Rich Pietras / Bucks County Courier Times - 3/9/2009

Two local schools are checking visitors' criminal histories when they show up at the school.

Two schools, the North Montco Technical Career Center and Souderton Area High School, have taken security to a new level and have purchased Raptors to protect their institutions.

Not the toothy dinosaurs seen in "Jurassic Park," but a new Web-based "visitor management system" that screens people coming to the school to see if they have a criminal record as a sex offender. Created by Houston-based Raptor Technologies, Inc., the system scans driver's licenses and alerts administrators to any visitors who show up on a sex offenders list.

And while handing over your ID to enter a public school may put some people off, Dawn LeBlanc, the principal at North Montco, is thankful for the high-tech help.

"We actually had a hit today," LeBlanc said Friday. "We purchased the machine in September of 2007, and since that time, we have had three total positive matches. Seeing as how we are more open to visitors, and having over 2,000 visitors just last year, we really felt the Raptor was essential."

LeBlanc could only say the visitor Friday was an "unwelcome guest," and after they were identified as a past offender, they were asked to leave the building.

According to school policy, no one is permitted to enter the school without producing a driver's license. If someone does come up as a match, an e-mail and text message are sent to several school administrators, as well as security personnel and local police.

The person is then asked to step into an office where they are questioned about their visit. If the person is a registered offender, and has legitimate business at the school, LeBlanc said they are permitted to enter, but do not have free range in the school without an escort.

Greg Goedeke, vice president of sales and operations Raptor Tech. Inc., said Raptor machines have been installed in 5,300 schools nationwide and identified 1,100 sex offenders during the last school year.

The machines have a start-up cost of $1,500, after which schools are charged $432 annually for updates. North Montco purchased the machine through a grant from the Department of Justice and was the first school in the state to use it.

But the idea of turning your driver's license over to a stranger to be scanned has generated some concerns about civil liberties, as well as identity theft.

Sara Mullen, associate director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said the she saw some troubling aspects to the technology.

"These databases are known to be riddled with errors, and many people have common names," Mullen said. "There is a high risk of false positives and humiliating parents who will then have to prove they are not sex offenders.

"It also gives parents and school administrators a false sense of security, since the system only applies to some visitors and not others, like delivery persons, accessing the building."

But Carol Measom, director of marketing for Raptor, said most schools seem comfortable erring on the side of caution.

"I am really not sure where (the ACLU) is getting their information," Measom said. "While it is possible to have a false hit if someone shares a name with an offender, schools have effective policies in place to deal with that issue."

Measom added that a registered offender's picture also appears on a screen, which helps schools identify false hits.

As far as identity theft concerns, Goedeke said that by the machines only tracking names and birthdates, they drastically reduce the chance for such problems.

Souderton Area High School, which started using the Raptor in January, has yet to have a positive hit on machine, but assistant principal Matthew Haines said just having the Raptor provides an added sense of security.

"We have had a couple 'false hits' of people who happen to share the same name or address of a Megan's List offender," Haines explained. "While it is a difficult conversation, once they see what the machine does and how it is used, most people seem very impressed to see we have it at the school."

Haines said they are also considering the device for use at the middle schools.

The Hatboro-Horsham School District has also changed its policy concerning guests, but has decided to take a more personal approach. Starting in September, anyone visiting during school hours must leave their license in a lock box, which can be picked up when they leave. In addition to holding IDs, the high school also uses a "one entrance system" during the school hours where visitors must be buzzed in.

Director of security for the district, Al Hall, said he was aware of the Raptor system, adding it was something they may consider in the future.

"Right now, we are confident in our staff to handle checking IDs personally. The big thing for us is training. We want to provide a warm atmosphere for our visitors, and a cold one for people we don't want coming around."