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Berwick Schools Scan Visitors

Berwick Schools Scan Visitors - Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 5:48PM EST

Reported by: Kyla Campbell
Wednesday, Oct 21, 2009 @ 05:48pm EDT

BERWICK, COLUMBIA COUNTY -- The Berwick Area School District now scans all visitors' driver's licenses to get a brief background check in a matter of seconds.

If a registered sex offender, wanted criminal, or parent without custody rights tries to come into a Berwick Area School, their trip ends in the front office.

The new V-Soft program is a web-based software that checks the name against sex offender registries, arrest warrants, and other legal documents in more than 40 different states.

"I feel so much safer. I feel comfortable," said Melissa Stoker, a parent. "There are just so many things you can worry about in any town. But this system, it just makes me feel comfortable."

"You get a delivery driver here, you don't know where they're from, who they are," said Sgt. Mike Monico, a Berwick police officer who doubles as the school resource officer. "It's good to be checking their IDs, because you don't know what you have."

The V-Soft program automatically alerts Sgt. Monico and district officials through text messages if there's an unwanted guest.

"I think it's a very good idea," said Mary Ann Whitmire, the parent of an elementary and middle school student. "Nowadays, there's all kinds of people out there. You never know. And this will keep your child safe."

"No one's going to slip through the cracks in Berwick, that's for sure," said Superintendent Wayne Brookhart. "We're going to know if we have someone in our buildings that doesn't belong here.

If a parent has a Protection From Abuse order against someone, the school will confirm the paperwork with court officials and put the person's name in the computer system so school officials are alerted if they try to visit the schools.

The software keeps track of students who leave for appointments or arrive late, and it alerts the students if they're reaching the tardy limit.

The system prints out a temporary ID badge with the person's name and picture and a description of where they're allowed to go in the building.

Also, in the event of an emergency, the system can be accessed from a remote location in the event that an evacuation occurs to help in the accountability of the students.

"We're always trying to go one step above and be a model safe school," added Sgt. Monico.

All school buildings in the district have the system in place. The district got the system for free through grants from the Berwick Health and Wellness Fund of the Central Susquehanna Community Foundation.

If you viewed the video story, we want to clarify the man in the story was not a criminal. He is the technology director and offered to be black-listed as a demonstration.
 


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