All PoconosB2B, News, Classified and all about life in Poconos
  

Read News

Pocono News Section

School District to Screen for Sex Offenders

School District to Screen for Sex Offenders - Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 4:45PM EST

Reported by: Kyla Campbell
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 @ 04:45pm EST

BERWICK, COLUMBIA COUNTY -- Most people simply have to buzz in, then sign in to get into area schools. But the Berwick Area School District is joining a minority group with V-Soft, a web-based software that scans driver's licenses and instantly screens all visitors to see if they're sex offenders.

"It's always in the back of kids' minds, although they may not be the first to admit it," said Berwick Area High School Principal J. J. Cleaver. "But parents especially want their kids safe and when they walk through the doors, it's our job to make sure they're safe all the time."

The system includes a scanner, which reads the driver's license. The software checks against sex offender databases. As of now, V-Soft covers 42 states' registries.

School Resource Officer and Berwick Police Officer, Sgt. Michael Monico, Jr., would be notified instantly if an offender tried to gain access to the school. He says deliver drivers, for example, often have easy access to schools.

"A lot of companies don't do background checks," said Monico, "but this system would be able to identify an out-of-state sex offender."

The school is also going to use the system to flag people with arrest warrants and protection from abuse orders.

"Sometimes one parent does it on behalf of a child against the other parent, and he'll try to come to school and take the child," said Monico.

The school received a $10,000 grant for the program, and it'll be installed in school buildings throughout the district this summer. Berwick is just the third district in the state to use V-Soft, and the first rural school district.
 


Discuss this news

Your Name (nickname):
Your Email: (will remain private)
Your Comments:
  


Home | News | Businesses | PA places | Classified | Cars for Sale | Account | Products | Home Recipes | Manuals | Stock Images | Earn Commissions | Advertise | Contact Us | Search
Raw Hack

© 2024 AllPoconos.Com All rights reserved.