EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — Since the tragedy at Sandy Hook 10 years ago, school districts nationwide have responded and have come up with new ways to protect students and staff.
Some districts have even spent thousands of dollars on new technology.
Just two months ago, parents and law enforcement rushed to area schools, including in East Hartford after they received alerts to "swatting" incidents.
Police officers arrived in less than two minutes.
East Hartford Public Schools Superintendent Nathan Quesnel said he is proud of his district's efforts when it comes to quick response times when it comes to emergency situations.
"Our schools are safe schools. Our schools are places where parents give us the greatest thing in their world and that’s their children," said Quesnel.
Quesnel said four school resource officers are stationed at two of his schools. Those officers are highly involved in protecting the building as a whole such as practicing lockdowns, drills and assessing and auditing these protocols.
"I think other things that have happened here are looking at our buildings, looking at how we train, how we condition our buildings, how we harden our degree to our buildings," added Quesnel.
In addition, he said the district has benefitted from multiple state grants which have allowed them to invest in buzzer systems at entrances, HD security cameras that show the view from the outside of schools as well as a quick link to law enforcement.
Patrick Chagnon, a former Connecticut State Police trooper who is now a consultant for schools, said too many times, districts become too focused on buying the latest technology and end up spending thousands of dollars.
Chagnon said that technology, however, does not always guarantee safety and security. At the end of the day, it comes down to the training of the officers and how they respond and prevent.
"Deterrent strategy, there’s a detection strategy, a delay strategy, a response and a mitigation strategy," said Patrick Chagnon, president of Blueline Security Consulting Group.
Carmen Chau is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at cchau@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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