Calhoun County Safe Schools Initiative

The Calhoun County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) seeks funding for support in the development, installation, and implementation of video surveillance systems that integrate with the Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch Authority for school systems in Calhoun County, Michigan. The goal of the Calhoun County Safe School Initiative is to ensure that every school in Calhoun County has the opportunity and technology to open a video portal connecting directly with the Calhoun County Dispatch Center to ensure dispatchers have the accessibility to view cameras in the event of an emergency including, but not limited to, active shooter, fire, or threat. 

The security technology provides stricter access control in real-time to make sure only authorized individuals are on the premises and detect motion in pre-selected areas. The cameras are always streaming and monitoring all the pixels of each camera to identify movement. The security camera has adjustable fields of view which can cover wide areas such as playgrounds, parking lots and sports fields, and specialized areas such as long hallways. This project is an appropriate use of funding as Calhoun County has an exponentially high violent crime rate consisting of 644 violent crimes per 100,000 population, where the U.S. Violent Crime rate is 369 per 100,000 population. The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office is strategically analyzing the equitable distribution of resources and providing additional support for school systems that lack the resources for security infrastructure. The service area will consist of smaller and rural schools in Calhoun County which do not currently have these resources as these targeted schools serve some of the most vulnerable populations in Calhoun County, specifically populations that experience rural poverty as well as diverse populations and people of color. This project would help support these schools making them a safe and secure environment for students to learn and grow and teachers/administrators to work all while protecting assets.  School security cameras deliver a live feed that the Calhoun County Central Dispatch can stream during times of crisis and inform law enforcement officials prior to their arrival where the incident is occurring. The school security camera system can not only identify who committed an act of violence, but it can also identify where the violator is in real-time so that law enforcement can track them down and prevent further damage from occurring. CCSO is expecting bullying, fighting, and violence to decrease and achieve the primary safety enhancement goal.