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School Safety Whitepaper Explores Role of Strategic Collaboration

  • 03/31/15

Wallingford, Conn. — The problem of school safety and security needs to be addressed through strategic collaboration, according to a new whitepaper authored by Dr. William M. Toms, a faculty member at Fairleigh Dickinson University and retired New Jersey State Police Major, in collaboration with Mutualink, a company specializing in interoperable communications for schools, public safety, defense, and more.

Through experience-based insights, the paper presents actionable information for school administrators, school security personnel, policy makers, public safety agencies, and other stakeholders with a role in protecting students while at school.

The whitepaper, Ensuring Preparedness during School Safety Crises, states, “For schools to provide an optimal setting for learning and growth, they must not only be safe, but provide a feeling of security to all stakeholders – faculty, students, parents, board members and community supporters.”

Topics explored in the paper include:

  • Funding school safety and security measures at the state level – why a paradigm shift is needed.
  • Leveraging technology that enables schools to collaborate in real time with public safety officials – sharing live video, voice and intercom communications, and school maps – proven to reduce incident resolution time by as much as 40% in active shooter exercises.
  • A “Strategic Collaboration” model developed specifically for school communities by a faculty member of Fairleigh Dickinson University and Mutualink outlines the stages of strategic community collaboration that lead to safety in our schools, as well as tactical components of collaboration to reach resolution once school security has been breached.
  • Preventing, operationalizing, and mitigating school-related emergencies.

To download the whitepaper and learn more about Mutualink’s school safety program, please visit: Mutualink K-12.

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