News and Information

UISD unveils security system ; Computerized unit scans IDs to deter prohibited persons
By JULIAN AGUILAR , LAREDO MORNING TIMES, Laredo, Texas

04/12/2007 – UISD plans to unveil a new security system aimed at deterring registered sex offenders and other prohibited persons from entering schools.The new system, called Raptor, scans a government-issued identification card, such as a drivers license or state ID, and checks names against those in a national sex-offender database.
"If we get a hit it sends a text message to the UISD Police Department," said Hector J. Perez, executive director of Information Technology for United Independent School District.

The Raptor device instantly prints a temporary badge for permitted visitors, and records the time they entered the school into a computer. Also, the time a visitor spends at the school can be monitored by a principal or school security official.

The badge also prints the area of the school the visitor or parent is authorized to go, further aiding school officials in controlling the whereabouts of visitors.

Visitors get logged out of the system when they leave. And after the badges are returned, they are destroyed.

Perez said the Raptor system is also capable of customized alerts, meaning a person that has been issued a restraining order can be manually entered into the system and denied access to school grounds. He added that the principal is in charge of who gets denied access as a result of the customized alerts.

Susan Carlson, director of communications for UISD, said that the new technology supplements the security systems UISD already has in place.

"Were always looking for ways to keep children and employees safe," she said. "As technology improves, we try to implement new security. This is more foolproof."

Carlson added that she hopes parents will see the new technology as a way to protect children, and not a violation of a persons privacy.

"I would assume they would realize its in the childs best interest," she said.

Allan Measom, the president and CEO of Raptor Technologies, the Houston-based firm that produces the software for the security system, said he has heard the privacy issues before.

"This is not a tool to make parents feel unwanted," he said. "This is for security and practical purposes."

Measom added that the data obtained is all public information, and that the Raptor system goes a step further by not deleting a sex offenders name if and when it is deleted from other databases. Many state agencies remove a persons name from their databases when a registered offender leaves the state, he said. The Raptor system keeps the information active, and updates its database twice a month.

Annette Perez, the director of parental involvement for UISD, said the district will hold a news conference to introduce the new security system.

"We are looking at other districts to see how they have implemented the system," she said. Perez said she doesnt foresee parents being unhappy with the system. "Its just a matter of informing parents how it will impact them when they visit."

Measom said that the system can be monitored from Raptor Technologies home base. He added that the system works with Mexican Consulate cards, popular among Hispanic communities in border areas.

The cost of the security system is $1,500 for the first year, which includes fees for equipment and training, and then $432 every year thereafter.

The Raptor technology was developed after the terrorist attacks in 2001 as something Measom said was necessary to help identify possible security threats in schools.