assistant director of maintenance and operations for a school district protected by Sonitrol Audio Verification technology. “Before we installed the Advanced Audio Verification technology, we were getting hit relentlessly with property damage and loss. With Sonitrol, we know our schools are better protected with the peace of mind that, if anyone were to be daring enough to try to break in, we’ll know immediately and be able to stop it before anything gets out of hand.”
Sonitrol Audio Verification is highly respected by law enforcement for its low false alarm rate. Law enforcement officials know that Sonitrol alarms are verified with live audio, resulting in a high apprehension rate and fast response time. Sonitrol Audio Verification was first introduced in 1963 and is a proven technology that has assisted in the highest number of documented apprehensions in the industry. Visit sonitrolverified.com to learn more about Sonitrol Audio Verification technology and its product and service offerings.