Vector Solutions Adds Silent Panic Alarm Feature to LiveSafe Platform for Schools

New Feature Allows Staff and Students to Report Emergencies Directly to Law Enforcement and Helps Schools Meet the Recommendations in Alyssa’s Law

Tampa, FL – September 23, 2021 – The Washington Post reported 14 school shootings between March and June 2021 despite pandemic-related school closures. As more classrooms re-open for in-person instruction, student safety and mental health remain top concerns.  To help in situations where there is an immediate emergency, Vector Solutions,  the leading provider of training and software solutions to help schools make their operations and communities safer, smarter and better, has updated its Vector LiveSafe Tip Reporting and Safety Communications Platform to add a silent panic alarm feature, allowing users to immediately report emergencies directly to authorities. The panic alarm helps schools meet the recommendations in Alyssa’s Law, named after Alyssa Alhadeff, one of the 17 victims killed during the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The law requires schools to implement mobile panic alarms that go directly to law enforcement in case of immediate emergencies such as an active shooter situation.

“Keeping schools and students safe requires constant vigilance and technology necessary for administrators, staff and students to communicate emergencies immediately and to the right people,” said Vector Solutions CEO Marc Scheipe. “Our Vector LiveSafe platform and new silent panic alarm feature help schools do this and support our mission of helping to make schools and communities safer, smarter, and better.”

Vector LiveSafe is an advanced tip reporting and safety communication platform for organizations, including schools. Students can quickly report safety concerns directly through their Vector LiveSafe smartphone app – anything from bullying, to concerns about a friend or classmate’s mental health, to an emergency situation. The new silent panic alarm feature in the app allows the user, with one touch, to send an alert to law enforcement. It provides the user’s location without them having to type or say anything.

Parents can use the Vector LiveSafe SafeWalk feature to receive notifications to assure them their child has made it to or from school safely. Staff members can use it to broadcast messages to employees or students about safety incidents.

Additional features of LiveSafe include:

• Anonymous tip reporting – Students and staff members can input tips anonymously directly into the Vector LiveSafe platform online or via the mobile app. Schools customize the platform, and tips are classified into one of more than 200 categories such as “bullying,” “diversity & inclusion concerns,” or “facilities and maintenance.”  Users can attach photos or videos, and intelligent routing ensures tips are sent to the proper department.
•  Emergency options and resources – Users can quickly access 9-1-1 or school safety officials, who can leverage location data in an emergency. School emergency procedures are posted in the app and are available with or without internet access.
• SafeWalk – Keeps users safe as they travel to and from school by allowing them to invite up to three people to virtually accompany them to their destinations. SafeWalk sends check-in messages to the user and alerts their virtual companions or authorities if the person does not check in at their final destination on time.

• Broadcast and check-in messaging – School administrators can set up scheduled messages and send push notifications to let staff know what is happening at schools or to alert them of emergencies in progress.
• Cloud-based command dashboard – Administrators can manage all incoming and outgoing communications, including tips, broadcasting, and check-in messaging using the cloud-based command dashboard.

• Real-time analytics – Analytics and reports about tip submissions and platform usage provide actionable data on the nature of incidents, allowing districts to make data-driven policy decisions to reduce future incidents.

Vector LiveSafe, created by Virginia Tech shooting survivor and campus safety advocate Kristina Anderson, is just one example of the resources Vector Solutions provides to support student safety and wellness. Vector also offers Student Safety and Wellness courses on topics such as bullying, suicide and digital citizenship; training and compliance courses for staff members;  and resources such as whitepapers and webinars to help teachers and administrators deal with issues of student mental health and trauma stemming from the pandemic.

For more information about Vector LiveSafe, visit https://www.vectorsolutions.com/solutions/vector-livesafe/k12/

  About Vector Solutions for K-12 Education

Vector Solutions for K-12 Education provides award-winning software, resources and professional development solutions to help create safer, smarter, better schools. Its safety products include an emergency communications platform, systems to help schools manage and track safety and compliance trainings and environmental health and safety incidents, a library of hundreds of training courses for school staff on everything from special education to diversity and inclusion, plus online safety and wellness courses for students addressing issues such as bullying, suicide and sexual harassment. Its professional development solutions encompass educator evaluations and tracking professional development activities. For more information about Vector Solutions for K-12 Education, visit www.vectorsolutions.com/industries/education/. Follow us on Twitter @VS_K12 and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VectorSolutionsK12.

About Vector Solutions

Vector Solutions is the leading provider of award-winning, intelligent SaaS solutions that help organizations and individuals operate at the highest level and prepare for more challenging workplaces and environments. Providing industry-focused solutions that connect information and technology, its unique product set includes training management, continuing education (CE), compliance training, workforce scheduling, safety management, and more. Its extensive online and mobile training library features carefully curated world-class content to meet the unique needs of professionals in the industrial, engineering, education, and public safety industries. Reaching approximately 31 million users and more than 35 thousand clients worldwide, Vector’s mission is to serve everyday heroes by delivering intelligent software solutions that empower them to make safer, smarter, better decisions. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. For more information, visit www.vectorsolutions.com. Follow us on Twitter @VectorPerform and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VectorPerformance.