CHESAPEAKE
It used to be much harder to keep track of visitors who came into and out of B.M. Williams Primary School.
People were asked to sign their names into a visitors' book in the office, but the signatures often were hard to read, said Principal Craig Mills. Sometimes there would be a last name, but only a first initial. And what if someone gave a fake name?
No more. Now, every visitor who walks into B.M. Williams must produce identification for a machine that will record the information, compare it with the national sex-offender registry, then record how long the visitor is in the building. A small camera mounted on the kiosk snaps a photo of the person's face.
The school is one of three in the city now using what is known as the LobbyGuard system.
"This isn't foolproof, but it's a lot further along than where we were," Mills said.
As Virginia and other states have passed laws in recent years cracking down on convicted sex offenders, schools have boosted their security measures, adding security guards, cameras and, now, instant sex-offender registry checks. At the same time, civil liberties groups have voiced concerns about the privacy trade-offs.
If a B.M. Williams visitor's information doesn't match anyone in the sex-offender database, the guest selects from a list of destinations within the school and the machine prints out a sticky badge with his or her face and name.
If there's a hit, the machine prints a slip that reads "void" and orders the person to report to an employee immediately. It also sends a message to all the computers in the main office that an alert has been triggered.
The information is encrypted and stored on a server until school officials delete it. It can be accessed only by administrators, Mills said.
The division has not had problems with sex offenders coming into schools, school spokesman Tom Cupitt said. He called the LobbyGuard machines a proactive measure.
The system also is being test ed at Hickory High School and Western Branch Middle School. The division will eventually decide whether it wants to put the kiosks - which cost $7,800 each - in all 45 of the city's public schools, said Wayne Martin, director of students services for the division.
LobbyGuard has installed about 1,000 kiosks around the world, mostly in schools, said company President Kevin Allen, although they've also been installed in government buildings and corporate offices. Schools in Currituck and Camden counties in northeastern North Carolina use LobbyGuard, Allen said, and they're about to be installed in Fairfax County schools.
Still, some groups say the technology is overkill.
Devices like LobbyGuard exploit parents' fears and eat away at people's privacy, said Jim Harper, director of information policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute.
"It's simple, straightforward terror-pandering," Harper said. "We don't need to treat the schools as prisons or high-security areas. We just need to take ordinary, common precautions, and this is not one of them."
T he reaction from the public to the kiosks has been largely positive, Martin said, although a handful of parents has complained about giving up personal information.
"That's one of our jobs: to try to provide safe and a secure environment," Martin said. "The public expects security, and they expect the school system to do whatever they think is prudent."
Parents interviewed at B.M. Williams this week said they liked the new system. Even though it took some extra time in the morning, it was worth it for the feeling of security, said Lavernique Johnson, whose daughter is in second grade.
"I just feel safer that they know who's coming in and coming out," Johnson said.
Alicia Wittmeyer, (757) 222-5216, alicia.wittmeyer@pilotonline.com
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I'm surprised the Libertarians and/or ACLU
haven't jumped all over the government for the sex offender list anyway. Not that I don't like the list. BUT, does not our constitution and legal system say that once a person has served their sentence and been released from jail, they have a clean slate? It is so for murderers, drug dealers, etc....but not sex offenders. Why is that?
Make them pay
The registered sex offenders should have to pay a special "winfall tax" to offset the cost of the machines. If they don't like it, send them back to prison.
No machine will do it all.
No machine will do it all. However, having kids in school myself, I am more than happy to have added security protecting my children against child predators. The fact is this Lobbyguard has prevented predators in the school. There are articles showing this. It protects the school's children against registered sex offenders. I am happy for the students that have been protected against these monsters...even saving one child, a child that could have been yours, from a nightmare experience is worth it. It's not Americans being paranoid. It's people facing the reality of what is happening every day and trying to protect their families.
IMHO
IMHO, I think if a registered sex offender has carnal knowledge of a person under the age of consent, every piece of ID they have should be stamped SEX OFFENDER. They don't deserve to "hide" out in the open. We all should know who they are so that we may protect our children. The 16 year old clerk MGM mentioned would then know to keep your eyes wide open.
Also IMHO, I think every door going into the school should be equipped with a functioning and turned on metal detector. I don't want to be one of those parents who gets the call that my children have been shot or stabbed while trying to get an education.
Times have changed and we can't be with our kids 24/7 so, what is wrong with installing a system that may very well help protect them when we can't?
Security
I wonder what would come up if all the teachers and administrators were required to scan their own licenses through that machine??? Some of the biggest predators to children have been teachers. Just a thought...
My 2 cents
MGM-the difference is a 16 year old clerk won't know you are a convicted sex offender.
My Opinion-Neil Havens Rodreick posed as a student in the school, so he would have bypassed this machine since it is for visitors and not students.
