ROCK SPRING, Ga. - In an emergency situation when lives are on the line, seconds can make all the difference.
That's why Walker County Schools recently invested state school safety funds to enhance its Incident Management System. The school system now is the first in Georgia to fully integrate dynamic mapping of each school, push-button intercom notifications and closed-circuit cameras with the county's 911 dispatch center.
In the event of a crisis on a school campus in Walker County, dispatchers will be instantly alerted when a lockdown occurs. A lockdown also can be called for on mobile devices by certain school officials, including Superintendent Damon Raines.
Dispatcher then will be able to access real-time information at the school and relay what's shown in accurate images from the scene to responding officers. The changes are intended to enhance student safety and improve law enforcement response times.
The new system, made possible by a $300,000 state grant, was put to the test during emergency drills Tuesday morning at Saddle Ridge Elementary and Middle School in Rock Spring.
The investment is another example of how school districts, municipalities and government have tried to tackle gun violence and the costs associated with school shootings.
While students were on fall break, Walker County Schools, local law enforcement and members of the Walker County government ran through up to 10 drills with the new technology. It uses nearly 20 cameras in each school to better facilitate emergency procedures and improve communication among school officials, 911 dispatchers and law enforcement in the case of an emergency.
Mike Freeman, chief deputy with the Walker County Sheriff's Office, said the drills were a promising start to a new system that will require continued training. At the end of the day, the main focus will be getting to schools as soon as possible, he said.
"Our priority is getting there as quick as we can," he said.
Freeman said the cameras that were installed in every school will allow the 911 dispatch center to inform responding officers what is happening, where it's happening and where to enter once they arrive. That is a completely new luxury for law enforcement, he said.
Before, law enforcement could get calls from a handful of people telling their version of what they see and deputies would have to piece together a strategy while hustling to the scene.
The cameras - each of which has four angles - will give dispatchers a complete view of the school so deputies can put together a detailed plan as they enter any potentially dangerous situation.
Walker County Schools partnered with South Western Communications on the technological enhancements.
Walker County Schools Operations Director Chris Jones already had implemented safety procedures in the wake of school shootings across the nation, such as designating one access point at each school.
Jones and Raines were on hand for Tuesday's drills.
"Immediately, when we went into a lockdown drill here at this particular building, 911 was notified and so the time for response is going to be drastically cut," Raines said. "That's the most important component of this is the time factor involved when there's an event such as this."
Raines added that it's important to have the teachers on the same page when it comes to an emergency situation such as an active shooter in a school. He said the main concern will be to eliminate as much of the panic as possible and give teachers and students protocol to follow that doesn't require a lot of thinking in high-pressure situations.
"Teachers are great at rituals and routines for their kids, and kids are great at that, as well," Raines said. "Safety embeds itself into that so that we know exactly what to do in any given situation. If we eliminate some of that panic, hopefully that saves time as well as saving lives."
The cameras have been installed in every school in Walker County, but work remains to make sure law enforcement, school officials and dispatchers stay on the same page in an evolving world of school safety, officials said.
Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFilbin.