New Jersey Gov. Outlines New Homeland Security Initiatives for Schools

Acting Governor Richard J. Codey recently discussed details of the school security plan he outlined in his State of the State speech.

Codey joined Paramus Mayor James Tedesco; Donald H. Sebastian, New Jersey Institute of Technology's vice president for research and development, and head of its Homeland Security Technology Center; Paramus Public Schools Superintendent Janice Dime; and other officials, for a press conference at Westfield Shopping Town Garden State Plaza mall.

Mayor Tedesco, Mr. Sebastian and Superintendent Dime announced two projects that will apply technology in innovative ways at schools and malls. The "Model School" and "Model Mall" programs will build on the Codey Administration's homeland security initiatives.

Acting Governor Codey's school security initiative responds to homeland security concerns raised by events that occurred this past year. In Beslan, Russia, terrorists used the cover of a construction project to hide weapons and explosives inside an elementary school. Closer to home, building plans for two New Jersey schools were found in Iraq.

"As we have seen, terrorists have no hesitation using children to achieve their political objectives. If there is one priority for the year ahead, it will be the safety of our children here in New Jersey. And if there is one thing we must focus on, it is the protection of our schools," Codey said. "I will leave no stone unturned in the effort to keep our children safe from terrorism."

The Acting Governor's school security plan includes the following points:

• Creation of a comprehensive school security checklist. The list will provide specific guidelines to ensure school safety.
• Security audits of each school. Security experts will visit every New Jersey school before classes start next fall.
• Security courses for school personnel. Federal homeland security officials will help establish classes that will teach school personnel how to recognize and react to potential terrorist activity.
• Inspection of school construction and maintenance activities. Law enforcement personnel will visit every school construction site, to help prevent what happened in Russia from happening in New Jersey.
• A school security summit. To bring the best ideas from New Jersey and the nation together in one place, Rutgers University will host a forum on school security this spring.

The "Model Mall" and "Model School" initiatives announced today will build on concepts that are being used in Israel and New York, to create a security model that does not yet exist anywhere. The goal is to create a model that can be used to protect malls, schools or virtually any other critical site.

Among other innovations, "Model Mall" will include smart security cameras that do more than passively record -- but can be programmed to recognize various suspicious behaviors. It will also include the goal of sharing video from the site directly with local police -- so first responders can know what is happening inside a building, even before they arrive.

"Model Mall" will be implemented at Garden State Plaza. A number of firms and consultants in related fields have committed to provide in-kind contributions, to bring the best possible technology and practices to the project. It is expected that testing of the final product will be completed within the year.

The "Model School" program will use technology developed in "Model Mall." The Paramus School District plans to install additional security measures in several schools.

Both projects will work under the guidance of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, which was designated the New Jersey Homeland Security Technology Systems Center.

"Model Mall" and "Model School" will benefit from Federal homeland security funding that was provided to New Jersey.