Governor Hassan Launches Statewide School Safety Initiative in Londonderry

Press Release

As part of her efforts to strengthen the safety of New Hampshire's schools and communities, Governor Maggie Hassan joined the Londonderry Police Department, local school officials and New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) Director Perry Plummer at Londonderry High School to launch a new statewide school safety initiative that enhances school emergency notification systems.

The new software, COPsync911, improves communication between schools and police departments by enabling school computers to connect to and alert dispatch without going through E-911. The enhanced system will reduce response times in an emergency, sending an alert to the law enforcement officers closest to the school.

"Ensuring public safety, especially for our schools and our young people, is state government's most important responsibility," Governor Hassan said. "This enhanced emergency notification system will improve school security, providing a real-time school threat alert solution that notifies dispatch and the closest law enforcement officers."

The new emergency notification software will be installed in six Londonderry schools and 14 police cruisers. The schools involved with the new initiative are Moose Hill School, South Elementary School, Matthew Thornton Elementary School, North Elementary School, Londonderry Middle School and Londonderry High School.

The project is funded by a federal Emergency Management Performance Grant awarded to HSEM by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the grant was approved by the Executive Council on September 17. HSEM worked closely with New Hampshire's police chiefs who have identified the new system as a priority.

The initiative is also underway in Lincoln, and approximately 20 additional communities across the state have applied for Emergency Management Performance Grants to install the enhanced school emergency notification systems.

"This important new school safety initiative will strengthen the ability of local police departments to respond to an emergency situation in real-time, reducing response times and saving valuable minutes and seconds by ensuring that the closest law enforcement officer is quick to the scene," HSEM Director Plummer said.

"This program laudable on its own, serves as a further reminder of the trust-based partnership that exists between the Londonderry Schools and the Londonderry Police Department," said Londonderry Chief of Police William Hart. "COPSync is a reflection of our mutual commitment to securing the safety of our school community."

Since entering office, Governor Hassan has made the safety of New Hampshire's communities, citizens and schools her top priority. Under her leadership, HSEM targeted grants toward improving school safety and offered new training for law enforcement to help them deal with potential active-shooter situations.

Her bipartisan budget put more State Troopers on the road, maintained drug task force teams, funded the Cold Case Unit, restored the Children in Need of Services program and invested in school safety. The Governor also launched a public-private initiative aimed at helping reduce and prevent youth violence through Media Power Youth's media literacy program.

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