The following redacted letter was shared with us by a member.
Good Morning,
My daughter attends 4th grade at local elementary school here in county. She has been enrolled there since kindergarten. A few weeks ago, as always, I participated in my daughter’s parent-teacher conference. This time, however, upon check in, I was required to have my driver’s license scanned. As a follow up to this experience, I have a few questions about the scanning device which is — I’m assuming — in partnership with Raptor Technologies:
- Was/is the implementation of Raptor Technologies done on a county-wide or school-specific basis?
- How was its implementation funded?
- What is the annual cost of the service for the county and/or individual schools who have implemented it?
- What type of education/training does the county school board provide its employees who receive alerts/notifications when a driver’s license gets flagged by Raptor?
- Are there any plans for the county school board to increase the scope of its visitor screening procedures to include security threats to our children beyond those individuals who are — for a myriad of reasons — required to register as sex offenders? For example, individuals with criminal backgrounds that may include:
-DUI (https://www.channel3000.com/news/crime/car-crashes-into-beaver-dam-middle-school/1112139199)
-drug (https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Carmel-Valley-Parent-Accused-Of-Selling-Drugs-To-Students-451553003.html)
-gun (https://abcnews.go.com/US/missing-pa-girl-abducted-school-found/story?id=18217095)
-kidnapping (https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/31774691/12-year-old-girl-kidnapped-from-elementary-school/)
What about child endangerment or murder convictions?
I appreciate county school board’s intent with implementing Raptor. Nevertheless, that service is only targeting one potential safety threat to our county’s children — sex offenses. However, over the past 25 years, Department of Justice statistics continue to confirm that registered sex offenders have the lowest recidivism rate than any other crime except murder. All that said, if we are going to invest resources in maximizing the safety of our children, respectfully, can we please target individuals with criminal backgrounds that are statistically more likely to reoccur?
As a father dedicated to providing his daughter with safety above all else, I would appreciate a response. I would be more than happy to continue the conversation further via email, over the phone, or in person.
Lastly, your principal at my daughter’s elementary school should be commended for the grace by which he handled our family’s particular situation a few weeks ago. It did not go unnoticed. Nevertheless, the technology that our school board has imposed through Raptor — technology that is apparently central to keeping our children “safe” — actually has me, because of my non-adjudicated offense that still requires me to register as a sex offender (despite not having an actual, criminal conviction), terrified that my daughter will be exposed to harrassment, judgment, or denied the full benefits of her education — by either her fellow students or the faculty/staff with whom we entrust her 5 days a week — because of her affilaition with me as her father.
Respectfully,
When it comes to school shootings, no one wants to talk about the elephant in the room. Up to 95% of school shootings are carried out by current students so they have been through the active shooter drills, they know where the vulnerabilities exist.
https://www.cheatsheet.com/culture/school-shooting-statistics-almost-depressing-believe.html/
Yet governments at all levels are squandering billions of dollars protecting students from the other 5%. Sound familiar?
So they are so worried about sex offenders and spend millions of dollars to watch us do nothing wrong but they can’t put metal detectors in schools to prevent these school shootings that kill hundreds of kids every year!!!!?????
Apparently there have been registrants entering schools and assaulting children. But I read and watch the news all the time, so why haven’t I heard about these horrible assaults?
Unfortunately I have heard many times about shooters entering schools and doing terrible things, though. Is our society blind or what?
We know now that the number of kids harmed by visiting registrants is zero.
How do we know?
Because, had it ever been allowed to happen, we would never hear the end of it in the news media. And Raptor would be sure to bring it up at every school board meeting.
Thank you SarahF for clarifying my thinking here.
We now know that the number of kids harmed by visiting registrants is zero.
How do we know?
Because, had it ever been allowed to happen, we would never hear the end of it in the news media. And Raptor would be sure to bring it up at every school board meeting.
Thank you SarahF for clarifying my thinking here.
(Submitted without darned typo).
This is so good! We all need to think of ways to expand on this kind of approach. I am making a copy of this letter for future use if Clay County decides to use Raptor or a similar technology.
What are the statistics on sexual abuse perpetrated by VISITORS to a school?
What about, more specifically, registered sex offenders visiting a school?
Is the same as the statistics on sexual abuse of trick-or-treaters?
Does NARSOL know? Jill Levenson? ATSA? Anyone?
Raptor representatives should NEVER be permitted to exit any school board meeting without addressing this question.
But school boards may not know to ask. We need to start educating them now No pun intended.
All school boards must take seriously the threat of sexual abuse in school. The threat is very real. It can come from a teacher, coach, or other trusted individual. It can even come from someone volunteering with other peoples’ children. But such individuals, at least in my district, already are background-checked. Raptor does not provide additional insight in this area. And the author of the letter had identified a known risk to children that is created by untrained staff employing…Raptor!
I suspect I’m right about all this. Help me prove it and spread the word.
FAC, we might consider a 2-page letter to each school board regarding Raptor, what it can accomplish, what it cannot accomplish, and how in some cases it can cause harm.
The author of this letter gives Raptor the benefit of the doubt in that it bolsters the schools’ assumption that Raptor can help protect the schools against sexual offenses. Most likely, it cannot. I think the author knows this, I just would have been inclined to play this up more. My only quibble with this otherwise very fine, well-done letter.
Excellent. Kudos to the author!!