Suffolk Announces School Safety Initiatives Involving Police

YAPAHNK, NY — On National Gun Violence Awareness Day, Suffolk officials announced upcoming active shooter drills at school districts that will test technologies including S.H.A.R.E and the RAVE Mobile App.

The announcement comes at a time when there have been multiple mass shootings in less than a month across the nation: 10 people were killed in a mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket on May 14; 19 children and two adults were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24; and four were killed by a gunman at a hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 1.

"This has been a devastating few weeks in our nation," Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said.

Bellone said the county will do "whatever it takes to protect our kids" by using every tool and asset it has. The county has implemented different safety initiatives over the past few years to keep people safe while at school.

"We've also given our law enforcement officers and first responders the tools that they need to do their jobs as effectively as possible, because we know response time not only matters, it is critical, and in many cases, can be the difference between life and death," Bellone said.

Bellone highlighted two existing school safety initiatives, both of which are free for all school districts.

The RAVE Panic Mobile application, launched in 2018, alerts law enforcement of active shootings or other emergencies, including medical ones. The app notifies other staff members in the building where the emergency is happening. In the county, 52 public school districts and 17 private schools have signed up.

A year later, S.H.A.R.E was announced. The program allows school districts to connect their existing CCTV camera systems directly to the Suffolk County Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center. The goal is to save time for first responders during active shooter scenarios. Of the 31 public school districts to enroll in S.H.A.R.E., 18 are fully integrated into the Real Time Crime Center, and the county is working to get the other 13 set up.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison said there are currently no credible threats in the county. Since the Uvalde mass shooting on May 24, there have been 16 reported threats and two arrests made in Suffolk, police said, according to News 12 Long Island.

A 15-year-old was arrested Friday after threatening Commack Middle School, police said. A 16-year-old was arrested on May 26 after he threatened a mass shooting at Bellport High School, police said.

"What I will not allow is for this police department to do any type of reactive policing," Harrison said. "Being proactive, being predictive is what's going to make this county safe."

The police department plans to do monthly mobilization drills and tabletop exercises so emergency teams are prepared to respond to a crisis at a moment's notice.

"Our priority is public safety," Harrison said. "Our priority is protecting this county. But most importantly, we want to protect our children and make sure that they feel safe while they're attending schools."