My problem with this machine is that it only hits for sex offenders. This means convicted drug dealers, child abusers, arsonists,etc. could visit and nobody would know. You can't single out just one group of the criminal element and let the others go. Besides, IMHO, like most laws, this machine will just keep honest people honest. A real "bad" person will just bypass this machine when they break into the school.
Common sense approach is best
All doors to any school should only be able to open automatically from the inside (emergency exits and for safety reasons).
The only way any visitor should be able to gain access to any school should be the primary entry point. Schools need to test if unauthorized people can gain access to the building and correct these problems as necessary. We typically see one person signing visitors in/out. If there's 2 or 3 visitors, the phone rings, or a number of other distractions, it's easy access a school. Anyone determined to get in can and will.
How big of a problem are sex offenders *inside* the schools? Wouldn't a .50 cal machine gun nest be just as effective?
Really, though . . .
We are just scanning our driver's license through their machine. Why would that offend anyone more than handing it to the 16-year-old clerk at Kohl's to verify identity for a credit card purchase??? Cheers, MGM
Thank God my kids attend private school
It's like you can just watch all common sense and perspective evaporate from the public schools. Absurd "zero tolerance" policies, suspensions for kids hugging one another, aggressive student search policies, etc.
Is there any incident of a child being abducted or mistreated that they feel this machine would have prevented? This policy creates an imaginary policy (sex offenders roaming the halls of our schools!) and creates an imaginary solution. As if it's remotely difficult for a motivated individual to alter a magnetic strip on a driver's license, or obtain a forgery.
Is it any wonder that American education is being eclipsed by nearly every other developed nation? Can we please take our schools back from these mindless administrators?
This is insane
For one, we do not have people roaming around inside of school buildings, so why do we need a electonic security system to regulate it. Silly expendatures do not mean more security. Anything that will keep sex offenders away from Children, I would support, but the halls of our school are probably one of the safer places that our children roam.
Just have everone put Social Security numbers on "ForeHeads"
This is a waste of tax payer money and making America look like "Nazi Germany"!!!!
A waste indeed
Do you really think that this is actually going to prevent any sick predator from committing a crime? Give me a break. Teach your children well and do your best to protect them.
Seriously People
For decades, it's been a known fact that random people are not permitted to just wander around a school building. This system will actually ensure that each visitor is recorded and tracked. We're not just talking pedophiles here... could be someone stalking a particular employee or someone looking to cause a public disturbance.
It amazes me that people will go to great lengths and security measures to protect secrets and property but cry Big Brother when proactive steps are enacted to protect your own children.
Hmm
Can you imagine if you could get access to the communications these machines use to do the sex offender lookup? A man in the middle attack? Then have it flag everyone as being a sex offender. That'd be hilarious to watch the office staff accuse some random innocent parent of wrongdoing. A visitor kiosk like that is not a bad idea, and the hardware could easily cost less than $2K. I remember hearing at one point that it is illegal to make a copy of a drivers license ID, but I've never verified this. I know I've seen many people do it. BTW - Virginia licenses used to have a magnetic stripe that contained the persons name info on track 1 and address on track 2 (along with DOB on there). No one ever used it. It could have really sped up many things had it ever been used.
National ID card
I dont know why the govt dosnt just make everyone tatoo their SSN on their left wrist and be done with it. That way we can quickly tell who the undesireables ( who ever the govt says is undesireable) are and get rid of them.
Chesapeake
Chesapeake already has their office staff checking the sex offenders list and comparing them to names of parents or people who regularly pick up a child at the school. It is very time consuming and not as accurate as a machine that can look for the information quickly. As for sex offenders not always being child predators...true. But I still don't think people who obviously lack a bit of self control should be allowed to freely walk the halls of a school. Honestly, I don't think anyone should walk the halls freely without first checking in the office and either getting temporary passes or an escort. Sorry, but I really fail to see how this is creating a prison like environment. I see it as creating a safe environment for both students and teachers.
Other offenders??
Nice to know murderers, felons, burglars, psychos and anyone else (as long as you're not a registered sex offender) can get in no problem. First commentor made a good point. The crimes in the school are committed by those who are already working there...or in some cases by the students themselves. I'm not for letting these people roam the halls but where is the check for the convicted murderer and other violent crimes one may have committed? Would you want this person walking around your kids?
Not Defending Them But
To be on the sex offender registry does not necessarily mean it was for sex with children. Check out the web sites. I agree that a system like this is becoming more of a necessity. School personnel need to know if there is a potential problem walking around. Perhaps if there is a hit, they get escorted. If you don't allow parents to be parents, the children will suffer.
Neil Havens Rodreick
Neil Havens Rodreick, posing as a student, would not have had his identification checked by this machine.
An unnecessary expense that, if anything, makes people feel safer than they really are.
from a learning environment to a prison environment
It's no wonder the popularity of homeschooling is on the rise. This is bordering on the paranoid.