What DCPS’ Police Chief wants you to know about security at your child’s school

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Following the death of 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school, Action News Jax reviewed safety measures in place at Duval County Public Schools.

On Wednesday, some parents told us they kept their kids home in wake of the Texas shooting despite their trust in our schools.

“I do feel that schools try to do enough. It’s just like you can’t protect everybody all the time,” Jesse Marcum said.

Beyond current safety measures in place, we wanted to know what else the district is considering.

After repeated attempts to get further comment from DCPS, Action News Jax headed downtown to interview DCPS Police Chief Greg Burton.

“I want all the parents to know that your students are safe in our schools,” DCPS Police Chief Greg Burton said.

In January, we told you about DCPS’ new mobile emergency alert system that was set to be installed by the end of this school year, which is Friday

In real-time, law enforcement will be able to text with school officials on-site and they even have a map of the school building in the event of an emergency.

“We have completed our testing. We’re signing off on it and it will be in full swing,” Chief Burton said.

As for plans for the summer, Chief Burton said active shooter training is something they’re always doing.

“We do active shooter training, we do tabletops, we do scenario-based training, and we do training based on students that may have mental health issues,” Chief Burton said.

Chief Burton said his heart goes out to the people in Texas.

He wants parents to know that DCPS will be on high alert until the very last minute of the last school day.

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