The police department and the school district will soon be connected by a virtual panic button that will simplify the alert process and give law enforcement precious time if it’s ever needed.

The system is a cloud-based app named IN FORCE 911 that allows for a centralized network between multiple parties. The police department and all the officers will be digitally connected to faculty and staff throughout the schools.

“If something ever happens, say at Evergreen Elementary, Cathy Winn (the principal) won’t have to run down the hall and spread the word. She, or anyone else in the building, will be able to hit the alert button,” Police Chief Gene Meek said.

“That will send an alert to every single person connected through that app. It will go directly to dispatch, my phone and all my officers’ phones. And every faculty and staff will also get the same notification. It’s simultaneous and it saves precious time.”

Meek said it also cuts down on congested phone traffic flooding the dispatch phone. Officers will be able to track updates in real time as they are logged in the app. He pointed out that the app also gives police the same ability if the department receives a threat regarding one of the schools.

The app works on any device where it is installed. Though there is no specific target date, Meek said he hopes everything can be installed and ready to go by the end of March.

“If we receive word that a hostile individual is headed to the high school, we can hit the alert and that immediately lets the school district know, and they can go on lockdown before anyone gets there,” he said. “It potentially cuts several minutes out of the process when going on alert. Those minutes can be extremely costly.”

In total, the cost for the service will be $7,800 a year, equally divided between the school district and the borough.

“When I first heard about the app, I thought it was a slam dunk,” Schools Superintendent Johsua Garrett said. “When I found out what it could do, I said ‘let’s get it,’ without even asking the cost. And then I find out the cost, and it’s so much less than I anticipated. I’m thrilled about it.”

Meek explained that because Wrangell is the first location in Alaska to get the app, it received a significant discount. The full price is $10,000 a year. “Being first helped us save money with this.”

The idea for using such a service became especially relevant after an Oct. 15 phone call sent a parent into a panic about their child being kidnapped. The call ended up being an unsuccessful fraud attempt, but the parent’s decision to go to the school to ensure the child was safe prompted rumors to quickly spread through the community and led to a false report of an individual with a gun going to the elementary school.

“We’re grateful that none of that was true, but it also was a good reminder for the school and for the police that a better system needs to be worked out,” Meek said. “This is a big part of that better system.”

“Ideally, we won’t ever need to use it at all, and I hope we don’t,” Garrett said. “But if we don’t have to ever use it and it just sits on the shelf, it’s good to know that it won’t drain our bank account.”