In the News
Posted November, 2011
To post or not to post school building floor plans and virtual tours online?
NYS Police recommend against it
According to New York State Police Outreach Coordinator, George Murphy, posting virtual tours of buildings on school websites is not a good idea and strongly recommends against making this type of information available online.
Trooper Murphy warns that posting building tours online is "far worse than blue prints," and points out that 85% of Al Qaeda intelligence gathering is done online. "An intruder would have complete access to the school's plans and do all his homework without subjecting himself to scrutiny for being in or near the building. No school should ever have these open for public viewing."
In the interest of safety, Murphy says schools should, however, supply the NYSP and local police a digital copy of their floor plans. In fact, the New York State Education Department S.A.V.E regulation requires schools to give floor plans to the local and State Police. Digital copies in lieu of paper copies are usually easier to share, use and update. The plans can be entered into the troop cars' computers so a trooper responding to a school can have immediate access to the plans.
