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Elkhart Schools’ New Safety Tool Screen Visitors for Registered Sex Offenders

Elkhart-SD-2

This article is originally from WSBT News 22, a CBS affiliate in Indiana, and it was written by Ed Ernstes. For the original article, as well as video feature on this story, click here.


ELKHART COUNTY – More local schools are adopting a safety tool that instantly screens visitors for registered sex offenders and let’s each school know who the visitors are.

Elkhart Community Schools is calling it Raptor.

You might call it something like an instant background check for people walking into any school in Elkhart. In a matter of minutes, the recently adopted system can find out who you are by scanning your ID.

Once it goes through the Raptor system, its cleared through them, and they will print out an ID for you to wear, said Safety and Security Director, Jamie Snyder. You have to wear that ID when you are throughout the school, and have your picture on it, so we know who you are. We can associate that face with that name.

The printed ID has the time and date you entered the school and reason for the visit.

When your ID is entered into the Raptor system, it checks the sexual offender registry, to make sure that you are not on that registry and not allowed to be at our school, said Snyder.

The registry can also help provide general information about a visitor.

School administrators, as well as local law enforcement, can utilize an electronic record keeping component of the Raptor system. With that they can add additional information about a visitor that the school system may need to be aware of.

Something such as a protective order for a student.

If we have suspicions or things that we think need to be addressed, then we are going to contact law enforcement to look at those, but Raptor is not meant to verify that somebody has a warrant or anything through a law enforcement end of it, its just for that sexual offender registry, said Snyder.

Several other local school districts have similar systems. In Elkhart County, Goshen High School is expected to begin using the system this week.