NJ law designed to allow police respond faster to active shooters
WOODBURY, N.J. (CBS) -- A new law in New Jersey requires every public and private school in the state to provide their local police department with digital floorplans of their building by the start of the 2023-24 school year.
Currently, about 1,500 of New Jersey's 3,000 schools, including Cherry Hill Schools, all of Mercer County's public schools and nearly all of Gloucester County's schools, provide digital maps to their local police department.
The law, which was signed Wednesday by Gov. Phil Murphy, came three months after the state designated federal funds to pay for mapping technology for the other 1,500 schools.
“Whenever a mass shooter or a large-scale event occurs, it’s going to be chaotic,” Woodbury Police Chief Thomas Ryan told us. But new technology and a new New Jersey law can make a mass shooter response less chaotic. I’ll tell you about this new law today @CBSPhiladelphia. pic.twitter.com/mDqx4t5hxJ
— Brandon Goldner (@GoldnerTV) December 1, 2022
The Woodbury City Police Department already has access to every local school's digital blueprint.
Officers can access these blueprints through their smartphones to navigate the complex layout of a school.
It also tracks each officer's location throughout the school as they pursue the shooter.
"It's just a huge step for hopefully the parents and teachers to understand that they are going to be safer," Chief Thomas Ryan said.
Woodbury parents told CBS Philadelphia that they support the new law.
"Knowing that they're implementing programs and different things to keep our kids safe is an amazing thing," Jessica Coar said.
Tom Harrell added, "I want my child to be safe at all times so any additional safety that can be provided from the community and for our school, I'm all for it."