Safety By Satellite
School systems are emerging as one of the newest markets for Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. Schools have turned to the technology due to increasing concerns about school violence, school bus hijackings, terrorist attacks, and kidnapping.
GPS technology allows parents and school officials to keep track of students’ whereabouts, even if the student happens to be on a field trip 3,000 miles away.
California-based Wherify Wireless produces wireless location-detection products and services, including a GPS locator that a child can wear like a wristwatch. The locator can pinpoint a child’s location to within 30 meters. Parents can track their child’s location by logging onto the Wherify Wireless Web site and entering a security code; the site gives parents tracking options, including viewing their child’s location on a street map similar to the kind found on MapQuest.
If parents determine there is an emergency with their child, they can use the site to declare an emergency or call Wherify and the company will call 911.
Some schools are using GPS technology to track students’ movements as they arrive and depart from campus, while other schools have tested the technology on school buses.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Government Technology (10/03) Vol. 16, No. 13, P. 58; Brown, Justine.