This article originally appeared in the Kenosha News and was written by Jill Tatge-Rozell. To view the original article, click here.
WILMOT, WI A new visitor check-in system at Wilmot Union High School will include an on-the-spot background check against a national sex-offender registry database prior to issuing a visitor badge.
We are simply trying our best to keep our kids as safe as possible, administrator Dan Kopp said.
Upon entering the building, visitors are asked to present a valid state-issued ID, which is scanned into the Raptor Visitor Management System. The system used by 15,000 schools and youth organizations throughout the nation compares the name, date of birth and photo with those listed in the national sex offender database.
Part of keeping students and faculty safe is knowing who is in our building at all times, principal John LaFleur wrote in a letter to parents about the new process. The Raptor system will better allow us to track visitors, contractors, and volunteers in our school and provide us with a safer environment for our students and staff.
LaFleur said the sex offender registry database is the only one that will be reviewed as part of the background check. Additional data from the drivers license is not gathered and the system is not connected with the Department of Motor Vehicles database.
The process does not add a notable wait time to the check-in process, Kopp said.
It takes about 30 seconds, Kopp said.
Once entry is approved, the system will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date and the purpose of the visit. A visitors badge will not be necessary for those who visit our schools simply to drop off an item or pick up paperwork at the reception window.
Also, in the event that a person does not have identification, that person can still be given access to the building, but will be escorted by a school staff member, he said.
Since inception in 2003, Raptor has identified and alerted officials to more than 10,000 sex offenders entering schools and other organizations where children were present. The system has also been credited with the arrests of numerous absconded sex offenders that have crossed state lines.
