New school mapping technology helps law enforcement respond faster

(CBS DETROIT) – Schools across the country are upgrading their outdated mapping systems to make first-response efforts more seamless in the event of an emergency. 
The military-grade maps are said to help law enforcement respond faster to incidents. 
Outdated and often inaccessible maps can hinder law enforcement’s efforts to navigate to a precise location in complex school buildings. 
Mike Rodgers, a former special operations Captain in the United States Army, had the idea to upgrade systems nationwide. 
“My wife is a third-grade teacher, and I was very concerned with the level of preparation and planning at her school and wanted to take a mapping technique that was used on the battlefield to enable clear, concise communication and navigation,” said Rodgers, CEO of Critical Response Group. “And I initially applied that to my wife’s school.” 
Ann Arbor Public Schools has implemented the maps districtwide. 
AAPS executive director of school safety and district operations, Liz Margolis, said the maps can be accessed directly from police vehicles and provide critical information on a moment’s notice. 
“The map shows them really fine details,” said Margolis. “Classroom numbers, where emergency supplies are, what the hallways are. We also mark every one of our outside windows with the classroom number so they can easily coordinate that with the maps and understand where maybe a situation is happening.” 
The maps are two-dimensional images with layers of critical information.  
The base layer is a floor plan that’s been verified for accuracy. The labels that match the building, like “Art Room” or “Classroom A.” 
“Then we find the key features that are important from an emergency response perspective, namely fire access control panels, gas shutoffs, electrical disconnects, AEDS, things that responders look for during an emergency that are not usually on a map today,” said Rodgers.  
“And then lastly, it gets gridded out, very similar to a game of Battleship. And the intent behind that is to make it very simple to use, so it doesn’t matter if you’re a police officer, a firefighter, an educator, or a public safety telecommunicator, you can all speak this very simple common language.” 
The maps were grant-funded through Michigan’s School Safety Grant Program. 
Rodgers said Critical Response Group has mapped 97 percent of public schools in the state. 
“Many districts had the opportunity to take advantage of the grant to do these maps, which is really important because school safety funding is so important to public school districts because we really would only be able to take it out of our general fund, which would take it away from our students,” said Margolis.