Safety & Security Department

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Posted:  August 28, 2007

New Security Measure to be Implemented

Raptor Technologies’ V-Soft Visitor Identification

The Irving ISD Board of Trustees has approved the purchase and installation of Raptor Technologies’ V-Soft visitor identification program.  This system will be used at all campus locations and should be installed within the next month.  Raptor personnel will both install the system and conduct extensive training with all end-users.  Robust in application, this system will enable campus principals to gain a better understanding of who is attempting to gain access to the campus, as well as to track those visitors and volunteers who routinely visit their campus.  Most notably, this system tracks all Registered Sexual Offenders (RSO) in the United States and alerts law enforcement and district/campus administration when and if an RSO attempts to gain entry.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, there are an estimated 603,000 RSOs in the U.S.  Of this number, an estimated 100,000 are absconded; meaning, they are unaccounted for and missing.  The V-Soft system tracks all RSOs better than any other similar system in existence today.  As an example, consider the following situation:  Should an RSO live in Colorado and move to another state, assuming the RSO notified Colorado of his/her move, that state, in time, would delete the RSO’s name from their database.  That person could then move to Texas, establish a residence without registering as an RSO, and then attempt to gain access into one of our schools.  With Raptor’s V-Soft system, once a person enters their database as an RSO, that person is never deleted from the system.  In our example then, if the RSO attempted to gain access at one of our schools, V-Soft would identify the person as an RSO.  Law enforcement would be notified and legal action would be taken.

Parents should access the website at http://www.city-data.com/so/so-Irving-Texas.html for information pertaining to any known RSOs residing within the City of Irving.  If any of these RSOs should attempt access into our schools, the V-Soft system will identify them.  Our protocol calls for an administrator, along with a School Resource Officer, if present, to speak with the person.  If the person has legitimate business in the school, escorted and limited access may be granted.

This system will identify all visitors to a campus.  State law allows public schools to require that all visitors present a picture identification card.  Upon entering a school, a visitor will proceed to a registration desk staffed by a member of that particular school (as selected by the campus principal).  The staff member will take the ID (usually a person’s driver license) and scan it into the V-Soft system.  The ID is compared to the RSO database, along with any “private alert” information entered by campus administration (such as information pertaining to parental custodial issues).  Once completed, a visitor’s badge will be issued with the person’s name and photo, the day’s date, the time, and the destination within the building for the visit.  When the visitor leaves the building, an entry will be made that the person has left the building.

The district created a Security Task Force committee in November of 2006 with the express purpose of creating a list of systemic improvements designed to bolster our safety and security program.  Identification of visitors was among those recommendations proffered by the committee.  In concert with this recommendation, the district piloted the V-Soft system at three schools.  The system performed to specification and greatly aided in visitor control at the sites.

The motivation behind the move to use the system is to continue to provide a safe and secure environment for our students, staff, and community visitors.

J. Pat Lamb Director of Security and Operations Irving Independent School District