Department says school assessments contribute to ensuring the safety of students and staff
McLean, VA and Los Angeles, CA – 31 August 2015 – The largest school police department in the country has completed its first round of crime and safety assessments of its schools using Haystax Technology’s mobile school assessment tool. The Los Angeles School Police Department (LASPD) has deployed the app to more than a dozen specially trained LASPD School Site Evaluators (SSEs) to help identify crime and safety vulnerabilities at many of the more than 1,200 Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) campuses. Haystax and LASPD collaboratively developed the assessment template to help identify any safety and security improvements of many of the LAUSD schools. The day-long assessment, which is typically conducted on an iPad, assists LASPD in identifying school site crime and safety vulnerabilities and recommends improvements as necessary. The app includes questions about school infrastructure, physical security, safety policies, emergency planning procedures, and much more. The tool allows the LASPD evaluators to attach photos, comments, and related data and files. This gives LASPD the ability to share this information with outside public safety agencies that are authorized to use the tool, the ability to be better prepared when responding to school incidents. “We can’t eliminate all vulnerabilities, but we can eliminate a significant number through our in-depth school site evaluations,” said Sergeant Steve Mayoral, the Officer in charge of the unit. LAUSD schools are safer because of the assessments, according to Sergeant Mayoral and his SSE team. LAUSD, the second largest school district in the nation, is spread across a 710-square-mile area and educates more than 678,000 students from kindergarten through 12th grade. “LASPD is truly a pioneer in the area of school safety,” said Haystax CEO William B. Van Vleet III. “We hope other school districts across the nation will follow their lead and give schools the tools they need to make informed decisions about how best to protect students and staff.” About Haystax Technology Haystax Technology, Inc. is a leading provider of advanced analytics and cybersecurity solutions. Haystax provides a full range of services and analytic products to protect and certify mission-critical information and real-time actionable intelligence for total enterprise protection. Haystax solutions are relied upon every day to protect against threats to some of the most mission critical and high profile networks and institutions in the world. Haystax Technology is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, with offices in Herndon, Virginia, Raleigh, North Carolina, and San Francisco. About the Los Angeles School Police Department The Los Angeles School Police Department (LASPD) was established in August 1948 to create a safe and tranquil environment for the students, teachers and staff of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The men and women of the LASPD have accepted this duty with an unyielding commitment that has not wavered for over six decades. This dedication to public safety is the standard for the largest school police department in the nation with approximately 400 sworn police personnel in a variety of ranks. Contacts: Haystax Technology Jaffrey Ali (202) 492-5457 jali@haystax.com Los Angeles School Police Department Sergeant Steve Mayoral (213) 393-4363 smayoral@laspd.com
