News Release
DefenCall Announces Smartphone Panic Button App for K-12 Schools to Enhance Student Safety
DefenCall K-12 “panic button” system turns teachers’ smartphones into emergency alerting devices to notify police and school administrators immediately as well as provide “what-to-do” information in time of emergency
April 10, 2013 – New Canaan, CT – Defentect Group, Inc. (OTC Pink: DFTC) a leading intelligent threat awareness firm, through its subsidiary DefenCall, Inc., today announced that in response to the urgent need for enhanced security for K-12 schools, it has released a new version of its mobile security application designed to meet the safety needs of school districts. The Company has also published a “Guide to Inbound Emergency Alerting for K-12 Schools” white paper.
DefenCall K-12 is a smartphone-based application system that introduces a new level of protection to classrooms by connecting teachers directly with first responders and school administrators when an incident occurs through a mobile “panic button.” DefenCall K-12 also provides immediate access to customized safety and security information and procedures for teachers and staff members to follow in an emergency.
“I’m encouraged by the increased focus on protecting students in our schools, but there is more we can do to immediately increase student safety,” said James C. Ackerly, CEO of DefenCall. “We developed our DefenCall K-12 system to gives schools a way to increase classroom safety immediately so students won’t go unprotected while school districts consider their long term school safety plan. With school budgets as tight as ever we designed DefenCall K-12 to be affordable for every district.”
With DefenCall K-12, classroom teachers and staff members have access to a personal “panic button” app on their smartphones that they can use to call for help in an emergency. Activating the button immediately dials the local emergency number and sends a text message to a list of pre-defined contacts which can be configured to include school administrators, district administrators and resource officers. The alert message includes the name of the person who is requesting help, their phone number and their actual location as determined by GPS. Activating the button also causes a red flashing emergency alert message to be displayed on the monitoring web page which can be monitored by school, district and emergency dispatch personnel.
DefenCall K-12’s emergency information function allows schools and districts to provide teachers and staff with specific procedures to follow in a variety of situations. This information is customized to include the school’s or district’s own emergency protocols and can be augmented with FEMA information on a wide variety of types of emergency. Specific examples of “what to do in an emergency” information can include how to react in situations including active shooter protection, a tornado, an earthquake, and other serious incidents.
DefenCall K-12 offers a number of additional capabilities that enhance student safety. Teachers and staff members can send “one-button” non-emergency alert text messages to administrators or colleagues. Custom communication functions can be configured including direct “one button” calls to important numbers (main office, school nurse, district office, etc…).
The key benefits of DefenCall K-12 are the ability to make a “one button” emergency call for help and to alert school administrators and first responders by text message and the internet when an emergency occurs. DefenCall K-12 can also help limit the escalation of an emergency situation by providing approved procedures to follow during an incident. DefenCall K-12 is also extremely cost effective to set up and deploy when compared to traditional wired or wireless panic-button systems.
For more details on the functions and benefits of systems like DefenCall K-12, download DefenCall’s Guide to Inbound Emergency Alerting for K-12 Schools and Districts white paper. This white paper outlines what inbound emergency alerting is, how it works and why schools should consider it as part of their school safety toolbox.
For more information on DefenCall K-12 contact sales@defencall.com or call 1 203-354-9164.
About DefenCall
DefenCall, Inc. (www.defencall.com) provides solutions that enhance personal security by connecting community members with first responders and support networks through smartphone technology. DefenCall’s initial products are DefenCall Campus, a smartphone-based mobile alerting “panic button” system which connect college students’ smartphones directly to campus security departments, and DefenCall K-12 an alerting system that allows classroom teachers immediate emergency “panic button” access to their administration and local police.
DefenCall, Inc. is a subsidiary of Defentect Group, Inc., an intelligent threat awareness firm that develops and markets IP radiation detection and sensor management systems. Defentect is committed to the discovery and deployment of advanced technologies for physical and homeland security.
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